The Decline and Fall of the American Empire
by Gore VidalAVAILABILITY: Usually ships within 2-5 days
Publication Date: 1992
Publisher: Odonian
Binding: Paperback
Topics: Corporate Rule, Democracy: Theory & Practice, Militarism, Race & Civil Rights, Spirituality & Religion, United States
Description: Gore Vidal is one of our most important social critics, and this little book is the perfect introduction to his political views. Here are a couple of examples:
* Close to 90% of the disbursements of the federal government go for what is laughingly known as "defense"....The Pentagon is like a black hole: what goes in is forever lost to us, and no new wealth is created.
* I do not accept the authority of any state - much less one founded as was ours upon the free fulfillment of each citizen - to forbid me, or anyone, the use of drugs, cigarettes, alcohol, sex with a consenting partner or, if one is a woman, the right to an abortion. I take these rights to be absolute, and should the few persist in their efforts to dominate the private lives of the many, I recommend force as a means of changing their minds.
Review(s): "Never less than stimulating." - L.A. Times
"I can't think of another writer more certain to have exactly the right opinion on absolutely everything." - The Washington Post
In style and subject matter, and especially in its title, 'The Decline and Fall of the American Empire' is a summation of things Gore Vidal has been saying for as long as anyone can remember: the United States is run by a politburo of corporate C.E.O.'s, has one political party with two right wings and pursues its international mission as 'a means to transfer money from the Treasury to the various defense industries, which in turn pay for the elections of Congress and President.' Mr. Vidal...follows here his own well-rehearsed script - which is, as always, acerbic, deliciously, maliciously funny, and calculatingly provocative. - The New York Times Book Review