1 members
 
Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 59 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing Summarizing
OpEdNews Op Eds   

Remembering Gore Vidal

By       (Page 4 of 11 pages) Become a premium member to see this article and all articles as one long page.   2 comments

Stephen Lendman
Message Stephen Lendman
Become a Fan
  (190 fans)

This piece was reprinted by OpEd News with permission or license. It may not be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.

  • "Reflections Upon a Sinking Ship"
  • "Rocking the Boat"
  • "The Last Empire: Essays 1992 - 2000"

In 2003, PBS featured Vidal in its American Masters series. His career spanned six decades, it said. He reflected "uncanny unity, a tone of easy familiarity with the world of politics and letters, an urbane wit, and supreme self-confidence as a writer" and sociopolitical critic.

Born in 1925, his web site called his maternal roots "thoroughly political." As a boy, he lived with his grandfather, Senator TP Gore. His father, Eugene Vidal, served as FDR's Bureau of Air Commerce director.

His mother, Nina Gore Vidal, divorced when Vidal was 10. She married Hugh Auchincloss. He divorced her and married Jackie Kennedy's mother. It established a connection between Vidal and the Kennedy clan. It lasted through JFK's presidency.

In 1943, he enlisted in the Army at age 17. At age 19, he became a warrant officer JG and first mate of the army ship FS 35. On night watch in port, he wrote his first novel, Williwaw. 

Colombian novelist/journalist/Nobel Prize in Literature laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez praised Vidal's "magnificent series of historical novels or novelized histories." They cover American life from the 18th to the 21st century.

New York Times literary critic Harold Bloom called him "a masterly American historical novelist, now wholly matured, who has found his truest subject, which is our national political history during precisely those years when our political and military histories were as one, one thing and one thing only: the unwavering will of Abraham Lincoln to keep the states united."

He added he "demonstrates that his narrative achievement is vastly underestimated by American academic criticism, an injustice has has repaid amply in his essayist attacks upon the academy...."

Next Page  1  |  2  |  3  |  4  |  5  |  6  |  7  |  8  |  9  |  10  |  11

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).

Touching 2   Interesting 2   Must Read 1  
Rate It | View Ratings

Stephen Lendman Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

VISIT MY WEBSITE: stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman). Contact at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.  My two Wall Street books are timely reading: "How Wall Street Fleeces America: Privatized Banking, Government (more...)
 

Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter

Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

The McCain-Lieberman Police State Act

Daniel Estulin's "True Story of the Bilderberg Group" and What They May Be Planning Now

Continuity of Government: Coup d'Etat Authority in America

America Facing Depression and Bankruptcy

Lies, Damn Lies and the Murdoch Empire

Mandatory Swine Flu Vaccine Alert

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend