THE SECOND AMERICAN REVOLUTION AND OTHER ESSAYS (1976-1982)

NY: Random House. Near Fine in Near Fine dust jacket. 1982. Hardcover. 278 pages; Gore Vidal (born Eugene Louis Vidal) was an American writer (novels, essays, screenplays, stage plays) and a public intellectual, who was known for his patrician manner, wit, and aphorisms. Vidal was born to a political family; his grandfather was Thomas Gore, U. S. Senator for Oklahoma (1907-21, 1931-37). As a member of the Democratic Party, Vidal twice ran for political office. As as political commentator, Vidal's subject was the United States, especially the imperialistic foreign policy, which reduced the U. S. To a decaying empire. His essays were published in The Nation, the New Statesman, the New York Review of Books and Esquire. As a public intellectual, Gore Vidal was known for his continual quarrels with other public intellectuals and writers, such as William F. Buckley, Jr. , Norman Mailer, and Truman Capote. Of his fiction, "Myra Breckinridge" (1968) was a widely regarded novel of social mores; in the historical novel genre, "Julian" (1964) , "Burr" (1973) , and "Lincoln" (1984) are considered his best works. His third novel, "The City and the Pillar" (1948) , offended the sensibilities of conservative critics (literary and political) , because it featured unambiguous presentations of male homosexuality. Personally, Gore Vidal rejected the terms "homosexual" and "heterosexual" as inherently false labels, because he believed that men and women potentially are pansexual. Flatsigned. Width: 6.75" Height: 9.75". Width: 6.75" Height: 9.75". Author-signed first printing of this collection of essays. Vidal's signature appears on the title page. This volume is bound in black paper-covered boards and a black cloth spine with stamped gilt lettering. The book shows light shelfwear. The binding is firm. The top edge of the text block displays foxing. The interior of this book is clean and bright. The intact dust jacket, with price of $15.00 on front flap, exhibits light shelfwear. The book is preserved in mylar, with label and price sticker. Jacket designed by Jack Ribik. ; Signed by Author .