Synopsis
THE GOLDEN AGE concludes Vidal's seven-volume series of American historical novels with a tale set between 1939 and 1954--the World War II era and the Cold War years. A movie actress turned journalist and her nephew, a newspaper publisher, provide the vision through which Vidal examines America's evolution into a powerful global empire. The book aroused controversy because of Vidal's assertion that FDR was responsible for the Pearl Harbor attack, as a way of getting Americans to support a US entrance into the war. In THE GOLDEN AGE, Vidal is writing about his own times, and even gives himself a cameo appearance. A New York Times Notable Book for 2000.
| Details | | Publication Date: | 2000-09-01 | | Narrated by: | Kathryn Walker | | Edition Description: | Abridged |
| Size | | Height: | 7.0 in | | Width: | 3.3 in | | Thickness: | 1.2 in | | Weight: | 6.4 oz |
Publisher's Note
A vivid, kaleidoscopic fictional narrative of American history from 1939 to 1954 follows the seminal events--World War II and the Cold War--and personalities that transformed America from a republic to an empire, as seen through the eyes of Caroline Sanford, a Hollywood actress turned Washington newspaper publisher, and her nephew, Peter Sanford. Read by Kathryn Walker. Simultaneous.
Industry Reviews
"Vidal is best on the surface. His account of the 1940 conventions is a real romp. He depicts F.D.R. with irreverent skill....But the broad picture Vidal paints is simply unconvincing. It is impossible to write persuasively about America's coming of age without some account of the rest of the world. Yet for Vidal, the actions of the country's ruling elite are always understood cynically in terms of domestic politics rather than realistically in terms of geopolitical necessities--an interpretation perhaps less accurate for the 1930's and 1940's than for any other period in American history."
Sullivan
"THE GOLDEN AGE is Gore Vidal's elegiac historical novel about the twentieth century, and we seem to be in good hands."
Johnson
"There is a clear loss of vitality once the novel enters the Truman era....Yet the bold sweep of Vidal's design continues to enthral...."
Dugdale
"[Vidal is] our most gifted essayist but, loath as I am to say this, such is my esteem for him, he is not quite our most gifted novelist. Still, his peerless prose alone is enough to recommend THE GOLDEN AGE, the concluding volume in his American Chronicle series. It's typical Vidal: very witty, very smart, never boring--what a swell party this is! [But] you...know there's going to be some score settling...and more than a little smug self-congratulation. (Vidal's irritating habit of being so cleverly cruel at the expense of some pompous prig or fool almost makes you feel sorry for the person.) But then playing to the balcony is Vidal's weakness. His fictional creations can seem mere stand-ins for ideas or types; they don't come to life, unlike his brilliant pen portraits of Wendell Wilkie, Herbert Hoover, Harry Truman, Joe Alsop or Tennessee Williams."
Holmes
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