I just finished The Lacuna, by Barbara Kingsolver. This is the second book by this author I've read, the first being The Poisonwood Bible.
The book follows the life of a young man who lived in both Mexico and the United States. His story follows that of the Bonus Army. post WWI, to his friendship with Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, and Leon Trotsky. After the war he settled in the United States and becomes a popular author, until his past association with communists destroys his life at the young age of 34.
I found that this book details both the greatest highs of the American experience and its lowest low. The red scare and the witch hunts that is a great stain upon our nations history. Definitely worth a read.