. . . this picture book sans pareil from Abrams' exceptional creative team, who knew that Gore Vidal demanded, and deserved, nothing but the best.
Vidal says in the preface: "During the fifty-four years that Howard Russell Auster and I shared a life, he took a great many photographs...to eventually mak(e) his own book. Upon his death...he left me his photographs and papers...(A)s a memorial to him, I am now publishing them, with more notes describing the various occasions that we took part in, as well as a number of pictures from my life and times, now becoming, with time's passage, literally historic."
All the text is written by Vidal in his polished style, and kept succinct so we can see all 360 pictures, black & white and full color, before closing time. He begins with the maternal family album headed by his grandfather, blind Senator Gore, and spiced by Gore's mother-to-be, Nina. Pass on to his handsome aviator dad, who served under FDR. There are no baby pictures, and we first see Gore at 3 or 4. Apparently he was blondish in his youth, went to name schools, and at 18 with WWII upon us, went into the army. While in the hospital for a knee injury, he began Williwaw, his first published novel (1946).
Free to roam at last, he has snapshots with dancers John Kriza and Harold Lang, Marlon Brando, Tennessee Williams, Truan Capote, Tanaquil Le Clerq. He meets Howard Auster of Jewish lineage, who respells it Austen as he seeks work. Howard and Gore click for the next half century.
The pair go to Hollywood: Ben Hur and so on. Gore quickly sours on the movie industry, but meets the Paul Newmans, who are often subjects in the photos thereafter. Veering into politics, Gore joins in photos with John Kennedy. He then turns to Broadway: Cyril Ritchard in Visit to a Small Planet, Melvin Douglas in The Best Man.
He always dresses well, and has the same high standard for his houses, photographed inside and out in beautiful color.
His TV confrontations with Buckley and Mailer are captured, as well as his war of words with Capote.
Transferring to the beautiful landscapes of the Amalfi Coast, Gore and Howard could relax, and enjoy the company of Princess Margaret, Leonard Bernstein, Michael York, Mick Jagger, Andy Warhol (who made some blurry Polaroids and signed them W for Gore), Johnny Carson, Tim and Susan Robbins and kids.
When Howard's health was fading fast, the pair had to return to the States, to Gore's Hollywood Hills home, bringing the cat of course.
The last page of photos shows the gateway to Rock Creek Cemetery in Washington DC, the cloaked head of Grief, and the polished stone over the grave of Howard Auster already incised "GORE VIDAL 1925-".
My favorite photos, both by Annie Leibovitz: On page 233, full color, Vidal turns thoughtfully aside from the dictionary, opened to the "vodka" entry where there is a small pic of a bottle of Absolut. It's an ad. On pages 248-249, black & white, Vidal in black attire lies on the wide bed, his legs crossed. Annie is half off the bed, her face covered by her camera pointed at the mirror on the ceiling. Hair fanned out on the pillow, Vidal looks seriously right at you, not at all "plainly dead" as the text says.
All this and more are in this bright ingratiating book, sweepingly entertaining and priced right.
FOOTNOTES (regrettably not in 6-point type)
1 Inasmuch as Vidal personally selected the 360 photos etc. from his voluminous archive, he never appears in deshabille except tasteful swim trunks. Nor is anyone else embarrassed by his choices.
2 On pages 74-75, writer Donald Windham in the photo is not idenified in the text. Is this a snub?
3 On page 204, Claire Bloom's companion is identified as husband Rod Steiger, but I doubt it. Somebody help.
4 Many letters and clippings are shown, quite legible. But NO manuscript pages are exhibited.
5 Six spreads are devoted to Vidal's book covers.
6 Two pages of Image Credits appear at the end of the book (not in any kind of order); seemingly this spares the publisher from adding a credit tail to every photo in the body of the book. Two-page Index. The Staff and Copyright are on the very last book page. Boy, that Vidal really has clout!
