"There are two books that impressed me when I was very young. One was 'The Adventures of Augie March' - the idea of having something so generous, and so adventurous and improvisatory. The other was 'The U.S.A. Trilogy,' by John Dos Passos."
E. L. Doctorow was an American novelist best known for historical fiction including Ragtime, Billy Bathgate, and The March. His work combined literary craft with American historical themes, and he received major national literary honors.