ABSTRACT
Vidal (b. 1925), the prolific American writer and outspoken critic, is author of more than twenty-five books, including such historical novels as Burr(1973), 1876 (1976), and Lincoln (1984). He has been a critic for the NewYork Review of Books, the London Times Literary Supplement,Partisan Review, and Esquire. At the time he wrote this review he had been defeated the previous year as a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Congress.
