Washington, D.C.

Narratives of Empire, Book 6

De: Gore Vidal

Narrado por: Grover Gardner

Washington, D.C. is the final installment in Gore Vidal's Narratives of Empire, his acclaimed six-volume series of historical novels about the American past. It offers an illuminating portrait of our republic from the time of the New Deal to the McCar-thy era.

Widely regarded as Vidal's ultimate comment on how the American political system degrades those who participate in it, Washington, D.C. is a stunning tale of corruption and diseased ambitions. It traces the fortunes of James Burden Day, a powerful conservative senator who is eyeing the presidency; Clay Overbury, a pragmatic young congressional aide with political aspirations of his own; and Blaise Sanford, a ruthless newspaper tycoon who understands the importance of money and image in modern politics. With characteristic wit and insight, Vidal chronicles life in the nation's capital at a time when these men and others transformed America into "possibly the last empire on earth."

"Washington, D.C. may well be the finest of contemporary novels about the capital," said The New Yorker, and the Times Literary Supplement deemed it "a prodigiously skilled and clever performance."

©1967 Gore Vidal (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Another fine performance by Grover Gardner

Vidal produces a well crafted story with intelligent insights and compelling characters. Grover Gardner gives another fine performance.

Excellent Read

Having read two of Vidal's excellent memoirs, it is clear that he knows exactly of who and what he writes here. Tremendous insight and touch in telling us all about the rise of JFK. Fantastic book

Kinda like a soap opera.

I really liked the earlier books in this series. However, this didn't live up to my expectations. Got the feeling even the author was bored. (Perhaps under contract for another book?) The reader, as always, was excellent.

A distant White House

Unlike each of the previous 5 books in this epic examination of life in the shadow of the White House, the 6th and final book does not feature a president as a character. Spanning the period from the late 30s to the early 50s, and the start of the Eisenhower years, this book is not about the man in power but rather those that seek to ascend to that power.

It is also a shorter novel than those that preceded it and the tone has shifted from waspish commentary to melancholy coda as Vidal examines the swamp of corruption he now sees as the present and likely future for the republic and its compromised leaders. The dollar rules and even good men are forced to abandon their ideals when high office is sought.