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Amazon.co.uk Review
Since 1967, when he published Washington, DC, Gore Vidal has been assembling an artful, acidic history of the United States. The Golden Age represents the seventh and final instalment of this national epic, covering the years from 1939 to 1954 (with a valedictory fast-forward, in its final pages, to the end of the millennium). As Vidal did in the earlier books, the author sticks pretty rigorously to the facts. Real-life figures--in this case, the likes of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Harry Truman and that ardent cold warrior Dean Acheson--do what they are recorded to have done. The author also ushers in a cast of invented characters, who are free to paddle in the historical backwash and comment upon their so-called contemporaries. It's here, of course, that fact and fiction begin to blur. But Vidal himself has often cited Tolstoy's famous jab--"History would be an excellent thing if it only were true"--and his reconstruction of FDR's wartime machinations, and the brief interval of Pax Americana, seem persuasively, even alarmingly plausible.
There's one key difference between this book and its predecessors, however. Vidal was alive and kicking in 1939, and thanks to his role as Senator Thomas Pryor Gore's grandson (and occasional seeing-eye dog), he met, or at least observed, many of the The Golden Age's dramatis personae. This fact turns out to have a double edge. On one hand, it gives his portraits of the high and mighty an extra ounce of verisimilitude. Here (the invented) Caroline Sanford observes her old friend FDR at an informal White House mixer:
She felt for an instant that she should curtsey in the awesome presence of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, a figure who towered even when seated in his wheelchair. It was the head and neck that did the trick, she decided, with a professional actor's eye. The neck was especially thick while the famous head seemed half again larger than average, its thinning grey hair combed severely back from a high rounded forehead.Like all of Vidal's politicians, FDR is a more or less gifted illusionist, and The Golden Age is one more chapter in the convergence of theatre and politics, of Hollywood and Washington, DC. But the very vividness of these historical actors (in every sense of the phrase) makes the author's invented cast seem a little pale and lifeless. No matter. Even in its occasional longueurs, Vidal's concluding volume is packed with ironic insight and world-class gossip, much of it undoubtedly true. And in the surprisingly metafictional finale, he signs off with a fine display of Heraclitean fireworks, which no doubt his ancestor Aaron Burr would (and does!) appreciate. --James Marcus --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
OBSERVER
'Vidal's combination of learning, wit and disdain gets into your blood. He can change the way you think'
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Although I am an avid enthusiast for Vidal, I had held back from reading this, as I had been put off by his bizarre link with the Mcveigh family. The contention regarding Pearl harbor seemd to be a simialr wonky turn. I was wrong.
This is a convincing and literate triumph. It neatly ties up the complete "Empire" chronicles both historically and as works of fiction. Th matching of his own experience with his fictional counterpart (and parallel self) is convincingly done.
As to the Pearl Harbor claim, I , as a Briton, accept the consequences of Pearl Harbor But, it is likely that part of FDR's incredible demands on Japan were to push it into a first strike against the US. Accepting this, the contention, now supported by FOIA papers, that he held back information is not too wild. Vidal rightly states that "FDR did not know pearl harbor would be attacked", but he did know the Japanaese fleet were going to attack somewhere -probably Guam.
So, I think the other reviewer makes a big mistake - Vidal is not being disrespectful of the people who died at Pearl Harbor. He is, rather, raising presidential invovlement in such a slaughter of American citizens. Is he right? Possibly? Is he entitled to raise the evidence and assumptions? Yes.
So, I remain in awe of Vidal, both as artist and commentator.
19 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
You do not have to agree with every last thing Vidal says in order to find this a highly entertaining literary read. The author is a master of satire. And once again I found myself, as with Lincoln, Burr, Julian and Creation (etc), rushing out to gather an armful of history books to help me read up on the era. Few writers make history so compelling a read, or have the talent to infuse their readers with a desire to know the particular era under consideration, to know more (even if, by the end, you don't quite agree with all Vidal's takes on a subject). He is like an intelligent Cheshire Cat, grinning at all the falderol and pompous nonsense of the world. He will always be a pleasure to the detached reader.
Truth grinning in a canting world.
Truth grinning in a canting world.
Format:Library Binding
I must confess that I feel ambivalent about this book. I greatly admire the other volumes of the series, not only for their value as iconoclastic evocations of American history, but as novels in themselves with vibrant and fascinating characters. Vidal is, simply put, one of America's greatest living artists. His voice is unique and unmistakable. In other volumes, his personal views are hidden and cryptic, which is great fun as the reader is kept guessing. Alas, in this one, I found his views to be baldly plain and that the characters were used as vehicles to serve these ideas. This terribly weakens its value as a work of art. Instead, it often reads like one of his essays.
In my reading, Vidal is arguing that FDR saw WWII as the only way to stay in power, a life-saving decision as there was nothing else of intimate value in his life. To do so, he took a giant step in creating the "national security state," which upon his death in office an unwitting Truman completed. Now in my view, this is a simplistic reading of a bewilderingly complex period, a watershed if you will.
Nonetheless, Vidal succeeded in getting me to question my assumptions, and that I think is of the greatest value and the unique contribution that an historical novel can relate. That saved the reading experience for me, which was more wooden than Vidal's previous accomplishments. Perhaps it is Vidal's talent that got him to create this as a crucial moment in American foreign policy, in which our involvement in such places as Irak are under scrutiny and our ideals are distrusted by the very allies that are supposed to benefit from them. It is an age of the most profound disillusionment and Vidal is providing the art that reflects this period.
Finally, the swansong machinations of the Sanfords are wonderful to follow. Also, the fate of Clay - the JFK-like villain of "Washington, DC" - is also advanced. It is a fitting conclusion to one of the great cycles of novels of this age. There are, of course, many hilarious moments in which the manners of the ruling class are dissected and exposed for questioning. In his hands, their vanities are so human, and this is a good thing.
Warmly - and this time cerebrally - recommended.
In my reading, Vidal is arguing that FDR saw WWII as the only way to stay in power, a life-saving decision as there was nothing else of intimate value in his life. To do so, he took a giant step in creating the "national security state," which upon his death in office an unwitting Truman completed. Now in my view, this is a simplistic reading of a bewilderingly complex period, a watershed if you will.
Nonetheless, Vidal succeeded in getting me to question my assumptions, and that I think is of the greatest value and the unique contribution that an historical novel can relate. That saved the reading experience for me, which was more wooden than Vidal's previous accomplishments. Perhaps it is Vidal's talent that got him to create this as a crucial moment in American foreign policy, in which our involvement in such places as Irak are under scrutiny and our ideals are distrusted by the very allies that are supposed to benefit from them. It is an age of the most profound disillusionment and Vidal is providing the art that reflects this period.
Finally, the swansong machinations of the Sanfords are wonderful to follow. Also, the fate of Clay - the JFK-like villain of "Washington, DC" - is also advanced. It is a fitting conclusion to one of the great cycles of novels of this age. There are, of course, many hilarious moments in which the manners of the ruling class are dissected and exposed for questioning. In his hands, their vanities are so human, and this is a good thing.
Warmly - and this time cerebrally - recommended.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Golden
This book is quite superb, full of rich detail and deft literary skill that never bores or lectures. Read more
Published on 16 Oct 2008 by ICB
US History rewritten by someone who should know better
This would be controversial view of American history if anyone could be bothered to read it. Vidal's take on the bombing of Pearl Harbor is particularly damning to the memory of... Read more
Published on 16 Dec 2000 by Seth A Lewis
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