Books: Roving Writer

JOURNEYS BETWEEN WARS—John Dos Passos—Harcourt, Brace ($3).

In 1922 John Dos Passos published a book on Spain, Rosinante to the Road Again, followed it five years later with one on his travels in the Near East, Orient Express. These random recollections of unconventional journeys were written in a glancing, impressionistic style, with characterizations of fellow travelers blending with offhand comments on politics and tag lines from overheard conversations.

The high point of Dos Passos' journey in Spain was not in adventures, but in a quiet talk with a seasoned native. The high point of his...