Inventing a Nation

Washington, Adams, Jefferson

By: Gore Vidal

Narrated by: Paul Hecht, Gore Vidal

Length: 5 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

Gore Vidal, winner of the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award, is one of the great figures in American writing. Now through Vidal's extraordinary literary talents, the three men most responsible for the shaping of America come to life as never before.

Volumes have been written about George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson, but no previous work captures the intimate and vital details the way Inventing a Nation does. Vidal's consummate skill takes you into the minds and private rooms of these great men, illuminating their opinions of one another and their concerns about crafting a workable democracy.

Inventing a Nation is a remarkably vivid portrait of three American icons, men whose revolutionary ideas had a profound and lasting impact on the nation they helped create.

©2003 Gore Vidal (P)2003 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

"This entertaining and enlightening reappraisal of the founders is a must for buffs of American civilization and its discontents." (Booklist)
"An unblinking view of our national heroes by one who cherishes them, warts and all." (New York Review of Books)

Well-written but dated

Gore Vidal writes with a vivacious, opinionated style that skewers the mighty and makes listening to his book entertaining. Alas, some of his asides relating to the then-present when he wrote the book seem dated as well an unnecessary. As for the overall accuracy of his history, it seems reasonable to me, although I'm sure that specialist historians will have cause for quibble and perhaps more. Today, there is a vast literature covering much the same historical figures and period. For more serious students of the figures and period, they are clearly the go-to sources. But for those who like Vidal's opinionated style, his book retains a niche.

Well researched and informative without being dry

Comparisons to today and opinions were sometimes expressed but openly and appropriately. Also enough gossip or innuendo of the time to make the account more alive than just a dry recitation of facts. One got a real sense of the people and the times,as well as the facts. If more history was written like this, more people would study it. Excellent book!

misleading title

I wasn’t aware that the title referred to what the author was doing – Inventing (making up) a History. I thought he was giving honor to the founding fathers but I am told that is out of fashion now. The author took the writing of this book, presumably about the founders of this nation, as a chance to bash the current administration. He makes non sequitur remarks about the thinking of men over 200 years ago with random unrelated comments about current events.

I was looking for an honest review of some of the most important men to have graced this planet and wound up with nonsense about the author’s view of today’s world and revisionist history. He even goes to the extraordinary step of dubbing his voice into spots of particular revision. Much as is done with Kung Fu movies of the 1970’s. This gives a freakish highlight to these revisions.

Some parts were good but the shortcomings overwhelm those.

Vidal ruins it

What did you like about this audiobook?

I disliked this work because Vidal seems more interested in promoting his cynical humor than telling the history. I gave up in disgust after about 2 hours.

How has the book increased your interest in the subject matter?

It hasn't

Does the author present information in a way that is interesting and insightful, and if so, how does he achieve this?

The author is a self-satisfied egotist.

What did you find wrong about the narrator's performance?

The narrator is fine

Reader Beware: Mixed with a political agenda

I thought I was downloading an American history book. Had the author left out his current political opinions by using this book as a soap box to move his political agenda, the book would have been excellent.

disapointing view of our current nation

Vidal gave some interesting insights into the making of our nation, but his negative insertions regarding our country's current state left me cold. I finally just turned it off. Also, the vocabulary used is certainly not something that children or teens would enjoy. Very disappointing.

OK, I guess....

I found the information interesting, but I had issues with Vidal's frequent 'editorial' injections, and by the end of the book I was really annoyed with the readers' constant swallowing.

Great for Insomniacs

This is a great book to listen to if your don't like chronology, order, or unbiased writing. I'd rather have a HISTORY book rather than a politically charged sleeping aid. This is not a book for the historically ignorant, either. You've got to remember alot of graduate level history in order to follow this pontification.

Disgusting

American history as written by an America hater, complete with snide and disparaging asides of pure (and rather hateful) opinion. For conspiracy theorists, perhaps, a must listen, for everyone else, pure trash! Not worth it at any price.