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122nd out of 3,221 books
—
13,998 voters
Burr (Narratives of Empire #1)
by
Gore Vidal
Gore Vidal's Narratives of Empire series spans the history of the United States from the Revolution to the post-World War II years. With their broad canvas and large cast of fictional and historical characters, the novels in this series present a panorama of the American political and imperial experience as interpreted by one of its most worldly, knowing, and ironic observ...more
Paperback, 448 pages
Published
February 15th 2000
by Vintage
(first published January 1st 1973)
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'Burr' is the lead novel in Gore Vidal's seven-book series on U.S. history. It's not the first book he wrote in the series, but in terms of historical chronology, everything begins right here. If you've never read Vidal, there are other places you might want to begin ('Julian' is a marvelous novel, as is 'Messiah.' You can't really go wrong with Gore.) But if you're a fan of history and turned off by textbook drudgery (and occasional misinformation), 'Burr' opens one writer's look at American hi...more
I knew next to nothing about US history when I began reading Gore Vidal's Burr. So, I was, and still am, in no position to assess the historical accuracy of the numerous events recorded in his fictional biography of Colonel Aaron Burr (1756-1836).
During the American Revolutionary War, Aaron Burr was involved in an expedition to attack the British forces in Quebec. Although this was not a success, it was during this campaign that Burr became known a military hero. He rubbed shoulders with George...more
During the American Revolutionary War, Aaron Burr was involved in an expedition to attack the British forces in Quebec. Although this was not a success, it was during this campaign that Burr became known a military hero. He rubbed shoulders with George...more
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Aaron Burr is perhaps the most contentious of all American politicians. A contemporary of the founding fathers and a mover and shaker in the first years of the union, his name is now a byword for betrayal and devilry due to killing Alexander Hamilton in a duel and being brought to trial for suspected treason by Jefferson. Who better than to re-tell history with Burr as the hero this time but Gore Vidal?
This is the fifth of the seven Narratives of Empire series that I have read and the first in...more
This is the fifth of the seven Narratives of Empire series that I have read and the first in...more
This is the first of Vidal's Narratives of Empire (though the second one he wrote in the series) and is the most enjoyable and scurrilous of all (though I've not yet read the follow-up 1876). Aaron Burr was a war hero, a Vice-President, and, infamously, killed Hamilton in a duel. He is here presented as an irresistible rogue, a gambler, brilliant lawyer, ladies man, and military genius, who was tried for treason for allegedly wanting to split off the Western states from the Union. All this is bu...more
Re-reading actually. I loved this tale of our hapless 2nd Vice President so much I named my youngest son after him. I love Gore Vidal's writing and have read so many of his wonderful historical novels, bursting with history and personality. Possibly my all time favorite writer, though he has only written one scifi story.
I admire Aaron Burr more and more as I see how the insanity that is American politics continues to appall and astound. But it reminds me also of just how flawed and human were ou...more
I admire Aaron Burr more and more as I see how the insanity that is American politics continues to appall and astound. But it reminds me also of just how flawed and human were ou...more
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This is the first book in Gore Vidal's American Chronicle series. I read the entire series a few years ago and really enjoyed it. However, Burr was my favorite in the series so I decided to re-read it. It follows Charles Schuyler who is a young author trying to write Aaron Burr's memoirs. (Schuyler or his descendents appear in every one of the American Chronicle books.)
Vidal has a gift for bringing boring dead guys to life. Vidal's Burr is a fascinating character and his interpretation of our na...more
Vidal has a gift for bringing boring dead guys to life. Vidal's Burr is a fascinating character and his interpretation of our na...more
Mr. Vidal could write the phone book and make it interesting.
I am constantly amazed by Gore Vidal's ability to make history come alive in a way I have never experienced. He shows us a totally different side of Thomas Jefferson and George Washington diametrically opposed to what was taught in public schools. The mark of a true writer, I believe, is someone who can take an opposing viewpoint and make a case for it. I was, however, happy to find out that Mr. Vidal was a fan of Thomas Jefferson even...more
I am constantly amazed by Gore Vidal's ability to make history come alive in a way I have never experienced. He shows us a totally different side of Thomas Jefferson and George Washington diametrically opposed to what was taught in public schools. The mark of a true writer, I believe, is someone who can take an opposing viewpoint and make a case for it. I was, however, happy to find out that Mr. Vidal was a fan of Thomas Jefferson even...more
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To appreciate this novel you have to know the issues surrounding Burr, Hamilton, and Jefferson. I suggest reading Chernow's "Alexander Hamilton" and "Isenburg's Fallen Founder: The Life of Aaron Burr". Vidal put it all together 30 years before these biographies, that is without the advantage of new research and contemporary thinking. This novel also, notably, predates DNA and the confirmation of Jefferson's "bright" children.
Vidal's cleverly grafts his outlook and sensibility onto Burr. We will...more
I've never read any of Vidal's fiction--his essays are so wonderful--stylish, with a tart wit--I worried he would suffer from the Sontag Syndrome. And, with exceptions such as E.L. Doctorow, I've never cottoned to historical fiction. But I picked this up at a library sale, and glad I did. Burr is a high comedy in historical novel drag.
The Founders are portrayed as a group of conniving, querulous, hypocritical peacocks; in short, a group of politicians. Washington is an inept general who never w...more
The Founders are portrayed as a group of conniving, querulous, hypocritical peacocks; in short, a group of politicians. Washington is an inept general who never w...more
When you have three distinct personalities involved in telling a story -- Gore Vidal, Aaron Burr, and Charles Schuyler, the narrator of Burr -- it's hard to tell who is reliable and who isn't. Of those three, I'm most inclined to trust Schuyler, who has nothing to gain by misleading us. Burr is the least trustworthy, and Vidal is a question mark.
Oh, yes, I'm sure that everything is as historically accurate as Vidal claims, but history is susceptible of interpretation, and historical personaliti...more
Oh, yes, I'm sure that everything is as historically accurate as Vidal claims, but history is susceptible of interpretation, and historical personaliti...more
Apr 14, 2009
Christopher Carbone
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone who likes the villian
There has been no greater shadow in American History, no greater enigma than the US's 3rd Vice President, almost President, and near King of Louisiana, Aaron Burr. Mostly known for killing Fmr. Treasury Secretary and opposition party leader, Alexander Hamilton, Burr is also known, less so, for invading Louisiana shortly after it was purchased by the US, getting caught, tried for treason and beating every charge easily.
This ficticious look at Burr's history is a dramatic telling of the absurdity...more
This ficticious look at Burr's history is a dramatic telling of the absurdity...more
A great read for rendering a satirical and jaundiced view of the Founding Fathers, with a focus on Washington, Hamilton, and Jefferson. Vidal portrays Burr in third person from the perspective of an invented biographer interviewing his subject as an old man in the 1830�s while inserting many long sections in first person from fictional memoirs. We get a nice account of Burr�s role in Benedict Arnold�s heroic Revolutionary War assault on Quebec City and fuel for a cynical vision of Washington as...more
Gore Vidal sets out to be iconoclastic. He succeeds here in Burr, where the 2 sets of heroes and villains of the so-called “American Revolution" (and the quotation marks are mine, as well as those of Aaron Burr, and probably of the author himself).
Briefly, the history of the events of those years told here is that of how a group of rich agrarian slaveowners based in Virginia ("the Virginia junto" as Burr refers to it) managed to seize the power governing the new Republic from the more egalitaria...more
Briefly, the history of the events of those years told here is that of how a group of rich agrarian slaveowners based in Virginia ("the Virginia junto" as Burr refers to it) managed to seize the power governing the new Republic from the more egalitaria...more
Vidal. That name says it all. Hey, I'm a poet? Geesssh! I loved him years ago when I read him. Think my father was reading this one, and like a lot of my early picks, I read it too. Also, read lots of my sisters books. They were a great help in getting my love for books going. But back to the books, the man . . . Want to learn about history in an interesting way? Read him!
I am guessing that Vidal wanted to do some sort of send up of our normally romantic images of the Founding Fathers and chose the least sympathetic of them with which to do it. And then achieved his goal.
My favourite moment in the novel occurs when Burr has gone for dinner to Monticello, and he and Jefferson are walking afterwards. Burr sees a young child, obviously Jefferson's grandson, precariously playing in a tree and says, "Your grandson is about to fall." At which Jefferson blushes and says...more
My favourite moment in the novel occurs when Burr has gone for dinner to Monticello, and he and Jefferson are walking afterwards. Burr sees a young child, obviously Jefferson's grandson, precariously playing in a tree and says, "Your grandson is about to fall." At which Jefferson blushes and says...more
"Although Americans justify their self-interest in moral terms, their true interest is never itself moral. Yet, paradoxically, only Americans - a few, that is- ever try to be moral in politics."
-- Gore Vidal
Vidal takes full responsibility for his perjury. Okay he only admits to errors and anachronisms, but sides himself with Richard Nixon in the process. Burr is a wonderful tale, finding delight in skewering the reputations of the Founding Fathers and all the hypocrisy which didn't make its way...more
-- Gore Vidal
Vidal takes full responsibility for his perjury. Okay he only admits to errors and anachronisms, but sides himself with Richard Nixon in the process. Burr is a wonderful tale, finding delight in skewering the reputations of the Founding Fathers and all the hypocrisy which didn't make its way...more
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I started to re-read Lincoln, then Sarah pointed out that Burr is actually the first book in the American Chronicle series, and it makes sense to read them in order, so let's read this instead.
I didn't like this anywhere near as much as I liked Lincoln, but it's still enjoyable, and Burr's a great character. But that's part of the problem, he seemed the whole time a lot more like a character in a novel to me than an actual historical figure. The fictional first person narrator annoyed me a lot,...more
I didn't like this anywhere near as much as I liked Lincoln, but it's still enjoyable, and Burr's a great character. But that's part of the problem, he seemed the whole time a lot more like a character in a novel to me than an actual historical figure. The fictional first person narrator annoyed me a lot,...more
The meta-narrative was a bit tired, though the word-play was fun. The ultimate resolution about Aaron Burr and his role in the foundation of America is pretty balanced, but there's still the issue of the meta-narrator, Charlie Schuyler. The fact is it's obviously a stand-in for Gore Vidal, and his lack of self-control when doing a rather bad parody of his feud with Truman Capote is pure laziness. In the thirty-odd years since the book was written, it still has things to tell us about the Founder...more
I'm trying. I really am. My brother and SIL really loved this book, but I'm finding it irritating.
In all fairness, I'm stuck about 50 pages in and reluctant to continue.
I don't like any of the characters, and when that's the case, it's hard for me to like a book (or movie or play). I have to have someone to root for. The clerk/narrator is stupid and superfluous. Everybody is smug and droll to the point of Oscar Wilde.
Now, there are memoir portions of the book in which Aaron Burr relates, via let...more
In all fairness, I'm stuck about 50 pages in and reluctant to continue.
I don't like any of the characters, and when that's the case, it's hard for me to like a book (or movie or play). I have to have someone to root for. The clerk/narrator is stupid and superfluous. Everybody is smug and droll to the point of Oscar Wilde.
Now, there are memoir portions of the book in which Aaron Burr relates, via let...more
Stephen refused my request for "Gods and Generals" or "Confederates in the Attic". Instead he bought me Gore Vidal's Burr. He's been pestering me to read Vidal for ages. It was his gift card so I really couldn't argue too much. I believe he was getting tired of my constant chatter of late regarding the civil war. After being forced to sit through the movie Gettysburg he feared if left to my own devices and bolstered by new civil war reading material I'd soon force him to watch Cold Mountain, Gon...more
If you want to read about American history but don't want to read non-fiction then read this series of books, 'Narratives of Empire'. This is the first, deals with the War of Independence and the first 40 years of the 19th Century, through the experiences of Colonel Aaron Burr, one time Vice-President who took part in a duel and fatally wounded his opponent during his term in office, and was later accused of treason. Vidal always writes entertainingly, full of sly humour and often provocative op...more
Vidal proves himself once more a true master of historical narrative with this illuminating and gripping portrayal of the Founding Fathers of the American nation. Among this impressive cast of historical heavyweights, the author sets out to provide a compelling portrait of their contemporary, Aaron Burr, whose name has become synonymous with treason and murder. While Vidal treats his central character with a more balanced portrayal of a man of great presence and courage, he expertly provides a '...more
Who knew that Aaron Burr had such an interesting life? Enjoyable historical accounts of the Founders from the cynical perspective of an aging Burr. But how accurate are they? The afterward claims that people were almost always in the places that the author placed them and that many conversations were excerpted from letters. This made me feel much better about the book but it's hard not to read it skeptically - perhaps because the tone of the book had been so skeptical. The last third drags a bit...more
Before the "Got Milk" commercial in which the main character is called by a local radio station to identify the man who killed Alexander Hamilton, I knew nothing about Aaron Burr. But, being a fan of Gore Vidal's books, I checked this one out from the library site unseen.
As usual Vidal delivers. The premise of the book is Burr's hatred of Alexander Hamilton and his life during those times. A side plot of the narrator's infatuation of a prostitute flows seamlessly. If you like Gore Vidal, read t...more
As usual Vidal delivers. The premise of the book is Burr's hatred of Alexander Hamilton and his life during those times. A side plot of the narrator's infatuation of a prostitute flows seamlessly. If you like Gore Vidal, read t...more
Gore Vidal's Narratives of Empire series spans the history of the United States from the Revolution to the post-World War II years. With their broad canvas and large cast of fictional and historical characters, the novels in this series present a panorama of the American political and imperial experience as interpreted by one of its most worldly, knowing, and ironic observers.
Burr is a portrait of perhaps the most complex and misunderstood of the Founding Fathers. In 1804, while serving as vice...more
Burr is a portrait of perhaps the most complex and misunderstood of the Founding Fathers. In 1804, while serving as vice...more
Though in his later years he became a media gadfly, in his prime Gore Vidal was a writer of tremendous originality and talent, and his novel "Burr" was a seminal influence on my own writing efforts. (Indeed, my novel "Scoundrel! The Secret Memoirs of General James Wilkinson"--the villain of Vidal's book--has been called a sequel to "Burr", and while I treasure the comparison, I certainly don't claim my talent to be on a par with his). http://www.scoundrel1776.com/
The idea of viewing history from...more
The idea of viewing history from...more
I totally dug that the founding fathers may have all been arrogant imperfect jerks who somehow managed to place the foundation for our current country. AND the thing is, BURR shows us how the future course of the country was really an unknown.
In the popular mind we see those early years though the lens of what is the destiny of our history. Therefore what we became was inevitable from the actions of the revolutionaries. Aaron Burr's story reminds us that the winners write the history and also th...more
In the popular mind we see those early years though the lens of what is the destiny of our history. Therefore what we became was inevitable from the actions of the revolutionaries. Aaron Burr's story reminds us that the winners write the history and also th...more
From the precis on the back of the book "In 1804, Colonel Aaron Burr, Vice-President of the United States, shot and killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel. Three years later, on the order of President Thomas Jefferson, he was tried for treason: for plotting to dismember the United States."
This historical set-up allows Gore Vidal to tell a wildly entertaining novelised history, encompassing the incompetent General, but politically shrewd, Washington,the egomaniac Thomas Jefferson and the suave and u...more
This historical set-up allows Gore Vidal to tell a wildly entertaining novelised history, encompassing the incompetent General, but politically shrewd, Washington,the egomaniac Thomas Jefferson and the suave and u...more
Aaron Burr, one of the last living founding fathers, is on his way out, and thus dictates his autobiography to his apprentice, Charlie Schuyler.
I think of “Burr” as being two books: the first being about Burr’s memoirs, which is great; and the second being about the adventures of Charlie Schuyler, which is generally “meh”.
I just couldn’t get into Charlie. Although someone has to take down Burr’s story, outside of this dictation Charlie seems, at least to me, to be unnecessary. Vidal gives him se...more
I think of “Burr” as being two books: the first being about Burr’s memoirs, which is great; and the second being about the adventures of Charlie Schuyler, which is generally “meh”.
I just couldn’t get into Charlie. Although someone has to take down Burr’s story, outside of this dictation Charlie seems, at least to me, to be unnecessary. Vidal gives him se...more
On a scale of 1 - 10 for knowledge/interest in American history (10 being Gore Vidal/David McCullough and 1 being that IT dude in India who you called on the 800# to set up your home printer) I rank myself about a 5 or 6.
There's alot going on here in 'Burr', and I'm sure I missed many of the subtle (and not so subtle) historical references and humor. Having said that, 'Burr' is still a very entertaining read, at least for those readers who rank themselves a minimum 5 or 6 on the above referenced...more
There's alot going on here in 'Burr', and I'm sure I missed many of the subtle (and not so subtle) historical references and humor. Having said that, 'Burr' is still a very entertaining read, at least for those readers who rank themselves a minimum 5 or 6 on the above referenced...more
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Eugene Luther Gore Vidal was an American writer known for his essays, novels, screenplays, and Broadway plays. He was also known for his patrician manner, Transatlantic accent, and witty aphorisms. Vidal came from a distinguished political lineage; his grandfather was the senator Thomas Gore, and he later became a relation (through marriage) to Jacqueline Kennedy.
Vidal ran for political office twi...more
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Vidal ran for political office twi...more
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“Although Americans justify their self-interest in moral terms, their true interest is never itself moral.”
—
2 people liked it
“…the American reader cannot bear a surprise. He knows that this is the greatest country on earth…and evidence to the contrary is not admissible. That means no inconvenient facts, no new information. If you really want the reader’s attention, you must flatter him. Make his prejudices your own. Tell him things he already knows. He will love your soundness.”
—
2 people liked it
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