The Essential Gore Vidal

By Gore Vidal

Book Overview

The range and size of Gore Vidal's literary achievement is remarkable. He is a master of the historical novel, in which he has explored American history, ancient history, and the history of religion.... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0316854123
• ISBN13: 9780316854122
• Release Date: January 2000
• Publisher: Little, Brown
• Length: 1024 Pages
• Weight: 2.67 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Gore Vidal: A man of many talents

I s Gore Vidal a great writer? It depends on what he is writing. This compilation is long overdue as Vidal has never been taken as seriously by the Eastern literary establishment as he deserves. Certainly, he is one of the very few serious writers who also know how to entertain. This is what makes him so successful. Included here is his play, "The Best Man," the complete "Myra Breckenridge," selections from his historical novels, and a number of essays. My own opinion is that few writers are capable of such elegant prose as Vidal is when he is writing in the essay form. He understands politics better than any other fictional writer, which is why his historical novels make such splendid reading. His wit is uneven; brilliantly hilarious and insightful at its best, unnecessarily vulgar and savagely mean at its worst, which is why his comic novels are such hit and miss affairs. Vidal's work, taken as a whole, is an impressive library. Few good writers have been as productive as he, and who else can claim to have been consistently on the bestseller lists for nearly four decades as he has? Anyone who admires Vidal will argue with some of the selections here but there is also much to entertain and enlighten. Enjoy.