A great retro novel that served as the basis for the cult film by Milos Forman. Here the real is intertwined with the fictional, the extraordinary with the ordinary. To reveal the true soul of America in this surprisingly subtle and witty book, Doctorow chose the most important period of its history - the beginning of the 20th century, the “ragtime era.” He made Ford, Morgan, Houdini and other historical figures the characters of his novel, and high-profile events and current topics - the building blocks for the construction of a fantastic to the point of absurdity, but at the same time absolutely true family saga.