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Title: Gore Vidal : A Biography by Fred Kaplan ISBN: 0-385-47704-X Publisher: Anchor Pub. Date: 03 October, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $19.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.67 (15 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Worthwhile Life; Flawed Biography
Comment: The monumental life lived by Gore Vidal is on full display here: politics, Hollywood, literary fist-fights, etc. In a way, this book is a biography of America in the 20th century, and as such it is a fascinating and surprisingly quick read (despite its heft).
But as a biography it is flawed, essentially because Kaplan views everything through Vidal's perspective. Little critical analysis is given to significant events in Vidal's life, except to the extent Vidal provides some himself and articulates it to the biographer. By excusing, defending and/or justifying the many poses, positions, and actions this larger-than-life figure has taken, the book reads less like a biography and more like an apologia. Hey, maybe Gore's entitled to one.
Rating: 3
Summary: Excessively Long
Comment: A book of near 900 pages, and especially a biography can be particularly daunting. Questions come to mind like: what happens if I die and never reach the end!
Kaplan has a great appreciation for Vidal, evidence from the quality of research in this book, and his editing of the best of vidal book.
However, the great flaw with the book, is that kaplan at times is to close to his subject. Its inter-subjectivity leaves the reading thinking at times - what would a critic say at this point. The analysis often lacks critical value.
Overall, a complete a thorough study.
Rating: 2
Summary: This is not an authorized biography!
Comment: I have heard Vidal speaking about this book, and it is not authorized- the author refused to show it to him before publication, and he considered trying to block its publication. Since it came out, he has refused to read it, but has made numerous comments about the author's shoddy research, citing several examples of inaccuracies. The author also continually lied to the press about Vidal, saying that Vidal had asked him to write this biography, which he did not do, etc.
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Title: Palimpsest: A Memoir by Gore Vidal ISBN: 0140260897 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: September, 1996 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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Title: Lincoln: A Novel by Gore Vidal ISBN: 0375708766 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 15 February, 2000 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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Title: Dreaming War: Blood for Oil and the Cheney-Bush Junta by Gore Vidal ISBN: 1560255021 Publisher: Nation Books Pub. Date: December, 2002 List Price(USD): $11.95 |
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Title: Duluth (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics) by Gore Vidal ISBN: 0141180420 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: May, 1998 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: The Last Empire : Essays 1992-2000 by Gore Vidal ISBN: 037572639X Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 11 June, 2002 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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