Synopses & Reviews
Like his National Book Award—winning United States, Gore Vidals scintillating ninth collection, The Last Empire, affirms his reputation as our most provocative critic and observer of the modern American scene. In the essays collected here, Vidal brings his keen intellect, experience, and razor-edged wit to bear on an astonishing range of subjects. From his celebrated profiles of Clare Boothe Luce and Charles Lindbergh and his controversial essay about the Bill of Rights-which sparked an extended correspondence with convicted Oklahoma City Bomber Timothy McVeigh-to his provocative analyses of literary icons such as John Updike and Mark Twain and his trenchant observations about terrorism, civil liberties, the CIA, Al Gore, Tony Blair, and the Clintons, Vidal weaves a rich tapestry of personal anecdote, critical insight, and historical detail. Written between the first presidential campaign of Bill Clinton and the electoral crisis of 2000, The Last Empire is a sweeping coda to the last centurys conflicted vision of the American dream.
Review
"Gore Vidal is the master essayist of our age." The Washington Post Book World
Review
"Lively, instructive, lucid and amusing. Vidal has a carefree touch and a humorous air....[He] can be a marvelous wit." Paul Berman, The New York Times Book Review
About the Author
Gore Vidal divides his time between Ravello, Italy, and Los Angeles.
From the Trade Paperback edition.