Becoming Gore Vidal: The Henry Adams of Our Age

METAMORPHOSIS

The icon is remembered by Morris Dickstein as a critic and personality in the mold of Henry Adams, who also yearned for a vanished age.

Published Aug. 4 2012 4:45AM EDT

articles/2012/08/04/becoming-gore-vidal-the-henry-adams-of-our-age/gore-vidal-dickstein_c8sxe0 — Ulf Andersen/Getty Images

Gore Vidal liked to style himself a populist but despite his political leanings this hardly fit the man at all. Populists in America come in many shapes and sizes, from William Jennings Bryan to Frank Capra, from Thomas Hart Benton to Sarah Palin.

Morris Dickstein

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Becoming Gore Vidal: The Henry Adams of Our Age

The icon is remembered by Morris Dickstein as a critic and personality in the mold of Henry Adams, who also yearned for a vanished age.

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Morris Dickstein