Gore Vidal

Contains the following essays: Seward's Folly -- The noble experiment -- Prophet without honor : General Billy Mitchell -- Nine old men -- Day of infamy -- Enemies within -- I have not always been wrong -- Tragedy of history -- Crossing the line -- Adlai and Jack : for the sake of the party -- Quagmire -- National nightmare -- The trouble with Iran -- The art of deniability -- The prophecy that never happened -- The amiable dunce and the evil empire -- You better not say that -- Wrong war : "misunderestimating" George W. Bush.

Chronicles the origins of Impressionism against the backdrop of the artistic and cultural events of the nineteenth century as exemplified in the work of two artists--Ernest Meissonier and Edouard Manet.

Mon cher ami, en tete de ces pages, j'ai voulu, pour deux raisons tres fortes et tres precises, inscrire votre nom. D'abord, pour que vous sachiez combien votre nom m'est cher. Ensuite, -je le dis avec un tranquille orgueil, -parce que vous aimerez ce livre. Et ce livre, malgre tous ses defauts, vous l'aimerez, parce que c'est un livre sans hypocrisie, parce que c'est de la vie, et de la vie comme nous la comprenons, vous et moi.

A study of power and change in Washington, D.C. during the middle of the twentieth century.

"With his wit, eloquence and shrewd perception of contemporary morals, Samuel Johnson was the most versatile of Augustan writers. His dictionary, dramas and poetry established his reputation, but it was the essays published in The Rambler, The Adventurer and The Idler that demonstrated the range of his talent. Tackling ethical questions such as the importance of self-knowledge, awareness of mortality, the role of the novel, and, in a lighter vein, marriage, sleep and deceit, these brilliant and thought-provoking essays are a mirror of the time in which they were written and a testament to Johnson's stature as the leading man of letters of his age." "This new edition contains a broad selection of essays presenting both the forcefully argued moral pieces of Johnson's middle years and the more light-hearted essays of his later work. The introduction places the works in their historical and literary context, and there is also a chronology of Johnson's life and times."--Jacket.

Cyril Gordon, a handsome government agent, possesses vital information that, in the wrong hands, would threaten national security. And he is being pursued by desperate men who will stop at nothing to get that information from him. Cyril seeks refuge in a church where he stumbles in upon a wedding party. Amazingly, everyone seems delighted to see Cyril, mistaking him for the best man. Frantically, he decides to go along with the charade. When the beautiful young bride walks down the aisle, Cyril finds himself irresistibly drawn to her. Then, at the end of the marriage ceremony, Cyril receives the greatest shock of all - he was not the best man, but the groom! Now Cyril must not only elude his enemies and deliver his information safely, but he must do so without endangering the life of the beautiful young woman who is now his wife!

Features stunning photographs highlighting the architecture and collections of the Smithsonian Institution, the world's largest cultural and scientific complex. More than thirty million people visit its nineteen museums and the National Zoological Park each year.

No one remains untouched by the luscious Myra Breckinridge's quest for Hollywood fame. Her job teaching Empathy and Posture at the Academy of Drama and Modeling gives her the perfect opportunity to vamp, scheme, and seduce her way into the undiscovered lives and passions of others - while trying to keep a few secrets of her own. In the sequel, Myron, the Breckinridge saga takes an increasingly bizarre turn. Myron seems to be an inconspicuous man with a sweet wife and a Chinese catering business, and Myra - still determined to become a megastar - wages an outrageous battle for hormonal supremacy over the body she shares with Myron. Gore Vidal leads us through the movie-star world of the fabulous forties as Myra attempts to alter cinema history.

The protagonists of this political satire are Richard Nixon, George Washington, Dwight Eisenhower, and John F. Kennedy.

Contains: Before dark (1893) / by Marcel Proust ; translated by Richard Howard -- Mabel Neathe (1903) / by Gertrude Stein -- Prologue to Women in love (1921) / by D.H. Lawrence -- Miss Ogilvy finds herself (1926) / by Radclyffe Hall -- Arthur Snatchfold (1928) / by E.M. Forster -- Divorce in Naples (1931) / by William Faulkner -- Just boys (1931-1934) / by James T. Farrell -- The knife of the times (1932) / by William Carlos Williams -- The sea change / by Ernest Hemingway -- Momma (1947) / by John Horne Burns -- Pages from Cold Point (1950) / by Paul Bowles -- Letters and life (1952) / by Christopher Isherwood -- My brother writes poetry for an Englishman (1953) / by Marris Murray -- Two on a party (1954) / by Tennessee Williams -- You may safely gaze (1956) / by James Purdy -- Pages from an abandoned journal (1956) / by Gore Vidal -- Johnnie (1958) / by Joan O'Donovan -- The threesome (1961) / by Helen Essary Ansell -- A step towards Gomorrah (1961) / by Ingeborg Bachmann ; translated by Michael Bullock -- Jurge Dulrumple (1962) / by John O'Hara -- The wreck (1962) / by Maude Hutchins -- The beautiful room is empty (1966) / by Edmund White -- Chagrin in three parts (1967) / by Graham Greene -- Miss A. and Miss M. (1972) / by Elizabeth Taylor -- Burning th bed (1973) / by Doris Betts -- Middle children (1975) / by Jane Rule.

At the end of his life Aaron Burr dictates his biography from the Revolutionary War to his treason trial.

Presents two complete novels of Christopher Isherwood, Prater violet (1945) and A single man (1964) with episodes from three other novels: A Berlin diary and Sally Bowles from Goodbye to Berlin (1939) and Mr. Lancaster from Down there on a visit (1962); and a section describing the young W.H. Suden from lines and shadows (1938).

Collects transcripts of four interviews with the novelist that cover a twenty-year span, in which he reflects on such topics as the history of the American empire, his life in politics, and the rise of the national security state.