The Big Money

The Big Money is the third novel in John Dos Passos's U.S.A. trilogy. Published in 1936, it covers the period from the economic boom of the 1920s through the Great Depression of the 1930s.12

Dos Passos uses a unique narrative style, interspersing fictional character stories with "newsreels" of actual newspaper headlines and popular songs of the era. He also includes biographical sketches of prominent figures, ranging from industrialists like Henry Ford and inventors like Thomas Edison to social critics and labor organizers such as Eugene V. Debs and Thorstein Veblen. The novel reflects Dos Passos's critical view of American society, particularly the divide between the wealthy and the powerless, a theme that deeply affected him after the Sacco and Vanzetti executions.12