Vidal's combination of learning, wit and disdain gets into your blood. He can change the way you think
OBSERVER
This entertaining portrait of an imperial elite may well be, as Vidal intends, the version of US history that survives in the coming decades.
IRISH TIMES
Crackpot theory has seldom been so suavely and entertainingly put across.
NEW STATESMAN
Vidal's satiric thrusts are enormous fun.
DAILY TELEGRAPH
Wonderfully compelling. It is serious and entertaining. It rings diamond-true. It is a novel for grown-ups; and that is something very rare in contemporary fiction
SCOTSMAN
Brilliantly evokes the decade when the US believed it was the undisputed master of the universe ... imperious, well-informed and wickedly accomplished, it brings American politics to life in a way that few other modern novels can match
DAILY MAIL
Our greatest living historical novelist
ANTHONY BURGESS
Iconoclastic, yet never mere satirical caricature, this remarkable novel sequence is a <i>melange </i>of historical demystification ... The bold sweep of Vidal's design continues to enthral, and throughout <i>The Golden Age</i>, as throughout the sequence, he delights in giving the read entree to a heady variety of gatherings ... Vidal's touch in handling these set pieces and portraying the famous remains wonderfully assured
LITERARY REVIEW
There are still few novelists with the ability to so vividly imagine a scene, and even fewer who so completely understand and write about the nature of power. And anyone who wants to learn about the history of the United States will learn as much from this series of novels [Narratives of Empire] as they will from the history books
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