4.0
United States: Essays 1952-1992
ByPublisher Description
A compilation of 114 classic essays from Gore Vidal.
"A marvelous compendium of sharp wit and independent judgment that confirms his status as a man of letters."
—Publishers Weekly
From the age of Eisenhower to the dawning of the Clinton era, Gore Vidal’s United States offers an incomparably rich tapestry of American intellectual and political life in a tumultuous period. It also provides the best, most sustained exposure possible to the most wide-ranging, acute, and original literary intelligence of the post–World War II years. United States is an essential book in the canon of twentieth-century American literature and an endlessly fascinating work.
"A marvelous compendium of sharp wit and independent judgment that confirms his status as a man of letters."
—Publishers Weekly
From the age of Eisenhower to the dawning of the Clinton era, Gore Vidal’s United States offers an incomparably rich tapestry of American intellectual and political life in a tumultuous period. It also provides the best, most sustained exposure possible to the most wide-ranging, acute, and original literary intelligence of the post–World War II years. United States is an essential book in the canon of twentieth-century American literature and an endlessly fascinating work.
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4.0
Justin Clark
Created over 1 year agoShare
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“United States (1992) is Gore Vidal’s most comprehensive essay collection, encompassing over 100 essays across 40 years. The book is separated into three parts: State of the Art (literature and drama), State of the Union (politics and history), and State of Being (autobiography and memoir). Regarding literature, Vidal gracefully reflects on such varying subjects as the changing literary style of French writers to the wisdom of epigrammatic wordsmiths like Logan Pearsall Smith. My favorite section, and where I think Vidal shines brightest, is on politics and history. From his critique of the “scholar-squirrels” of academia in their study of Abraham Lincoln to his passionate critique of American imperialism, Vidal displays his deep knowledge of America and his disdain for the brutality done in its name. In the final section, Vidal discusses growing up in Washington, D.C., flying an airplane at the age of 10 with his father, and his love for the Oz books. He ends the book with an essay on glory, gained either directly or through reflection on the glory of others, something he understood first-hand in his long and storied career as a novelist, essayist, and political candidate.
Since he covers so much ground in this massive volume, it’s relevant to discuss some broader themes that tie his essays together. First, his lifelong love of learning, reading, and thinking and his contempt for academics who thwart that love in others through a dogmatic presentation of knowledge. Second, his deep sense of injustice— which comes through clearly in impassioned essays on police brutality, sexuality, and imperialism. Finally, his zest for life, chronicled in essays on his favorite books, his love of intellectual debate, and passion for travel. In all, one feels both victorious and saddened when finishing this book; victorious in that you completed such an immense tome, but saddened in that it’s now over. Gore Vidal, in my humble opinion, was the greatest English-language essayist of the 20th century, and one needs to look no further than the United States to see that the proof is in the pudding.”
Karen Singh
Created over 11 years agoShare
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Hail
Created over 12 years agoShare
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Kerim Aytac
Created over 13 years agoShare
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