At Home: Essays, 1982-1988 [Hardcover]

Gore Vidal (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 12, 1988

At Home brings together 24 essays on subjects ranging from Henry James to Nancy Reagan, Oscar Wilde to Oliver North, Hollywood to Mongolia.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Here is Vidal the essayist at the height of his powersiconoclastic, witty, sarcastic, engaging, as he tilts at shibboleths of radicals and conservatives alike. Included in this gathering of 24 essays from the past six years are controversial pieces that have created a ruckus, such as his plea that the U.S. should make common cause with the Soviet Union against "the Sino-Japanese axis," and his critique of the American pro-Israel lobby. Vidal portrays Ronald Reagan as "a very sincere sort of liar," and is equally withering on Nixon and Oliver North. In literary essays, he strikes gold in discussing Henry James as book reviewer, William Dean Howells' avant-garde realism, Anthony Burgess's embrace of God and sex, Paul Bowles's underrated short stories and expatriate Quaker writer Logan Pearsall Smith, among others. In more personal pieces, he reminisces on the early history of aviation and gets culture shock in Mongolia. Reading Vidal is always an invigorating experience.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The essays in this collection covever a wide range of topics, from the early days of aviation through the battle of Armageddon to life in a Roman street. Numerous literary figures are discussed, including Tennessee Williams, Henry James, Italo Calvino, and Dawn Powell, while in the political arena Richard Nixon, the Reagans, and Oliver North come under scrutiny. Of the 24 essays reprinted here, over half originally appeared in the New York Review of Books. These "reviews" tend to reveal more about the reviewer than they do about the book being discussed, but fortunately Vidal is almost always interesting. His writing is intelligent, witty, and graceful, his ideas frequently controversial. Highly recommended. William Gargan, Brooklyn Coll. Lib., CUNY
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 303 pages
• Publisher: Random House; First American Edition edition (November 12, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0394570200
• ISBN-13: 978-0394570204
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,060,174 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Gore Vidal has received the National Book Award, written numerous novels, short stories, plays and essays. He has been a political activist and as Democratic candidate for Congress from upstate New York, he received the most votes of any Democrat in a half-century.