{"product_id":"empire-of-self-a-life-of-gore-vidal-paperback","title":"Empire of Self: A Life of Gore Vidal - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eJay Parini\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn intimate, authorized yet totally frank biography of Gore Vidal (1925-2012), one of the most accomplished, visible, and controversial American novelists and cultural figures of the past century \u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe product of thirty years of friendship and conversation, Jay Parini's \u003ci\u003eEmpire of Self\u003c\/i\u003e digs behind the glittering surface of Gore Vidal's colorful career to reveal the complex emotional and sexual truths underlying his celebrity-strewn life. But there is plenty of glittering surface as well--a virtual \u003ci\u003eWho's Who\u003c\/i\u003e of the twentieth century, from Eleanor Roosevelt and Amelia Earhart through the Kennedys, Johnny Carson, Leonard Bernstein, and the crème de la crème of Hollywood. Also a generous helping of feuds with the likes of William F. Buckley, Norman Mailer, Truman Capote, and \u003ci\u003eThe\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e, among other adversaries. \u003cbr\u003e The life of Gore Vidal teemed with notable incidents, famous people, and lasting achievements that call out for careful evocation and examination. Jay Parini crafts Vidal's life into an accessible, entertaining story that puts the experience of one of the great American figures of the postwar era into context, introduces the author and his works to a generation who may not know him, and looks behind the scenes at the man and his work in ways never possible before his death. Provided with unique access to Vidal's life and his papers, Parini excavates many buried skeletons yet never loses sight of his deep respect for Vidal and his astounding gifts. This is the biography Gore Vidal--novelist, essayist, dramatist, screenwriter, historian, wit, provocateur, and pioneer of gay rights--has long needed.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eJAY PARINI, a poet and novelist as well as biographer, is Axinn Professor of English at Middlebury College. His novels include \u003ci\u003eThe Last Station \u003c\/i\u003e(adapted as an Academy Award-nominated film and translated into more than thirty languages)\u003ci\u003e, Benjamin's Crossing\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Passages of H.M\u003c\/i\u003e. His poetry includes \u003ci\u003eThe Art of Subtraction: New and Selected Poems\u003c\/i\u003e, and the forthcoming \u003ci\u003eNew and Collected Poems, 1975-2015\u003c\/i\u003e. He has written biographies of Robert Frost, John Steinbeck, William Faulkner, and Jesus. Among his nonfiction books are \u003ci\u003eWhy Poetry Matters\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003ePromised Land: Thirteen Books that Changed America\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 512\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.1 x 7.9 x 5.1 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e September 20, 2016\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53799739588915,"sku":"9780345805836","price":33.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0300\/5595\/6612\/files\/1U-CFpQtir9780345805836.webp?v=1785963376","url":"https:\/\/www.vysn.com\/products\/empire-of-self-a-life-of-gore-vidal-paperback","provider":"VYSN","version":"1.0","type":"link"}