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The Last Empire
- Essays 1992-2000
- Narrated by: Dan Cashman
- Length: 5 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Essays
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United States: Essays 1952-1992
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Gore Vidal’s reputation as America’s finest essayist is an enduring one. This collection, chosen by the author from 40 years of work, contains about two-thirds of what he published in various magazines and journals. He has divided the essays into three categories, or states. State of the art covers literature, including novelists and critics, bestsellers, pieces on Henry James, Oscar Wilde, Suetonius, Nabakov, and Montaigne (a previosly uncollected essay from 1992).
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Imperial America: Reflections on the United States of Amnesia
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Gore Vidal has been described as the last “noble defender” of the American republic. In Imperial America, Vidal steals the thunder of a right wing America - those who have camouflaged their extremist rhetoric in the Old Glory and the Red, White, and Blue - by demonstrating that those whose protest arbitrary and secret government, those who defend the bill of rights, those who seek to restrain America’s international power, are the true patriots.
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Dreaming War: Blood for Oil and the Cheney-Bush Junta
- American Imperialism, Book 2
- By: Gore Vidal
- Narrated by: Jeff Cummings
- Length: 4 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 2
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 1
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Story5 out of 5 stars 1
When Gore Vidal’s New York Times bestseller Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace was published, the Los Angeles Times described Vidal as the last defender of the American republic. In Dreaming War, Vidal continues this defense by confronting the Cheney-Bush junta head-on in a series of devastating essays that demolish the lies American Empire lives by, unveiling a counter-history that traces the origins of America’s current imperial ambitions to the experience of World War Two and the post-war Truman doctrine.
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Burr
- A Novel (Narratives of Empire, Book 1)
- By: Gore Vidal
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 21 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 21
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 19
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 19
Here is an extraordinary portrait of one of the most complicated - and misunderstood - figures among the Founding Fathers. In 1804, while serving as vice president, Aaron Burr fought a duel with his political nemesis, Alexander Hamilton, and killed him. In 1807, he was arrested, tried, and acquitted of treason. In 1833, Burr is newly married, an aging statesman considered a monster by many. But he is determined to tell his own story, and he chooses to confide in a young New York City journalist. Burr is the first novel in Gore Vidal's Narratives of Empire series.
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5 out of 5 stars
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brilliant
- By Andrew William McCallum on 30-06-19
-
Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace: How We Got to Be So Hated
- American Imperialism, Book 1
- By: Gore Vidal
- Narrated by: Jeff Cummings
- Length: 3 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 3
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 2
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 2
In a series of penetrating and alarming essays, whose centerpiece is a commentary on the events of September 11, 2001 (deemed then too controversial to publish), Gore Vidal challenges the comforting consensus following September 11th and goes back and draws connections to Timothy McVeigh’s bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City. He asks were these simply the acts of “evil-doers?”
-
Palimpsest
- A Memoir
- By: Gore Vidal
- Narrated by: Jeff Cummings
- Length: 18 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 6
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 6
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 6
This explosively entertaining memoir abounds in gossip, satire, historical apercus, and trenchant observations. Vidal’s compelling narrative weaves back and forth in time, providing a whole view of the author’s celebrated life, from his birth in 1925 to today, and features a cast of memorable characters - including the Kennedy family, Marlon Brando, Anais Nin, and Eleanor Roosevelt.
-
United States: Essays 1952-1992
- By: Gore Vidal
- Narrated by: Jeff Cummings
- Length: 60 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 5
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 3
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3
Gore Vidal’s reputation as America’s finest essayist is an enduring one. This collection, chosen by the author from 40 years of work, contains about two-thirds of what he published in various magazines and journals. He has divided the essays into three categories, or states. State of the art covers literature, including novelists and critics, bestsellers, pieces on Henry James, Oscar Wilde, Suetonius, Nabakov, and Montaigne (a previosly uncollected essay from 1992).
-
Imperial America: Reflections on the United States of Amnesia
- American Imperialism, Book 3
- By: Gore Vidal
- Narrated by: Jeff Cummings
- Length: 5 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1
-
Performance0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Story0 out of 5 stars 0
Gore Vidal has been described as the last “noble defender” of the American republic. In Imperial America, Vidal steals the thunder of a right wing America - those who have camouflaged their extremist rhetoric in the Old Glory and the Red, White, and Blue - by demonstrating that those whose protest arbitrary and secret government, those who defend the bill of rights, those who seek to restrain America’s international power, are the true patriots.
-
Dreaming War: Blood for Oil and the Cheney-Bush Junta
- American Imperialism, Book 2
- By: Gore Vidal
- Narrated by: Jeff Cummings
- Length: 4 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 2
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1
When Gore Vidal’s New York Times bestseller Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace was published, the Los Angeles Times described Vidal as the last defender of the American republic. In Dreaming War, Vidal continues this defense by confronting the Cheney-Bush junta head-on in a series of devastating essays that demolish the lies American Empire lives by, unveiling a counter-history that traces the origins of America’s current imperial ambitions to the experience of World War Two and the post-war Truman doctrine.
-
Burr
- A Novel (Narratives of Empire, Book 1)
- By: Gore Vidal
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 21 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 21
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 19
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 19
Here is an extraordinary portrait of one of the most complicated - and misunderstood - figures among the Founding Fathers. In 1804, while serving as vice president, Aaron Burr fought a duel with his political nemesis, Alexander Hamilton, and killed him. In 1807, he was arrested, tried, and acquitted of treason. In 1833, Burr is newly married, an aging statesman considered a monster by many. But he is determined to tell his own story, and he chooses to confide in a young New York City journalist. Burr is the first novel in Gore Vidal's Narratives of Empire series.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
brilliant
- By Andrew William McCallum on 30-06-19
-
Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace: How We Got to Be So Hated
- American Imperialism, Book 1
- By: Gore Vidal
- Narrated by: Jeff Cummings
- Length: 3 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 3
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 2
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 2
In a series of penetrating and alarming essays, whose centerpiece is a commentary on the events of September 11, 2001 (deemed then too controversial to publish), Gore Vidal challenges the comforting consensus following September 11th and goes back and draws connections to Timothy McVeigh’s bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City. He asks were these simply the acts of “evil-doers?”
-
Palimpsest
- A Memoir
- By: Gore Vidal
- Narrated by: Jeff Cummings
- Length: 18 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 6
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 6
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 6
This explosively entertaining memoir abounds in gossip, satire, historical apercus, and trenchant observations. Vidal’s compelling narrative weaves back and forth in time, providing a whole view of the author’s celebrated life, from his birth in 1925 to today, and features a cast of memorable characters - including the Kennedy family, Marlon Brando, Anais Nin, and Eleanor Roosevelt.
Summary
The Last Empire is Gore Vidal's ninth collection of essays in the course of his distinguished literary career. Vidal displays unparalleled range and inimitable style as he offers incisive observations about terrorism, civil liberties, the CIA, Al Gore, Tony Blair, and the Clintons, interwoven with a rich tapestry of personal anecdote, critical insight, and historical detail. Written between the first presidential campaign of Bill Clinton and the electoral crisis of 2000, The Last Empire is a sweeping coda to the still-existing conflicted vision of the American dream.
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What listeners say about The Last Empire
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Scott at the Junction
- 24-04-18
perfectly written essays provide an alternative vi
Fascinating words from one of the great outsiders from the inside of the US political set.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Nick Bedson
- 15-11-16
Excellent
Should be required reading for anyone interested in postwar USA . Vidal brilliantly disects American imperial policy with wit, anger and clarity
1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 12-10-16
Collection a reminder of what patriotism truly is
The late great Gore Vidal was one of America's finest intellects. In his novels, his plays, and his essays he consistently demonstrated his genius. But be forewarned, he is not for the faint of heart or easily offended. Vidal relished skewering the hypocrites and the vandals who he saw destroying America from within. That is why I call him one of the most patriotic intellectuals of the 20th and 21st centuries. Whether it's our prudish sexual mores or our love of the military industrial complex, Vidal was there to point it out.
Like many Americans, I have been sickened by the ugliness of American political scene of the last few decades. Conservatives and liberals continue to throw muck at one another and because we are so divided we gleefully egg them on. Vidal saw that which probably is part of his decision to live overseas. Still, his writing is stimulating--occasionally outrageous, frequently annoying, but always witty and provocative. And considering the popularity of the musical "Hamilton", it's hopefully not too long before Vidal's masterful novel, "Burr", becomes available on Audible. Along with all his other novels (only 2 of his novels are currently available)!
5 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kym
- 09-08-16
Good work poorly read
Would you listen to The Last Empire again? Why?
I could not listen to it again and in fact could not finish it due to the lacerating boredom invoked by the narrator, mired in a seeming quandery of ill timed mispronunciations with a voice lacking resonance, timbre or it seems, any understanding of his subject.
What was one of the most memorable moments of The Last Empire?
Vidal needs no review as few writers can incise the heart of an issue with the delicacy of the surgeon and then bludgeon it with language as he does.
How did the narrator detract from the book?
The lack of timing, inflection and any resonance coupled with mispronunciations made it impossible to sit through.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
No
4 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Mark A. Cole
- 29-07-20
I don’t want to take your goddamned surveys
Don’t force customers to take surveys. I’m going to look into suits audible for this
1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- The Masked Reviewer
- 07-11-19
Great material, partially spotty recording.
Fascinating essays that touch on American history in profound ways. That said, about 2 chapters in, the audio becomes marred pretty badly, strangely enough, as the author covers the personal character of a heroic figure of the Left, FDR (Vidal was an avid Democrat). It appears to stop with the next chapter, but in a later chapter covering the FBI fiasco at Waco, TX, it seems to begin again, introducing the tiniest hint of reasonable suspicion at that point. It's strange that the marred material covers FDR's character flaws, which appears to be essential to the next chapter (and FDR is a pretty big figure in American history and politics, so this is a major issue).
