Customer Reviews

Vidal in Venice

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Gore Vidal takes you across more than a thousand years of Venetian history ___from its improbable origins as a safe haven from the marauding hordes of Attila the Hun (5th century AD), through a thousand years of the great Venetian Republic ("The Serene Republic"!)____down to its present day status as a tourist Mecca . Vidal garnishes his observations of the city and its people with characteristic irreverant humor.The pace of the book is pretty informal with short chapters devoted to the origins of Venice, its geography , the great mercantile Venetian empire which lasted over a millenium ,the flowering of arts : Veronese , Tintoretto, Giorgione , Vivaldi & Palladio were all at some point or another associated with the city . Also interspersed are some observations about Venice which most foreigners may not be familiar with e.g: "There is no sight more beautiful than Venice under a snowfall .Venice is like a once-great beauty who deserves to be seen by candlelight , and the soft light of winter works like a photographer's air-brush on the city's many cracks and wrinkles .Venice is particularly beautiful in a winter mist " etc.Also included is a chapter on the high and mighty who chose to spend some time in Venice : Henry James, Byron, Richard Wagner not to mention that Stravinsky is buried there .This is a good light read and Vidal is an entertaining guide along the way.

Many coffee table books are pretty but have vapid text.

Not this one.

The pictures are splendid, and the text weaves them all together. Even the picture-captions (by Vidal) are witty and intriguing.

Vidal, with his wide historical knowledge, not only of Europe but of the U.S., is able to describe the development of Venice in a truly engaging way. The facts are there, presented as sweetly as the lovely pics.

very good pictures which reminded me of a recent trip to Venice. Good descriptions and history written by Vidal. Worth the price which was used book in excellent shape.

The book arrived in a punctual manner. The quality was precisely as described, almost new. I was especially impressed by the quality of the packing, the book had been painstakingly wrapped with bubble wrap and taped.

I borrowed a copy of this book from a friend who said it only had 2 readings.
When my "used" copy arrived through Amazon, it was like new, even better
than my friend's. I am very pleased.

Vidal examines Venice in part because he has Italian ancestors, as he explains in the book. "Vidal in Venice" is rich in photographs that even 20+ years after they were taken are interesting (perhaps more so as they age--snapshots of a now-sinking city?), and is richer yet with Vidal's style and, in places, opinion and wit. It's the Vidal touch that makes this book far better than the standard coffee table product. Yet, Vidal's perspective never overwhelms the story of Venice, complete with many facts and milestones relating to the city history. He deftly keeps the city itself on center stage from the first page to the last. He is merely a guide, but--one suspects after having read the book--probably one of the most interesting ones, certainly among American writers, in the modern era.