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Gore Vidal

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Gore Vidal


Born
in West Point, New York, The United States
October 03, 1925

Died
July 31, 2012

Genre
Biography, Fiction, Historical Fiction

Influences
Henry James, Evelyn Waugh, Somerset Maugham, Michel de Montaigne, Mark ...more


Works of American writer Eugene Luther Gore Vidal, noted for his cynical humor and his numerous accounts of society in decline, include the play The Best Man (1960) and the novel Myra Breckinridge (1968) .

People know his essays, screenplays, and Broadway.
They also knew his patrician manner, transatlantic accent, and witty aphorisms. Vidal came from a distinguished political lineage; his grandfather was the senator Thomas Gore, and he later became a relation (through marriage) to Jacqueline Kennedy.

Vidal, a longtime political critic, ran twice for political office. He was a lifelong isolationist Democrat. The Nation, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, The New York Review of Books, and Esquire published his essays.

Essays and media appear ...more

Combine Editions

Average rating: 3.93 · 98,959 ratings · 7,962 reviews · 422 distinct works • Similar authors
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Lincoln
4.25 avg rating — 9,829 ratings — published 1984 — 92 editions
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The City and the Pillar
3.83 avg rating — 10,305 ratings — published 1948 — 98 editions
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Julian
4.23 avg rating — 8,148 ratings — published 1964 — 122 editions
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Creation
by
4.22 avg rating — 5,061 ratings — published 1981 — 65 editions
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Myra Breckinridge
3.57 avg rating — 5,264 ratings — published 1968 — 68 editions
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1876
3.85 avg rating — 3,358 ratings — published 1976 — 18 editions
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Empire
3.86 avg rating — 2,497 ratings — published 1987 — 64 editions
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Palimpsest
4.01 avg rating — 2,035 ratings — published 1995 — 19 editions
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Washington, D.C.
3.75 avg rating — 1,956 ratings — published 1967 — 3 editions
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More books by Gore Vidal…

Series by Gore Vidal

Burr Lincoln 1876 Empire Hollywood Washington, D.C. The Golden Age
(7 books)
by
4.04 avg rating — 30,967 ratings

Quotes by Gore Vidal  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“The unfed mind devours itself.”
― Gore Vidal
2575 likes
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“How marvelous books are, crossing worlds and centuries, defeating ignorance and, finally, cruel time itself.”
― Gore Vidal, Julian
2058 likes
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“Half of the American people have never read a newspaper. Half never voted for President. One hopes it is the same half.”
― Gore Vidal, Screening History
tags: america, american-ts, americans, educated-voters, elections, hope, political-education, politics, vote
652 likes
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Polls

3rd Quarter 2025 Long Reads (July - September)

The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu, c. 1000, 1182 pages
 
  39 votes, 20.2%

No Name by Wilkie Collins, 1862, 748 pages
 
  34 votes, 17.6%

Hawaii by James A. Michener, 1959, 937 pages
 
  31 votes, 16.1%

 
  30 votes, 15.5%

Lincoln by Gore Vidal, 1984, 672 pages
 
  24 votes, 12.4%

 
  23 votes, 11.9%

Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay, 1990, 676 pages
 
  12 votes, 6.2%

193 total votes
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Topics Mentioning This Author

topics posts views last activity  
Glens Falls (NY) ...: Gore Vidal's American Chronicles series 10 82 Aug 30, 2009 02:00PM  
The Seasonal Read...: FALL CHALLENGE 2009 PLANS 167 1530 Oct 14, 2009 08:10AM  
The Life of a Boo...: National Book Award 2009 6 145 Nov 23, 2009 02:30PM  
The History Book ...: HISTORICAL FICTION POLLS 6 359 Jan 21, 2010 12:04AM  
Pick-a-Shelf: 2010-07 - History - What will you read in July? 61 91 Jul 07, 2010 11:44AM