Gore Vidal

Novelist, culture critic, essayist, historian, comic satirist, image maker, actor, homosexual, bisexual, controversial, confrontational unflinching, cynical, idealistic - finding words to describe Gore Vidal is never difficult. And yet, an accurate picture of this multifaceted chameleon has eluded us until now. Here, at last, is a vastly entertaining biography of a literary icon. From his Washington childhood, with its high political and social connections, to his Exeter education and...
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Novelist, culture critic, essayist, historian, comic satirist, image maker, actor, homosexual, bisexual, controversial, confrontational unflinching, cynical, idealistic - finding words to describe Gore Vidal is never difficult. And yet, an accurate picture of this multifaceted chameleon has eluded us until now. Here, at last, is a vastly entertaining biography of a literary icon. From his Washington childhood, with its high political and social connections, to his Exeter education and US Army experience; from his Hollywood and television career to his literary life as a novelist, playwright and essayist; from his friendships and feuds with Tennesse Williams, Ana s Nin, Truman Capote, and William Buckley to his exploration of homosexuality and celebration of bisexuality, Gore Vidal has been both participant in and spectator at the centre of American power. Written with complete access to Vidal's papers, diaries, and private photographs, as well as newsreel and television footage, supplemented by interviews with Vidal - Fred Kaplan's Gore Vidal illuminates this literary giant with accuracy, insight, and wit.