A fictional conveyance of his newfound aspirations for America as a world leader, Chosen Country is a love story between Jay Pignatelli and Lulie Harrington. The former’s background is European, the latter’s, American. The book spans from 1848 to 1930, when the couple ultimately chooses to settle in America.

The New York Times Book Review calls it “probably Dos Passos’[s] best novel.” Writer Archibald MacLeish calls it his best novel.