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Vidal, Gore : Hollywood : A Novel of America in the 1920s

Random House, Incorporated, New York, NY, 1990

ISBN 0394576594

OVER 32 OZ.. negligible shelf wear, dj price clipped, otherwise negligible wear to dj. Book. Book Condition: Very Good. Binding: Hardcover. Jacket: Very Good

First Edition

Vidal, Gore : Hollywood: A Novel Of America In The 1920s

Random House, New York City, NY, 1990

ISBN 0394576594

First Edition / First Printing. As New in No Dust Jacket, As Issued. 436 pages. The sixth volume in the author's cycle on American history. Limited Slipcased Edition of 200 numbered and signed copies. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions. The Limited Edition is now scarce. Like three other titles in the cycle ("Lincoln", "1876", "Empire"), Random House issued a Limited Edition for the novel. All of them are the most beautiful (and therefore most collectible) editions. An austerely elegant production by Random House: Regular-sized volume format. Black cloth boards with gilt titles on the cover and spine, as issued. Text by Gore Vidal. Red hard board slipcase. In publisher's original shrinkwrap. Without DJ, as issued. Presents Gore Vidal's "Hollywood: A Novel of America In The 1920's". Part of a grand vision of American history "from above", a multi-volume project that took the better part of forty years. The preceding novels, in historical order, are: "Burr", "Lincoln", "1876", "Empire", and "Washington, DC". The final volume is "The Golden Age", ironically and lovingly titled at the same time because, for Vidal, the first decade after the Second World War represents America at its peak: The most advanced, most prosperous, and most important (not just most powerful) nation in the world. Vidal's unblinking and penetrating vision throughout the entire cycle is the transformation of his beloved country from a struggling, proud, and independent Republic to a world power and out-of-control Empire. "Vidal's historical imagination is so powerful as to compel awe" (Harold Bloom). Most of his admirers deem the essays to be Vidal's greatest achievement because they are indeed so arresting, seductive, and inimitable. As always, Bloom's wisdom puts matters in perspective: The historical novels (and their contrapuntal inversion, Vidal's hyper-novel "inventions") will take their rightful place in his oeuvre. Gore Vidal died on July 31, 2012 at the age of 86, the last of the great American public intellectual/writers of our time. We live in the Age of Mediocrity, where (nearly) everyone is a critic/blogger/pundit mouthing timid, politically correct opinions. Pundits are retail thinkers, that is, they are not real thinkers. Someday, we will realize what we have irretrievably lost. An absolute "must-have" edition for Gore Vidal collectors. This copy is one of the Limited Slipcased Edition of 200 numbered and signed copies, indicated/numbered as such on the Front Limitation Page. It is very prominently and beautifully signed in blue ink-pen by Gore Vidal. This title is a great book. This is one of few copies of the Limited Slipcased Edition still available online, is still in the publisher's original shrinkwrap, and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright, a pristine beauty. Please note: Like three other titles in the cycle ("Lincoln", "1876", "Empire"), Random House issued a Limited Edition for "Hollywood". Among the bewildering number of choices available online, all of them are surely the most desirable editions. The full number line that includes the Number 2 (instead of the Number 1) with the "First Edition" statement were the Random House "true first" indications at the time of the book's publication. Copies available online have serious flaws, are in subsequent printings, or are remainder-marked. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A rare signed copy thus. Recipient of the National Book Award's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009 for "Distinguished Contribution to American Letters". One of the greatest writers of the 20th century. A fine collectible copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER GORE VIDAL TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 0394576594.

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