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Vidal described his homeland as the United States of The Essential Gore Vidal. Throughout his life he railed against how he felt it had betrayed its founding principles. So that's the end of the constitution The Essential Gore Vidal a working machine. He told the Times three years ago that the US is "rotting away at a funereal pace. We'll have a military dictatorship pretty soon, on the basis that nobody else can hold everything together. It's no surprise then that he detested George W Bush. Indeed, Vidal claimed the terrorist attacks of 11 September occurred because the Bush administration was "incompetent" and Bush himself was "inactive and inopportune". Vanity Fair refused to publish an essay he wrote reflecting on the attacks. In another essay, published by the Independent, he compared the attacks to the Japanese raid on Pearl Harbour, arguing that both presidents Franklin D Roosevelt and Bush knew of them in advance and used the disasters to advance their agendas. We are a sort of militarised republic. Not all Vidal's targets were political. He had a lengthy feud with fellow writer Truman Capote. Capote, perhaps, started it. He gave an interview saying that Vidal had been thrown out of the White House for drunkenness and quarrelling with Jackie Onassis's mother. Vidal took Capote to court for libel, where the two traded insults. Vidal suggested Capote had "raised lying into an art — a minor art". Capote retorted: "Of course, I'm always sad about Gore. Very sad that he has to breathe every day. After the death of his nemesis inVidal insulted Capote one last time, saying his death had been "a good career move". Vidal was sceptical about democracy in general "Apparently, a democracy is a place where numerous elections are held at great cost without issues and with interchangeable candidates" and its American incarnation in particular "Every four years the naive half who vote are encouraged to believe that if we can elect a really nice man or woman president everything will be all right. But it won't be. Gore Vidal was a better essayist than he was a novelist. That is taken as read in litcrit circles these days, and it will take a prodigious revisionist to make a case for the overblown novels and reverse the orthodoxy. Martin Amis, who has little time for Vidal the novelist, recognised the glory of the witty, learned, aphoristic essays. Even his blind spots are illuminating. Vidal was too forthright and opinionated to be a great writer of fiction, where many viewpoints have to be represented. He knew where he stood, never wavered from his Jeffersonian commitment to individual freedom, and found the essay the ideal form in The Essential Gore Vidal to express his views. His collection, United States: Essaysis a huge and majestic compendium that charts not just Vidal's rumbustious life but the culture and politics of the country he could love and hate in the same sentence. He had always vowed not to write a memoir — he eventually relented, though too late to write a great one — and saw his essays as an alternative, a repository of his wit, wisdom and occasionally venom. United States: Essayswhich won the National Book Award for non-fiction in the US, runs to 1, pages and contains essays on subjects as diverse as Oscar Wilde, the legalisation of drugs, life in Mongolia and the journalist HL Mencken — a lifelong hero and The Essential Gore Vidal rare exception to Vidal's dictum that "journalism has always been the preferred career of the ambitious but lazy second-rater". There are also several shorter collections, mainly of his later essays, and A View from the Diner's Club, published inis the ideal place for the newcomer to begin. His long essay on the American writer Dawn Powell, first published in his beloved New York Review of Books, is scholarly, charming and entirely convincing in its advocacy of a largely forgotten novelist. His essay on his friend Orson Welles is laugh-out-loud funny. He could do The Essential Gore Vidal voice he chose. What is needed now is a definitive collection of the essays — not even the bumper United States: Essays contained them all. Whatever happens to the novels, the essays should always be in print. He was America's Montaigne. Vidal loved making cameo appearances in film and on television. Vidal's final film appearance was as a chat show host in the film Shrink, about a psychologist who treats Hollywood stars. But arguably his most significant cameo came The Essential Gore Vidal in when he appeared in his friend Federico Fellini's film Roma. Fellini wanted him in The Essential Gore Vidal film because Vidal The Essential Gore Vidal been living in Rome since the early s and become well-known on the literary scene. The appearance is most memorable for the fact that, for once in his life, Vidal's eloquence was definitively upstaged. And there were four of the most beautiful white horses drawing an empty cart. It looks nice. Don't you think it looks nice? He kept adding things to the scene, then he would take them away, and finally the horses were gone. I suddenly realised that it didn't matter what I said, that I could be saying any nonsensible thing in my supposed interview, and that it wouldn't matter because I was part of his composition. Who was he? Beneath my cold exterior, once you break the ice, The Essential Gore Vidal find cold water. Vidal satirised the monstrousness of his vanity, without wholly undermining it. Most people are a mixture of impulses if not practices. He lived for many years in a mountain-top retreat in Ravello on the Amalfi coast until he became too infirm to cope with the hills. Inhe moved to the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles. Vidal claimed to have had a brief affair with the beat writer. In Palimpsest he recalled finding, "to my surprise", that Kerouac was circumcised. It was Capote, not Vidal, who came up with the most waspish dismissal of Kerouac's work: "That's not writing, that's typing. Vidal never tired of telling us of his famous friends. He was close to John Kennedy and was a relative of Jackie Kennedy. That said, Vidal lived for 53 years with former advertising executive Howard Austen. The key to their relationship, he repeatedly told interviewers, was that they did not sleep together. Austen The Essential Gore Vidal buried at Rockcreek Cemetery in Washington in Vidal said he wants to be cremated and have his ashes placed The Essential Gore Vidal to his longtime companion. Vidal and author Norman Mailer conducted a lengthy literary feud. Mailer punched Vidal at a party, prompting Vidal to retort: "Words The Essential Gore Vidal Norman again. He wrote 25 novels. His third, The City and the Pillar, published inwas a coming-out The Essential Gore Vidal about a handsome, athletic young man, and was, he later claimed, blacklisted by the critical and literary establishment. That blacklisting made it so difficult for him to get reviewed that Vidal took the pseudonym Edgar Box for a series The Essential Gore Vidal thriller novels and later gave up novels altogether for a time in favour of writing for the stage, television and Hollywood. In MGM hired him as a contract writer: among other projects he helped rewrite was the screenplay of Ben-Hurthough he was denied an official credit. He also wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation of his friend Tennessee Williams's play Suddenly, Last Summer. In the 60s he returned to fiction, writing a series of The Essential Gore Vidal Julianabout the Roman The Essential Gore Vidal who wanted to restore paganism; Washington, DCthe first of his fictional chronicles of American history; and Myra Breckinridge The two exchanged letters after Vidal's article The Essential Gore Vidal Vanity Fair on "the shredding" of the Bill of Rights and their The Essential Gore Vidal inspired Edmund White's play Terre Haute. He's not insane," Vidal said of McVeigh. Vidal ran for elected office twice: once for Congress inin upstate New York; once for the Senate in California in He lost both times, but in the race garnered more votes than any Democrat in the district for the previous 50 years. The conservative columnist William F Buckley once called Vidal a "queer" on live television in the s. The exchange went as follows. Buckley compared anti-Vietnam war demonstrators to Nazis. I was in the infantry in the last war. As far as Vidal was concerned, he won that one and any other of the many TV duels in which he tilted: "I mean I won the debates, there was no question of that," Vidal said in a CNN interview in And because I'm a writer, people think that I'm this poor little fragile thing. I'm not poor and fragile And anybody who insults me is going to get it right back. From a barbaric bronze age text known as the Old Testament, three anti-human religions have evolved — Judaism, Christianity, Islam. These are sky-god religions. They are, literally, patriarchal — God is the Omnipotent Father — hence the loathing of women for 2, years in those countries afflicted by the sky-god and his earthly male delegates. The sky-god is a jealous god, of course. He requires total obedience from everyone on earth, as he is in place not for just one tribe but for all creation. Those who would reject him must be converted or killed for their own good. Ultimately, totalitarianism is the only sort of politics that can truly serve The Essential Gore Vidal sky- god's purpose. Others The Essential Gore Vidal fail. He maintained that television is not for watching but for appearing on. He followed his own dictum scrupulously, commenting: "I never miss a chance to have sex or appear on television. Before his army career Vidal Sr was an athlete who won a silver medal in the Olympic Games in Antwerp in Women can't. He detested his mother "drunks are not much to be around" but worshipped his grandfather. From the congressional record, from American history, poetry," Vidal said. He was not related to Vidal Sassoon. And while he often joked that Al Gore was a distant cousin, they weren't related either. Adams is asked what he thought of Vidal's new novel about Lincoln. The Essential Vidal

Vidal writes with ease and grace, and roams through many subjects and genres. He is a master of the historical novel, in which he has explored American history, ancient history, and the The Essential Gore Vidal of religion. He has developed his own style of science fiction combined with satire, and in the books he refers to as his 'inventions' he writes cautionary tales about sex, politics, art, and philosophy. He is at once a contrarion, a wise man, and a romantic. He is also wickedly funny, and often outrageous. Nobody can accuse Gore Vidal of having narrow interests. The author of such diverse books as the historical novels Burr and Lincolnthe transgender satire Myra Breckinridgeand the imaginative religious epic Creation has one of the busiest--and most eclectic--intellects in literature today. A prolific novelist, Vidal has also enjoyed a career as playwright, essayist, and political commentator. In both fiction and The Essential Gore Vidal, Gore is mainly known for his cutting, satirical wit. Ronnie and Nancy In an article about the Kennedys entitled "The Holy Family," Vidal concludes: "They create illusions and call them facts, and between what they are said to be and what they are falls the shadow of all the useful words not spoken, of all the actual deeds not done. Though not comprehensive, this volume does contain the cream of Vidal's output and makes for an excellent introduction to one of America's great men of letters. He has developed his own style of science fiction combined with The Essential Gore Vidal, and in the books he refers to as his "inventions" he writes cautionary tales about sex, politics, art, and philosophy. He is at once a contrarian, a wise man, and a romantic. All of these qualities are evident in his essays, which deal with things about which he feels passionately. He writes about other writers--Tennessee Williams, Henry James, Montaigne, Edmund Wilson--and about public life, and his own life, which has been complicated and rich. This collection the only single volume that includes both Vidal's fiction and his essays contains two complete long works--Myra Breckinridge, perhaps his most famous novel, and The Best Man, a play about the American presidency. Convert currency. Add to Basket. Book Description Paperback. Condition: Brand New. The Essential Gore Vidal Inventory A More information about this seller Contact this seller. Condition: New. Brand New!. The Essential Gore Vidal Inventory VIB The Essential Gore Vidal related to Essential Gore Vidal. Essential Gore Vidal. Vidal, Gore. Publisher: Time Warner Books Uk This specific ISBN edition is currently not available. View all copies of this ISBN edition:. Synopsis About this title Vidal writes with ease and grace, and roams through many subjects and genres. Review : Nobody can accuse Gore Vidal of having narrow interests. Th "About this title" may belong to another edition of this title. Buy New The Essential Gore Vidal more about this copy. Other Popular Editions of the Same Title. Search for all books with this author and title. Customers who bought this item also bought. Stock The Essential Gore Vidal. Essential Gore Vidal Vidal, Gore. New Paperback Quantity Available: 1. Seller Rating:. Published by Time Warner Books Uk Gore Vidal - Wikipedia

Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want The Essential Gore Vidal read. Want to Read saving…. Want to Read Currently Reading Read. Other editions. Enlarge cover. Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Open Preview See a Problem? Details if other :. Thanks for telling us about the problem. Return The Essential Gore Vidal Book Page. The range and size of Gore Vidal's literary achievement is remarkable. He is a master of the historical novel, the novel of ideas, theatre, satire and science fiction, and is an essayist of deserved distinction. He is at once a contrarian, a wise man and a romantic, wickedly funny, and often outrageous. The Essential Gore Vidal is both a place to start reading Vidal and a The range and size of Gore Vidal's literary achievement is remarkable. The Essential Gore Vidal is both a place to start reading Vidal and a place to return for refreshment. It contains two complete long works - the novel Myra Breckinridge and the play The Best Man, selections from his other fiction and twenty-five essays on subjects from philosophy to politics to sex. About The Author: Gore Vidal is the author of twenty-two novels, five plays, many screenplays and short stories, more than two The Essential Gore Vidal essays, and a memoir. Two of his American chronicle novels, Lincoln andwere the subject of cover stories in Time and Newsweek, respectively. He divides his time between Ravello, Italy, and Los Angeles. Kaplan lives in Brooklyn, New York. Get A Copy. Paperbackpages. More Details Original Title. Other Editions 2. Friend Reviews. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about The Essential Gore Vidalplease sign up. Be the The Essential Gore Vidal to ask a question about The Essential Gore Vidal. Lists with This Book. This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Community Reviews. Showing Average rating 4. Rating details. More filters. Sort order. Start your review of The Essential Gore Vidal. This is a wonderful book! As expected in a collection of this sort, not everything was to my taste i. Myra Breckinridge but the variety of quality writing ensured there were lots I did love! From the outset I was impressed with the introduction by Fred Kaplan. He provided excellent context for the uninitiated without giving the game away. I enjoyed each piece The Essential Gore Vidal the This is a wonderful book! I enjoyed each piece in the Early Fiction section. They were beautifully written and very engaging. This political play is timeless. Loved it! The Inventions section was my least favourite. I understand why it was so controversial for its time and I was ultimately disappointed with the ending. I enjoyed the Religion section. I loved the subject matter, the conversational style and the language. The Essential Gore Vidal is to rewrite the bible for a time travelling apostle. It is a mix of contemporary references and biblical times. The Chronicles of American History section was a bit hard going at times. There was lots of toing and froing, names and dates. I did enjoy the ending of that chapter set in Amalfi. That was a good twist. It is fast paced and witty. It follows the inauguration of Lincoln, the Civil War and his assassination. I loved the big twist at the end of this section! I found The Essential Gore Vidal were too much conversation and far too many characters to follow. It was okay. Not my favourite, but interesting. This was pretty good. The final section, Essays, is excellent. It includes twenty five essays dealing with various issues, ideas, and a host of interesting protagonists. Each one was exquisitely written, insightful and engaging. Before reading this collection I was a Vidal virgin. Now I feel I have a good grasp of the range and quality of his work. I thoroughly recommend this book to anyone wanting to become acquainted The Essential Gore Vidal this remarkable writer. Sep 15, Aya Ammar marked it as to-read. I've recently watched the excellent documentary "Best of enemies", which basically revolves around the televised debates between Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley, Jr as a part of ABC's coverage The Essential Gore Vidal the republican and democratic conventions. A fantastic documentary that made me even more intrigued The Essential Gore Vidal learn more about Vidal. He certainly was a character. As an introduction to Gore Vidal I think this is a great place to start and allows you get a sense of the man's style, wordmanship and interests. The book contains some of his fiction, The Essential Gore Vidal and articles and so after reading you should know better what else of his would interest you. I actually read a lot of his stuff before coming to this so there is some duplication but all the same there was new things to be found for sure. Jul 26, Vinton Rafe rated it really liked it. If you haven't read Vidal, this is a good place to begin. Myra Breckenridge is here, in all her glory, as well as bits and pieces of nearly everything else. Jul 15, Bailey Alexander added it. Prescient for 7 decades and now that he is no longer with us, his words and wisdom seem to be everywhere. Re-visiting several of his essays, on police brutality, on the American Empire, he knew everyone and wrote about everything. Gore Knew Oct 18, Karen-Leigh rated it really liked it Shelves: review-essays. Excerpts from Gore Vidal's historical novels. Two novels in full. A selection of essays. I did not read the entire book, I skimmed the novels and read all the essays. The taste of the novels urges one to read the books but the essays are The Essential Gore Vidal gems of this collection, I was barely finished reading them when I was on Amazon and Abebooks ordering other collections of his essays. Feb 05, David Delmar rated it it was amazing. Vidal was a true light on American society. His departure means one less witty writer, moral thinker, and student of history. Joshua rated it did not like it May 30, Chris Chouinard rated it really liked it May 23, Andrew rated it really liked it Nov 29,