The Decline and Fall of the American Empire

by Gore Vidal

Six essays on the theme of empire and republic, with particular focus on the national security state and the failure of the U.S. economic system.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, History, Economics, American, Essays, Journalism

95 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1992

About the author

Works of American writer Eugene Luther Gore Vidal, noted for his cynical humor and his numerous accounts of society in decline, include the play The Best Man (1960) and the novel Myra Breckinridge (1968) .

People know his essays, screenplays, and Broadway.
They also knew 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, a longtime political critic, ran twice for political office. He was a lifelong isolationist Democrat. The Nation, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, The New York Review of Books, and Esquire published his essays.

Essays and media appearances long criticized foreign policy. In addition, he from the 1980s onwards characterized the United States as a decaying empire. Additionally, he was known for his well publicized spats with such figures as Norman Mailer, William F. Buckley, Jr., and Truman Capote.

They fell into distinct social and historical camps. Alongside his social, his best known historical include Julian, Burr, and Lincoln. His third novel, The City and the Pillar (1948), outraged conservative critics as the first major feature of unambiguous homosexuality.

At the time of his death he was the last of a generation of American writers who had served during World War II, including J.D. Salinger, Kurt Vonnegut, Norman Mailer and Joseph Heller. Perhaps best remembered for his caustic wit, he referred to himself as a "gentleman bitch" and has been described as the 20th century's answer to Oscar Wilde

Also used the pseudonym Edgar Box.

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Gore Vidal é um dos nomes centrais na história da literatura americana pós-Segunda Guerra Mundial.

Nascido em 1925, em Nova Iorque, estudou na Academia de Phillips Exeter (Estado de New Hampshire). O seu primeiro romance, Williwaw (1946), era uma história da guerra claramente influenciada pelo estilo de Hemingway. Embora grande parte da sua obra tenha a ver com o século XX americano, Vidal debruçou-se várias vezes sobre épocas recuadas, como, por exemplo, em A Search for the King (1950), Juliano (1964) e Creation (1981).

Entre os seus temas de eleição está o mundo do cinema e, mais concretamente, os bastidores de Hollywood, que ele desmonta de forma satírica e implacável em títulos como Myra Breckinridge (1968), Myron (1975) e Duluth (1983).

Senhor de um estilo exuberante, multifacetado e sempre surpreendente, publicou, em 1995, a autobiografia Palimpsest: A Memoir. As obras 'O Instituto Smithsonian' e 'A Idade do Ouro' encontram-se traduzidas em português.

Neto do senador Thomas Gore, enteado do padrasto de Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, primo distante de Al Gore, Gore Vidal sempre se revelou um espelho crítico das grandezas e misérias dos EUA.

Faleceu a 31 de julho de 2012, aos 86 anos, na sua casa em Hollywood, vítima de pneumonia.

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, well-written and to the point. This is a collection of speeches and writings by Gore Vidal (1925-2012) regarding his views on American society and politics. They are all from 1986-92, so the end of the Reagan years going to the end of Bush I ( and the time of the Gulf War). Since then, we've had 9/11, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan- and Syria, a multitude of mass shootings, the election of Obama followed by the election of Trump, and Trump's insurrection against the Capitol, and, not to forget, covid ... and so on.
The "American Empire" still stands but it does seem to be tottering. Vidal identifies a number of problems, many of which only seem to have gotten worse since he wrote. One issue he raises is about the bloated military budget and how no one seems to question if we need such a huge amount of $$$$$ going into the military. That situation certainly exists today, as I think the budget has now reached $ 900,000,000,000. Are you telling me that every dollar (I mean, every million dollars) is well-spent?
Another issue he looks at is the strong corporate control of the media. That has certainly only gotten worse. In one chapter, Vidal supports the idea that the CIA should be abolished. He's greatly concerned that, in the "national security state," our inalienable rights are being eroded. As far as I can see, that erosion has continued and even accelerated greatly.
Gore Vidal put forward an intriguing idea in a speech given in 1992. He supports the idea of holding a People's Convention to rewrite the 1787 US Constitution. This can be done under Article Five of the Constitution. However, I'm afraid that if such a convention would be held today ( in this year of 2025), that would perhaps be the end of the Bill of Rights, except for the Second Amendment. My feeling about this shows how far I've come in not trusting the American people as a whole. I fear too few Americans really understand what's in their own Constitution!
Finally, Vidal states that the root of all evil in this society is monotheism. The Christians who worship their "sky god" believe they have the one true religion and that everyone should believe in it ( you could also say that about the Islamists, but not the Jews). This means there is an ever-increasing pressure to bring about a totalitarian state which would be a theocracy. I don't know if that can ever happen in the United States of America, but I have seen, in my lifetime, things happen that I thought would never happen. My feeling is that religious intolerance and the religious pressures that are put on this society just might turn out to be " the straw that broke the camel's back"- and the end of what Gore calls "the American Empire."
In sum, a good short book to provoke some thinking .... and Gore Vidal always had a way with words!

[Marley · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a little blockbuster! Outdated a little only because things have gotten so much worse than 1986-1992 when these lectures were delivered, GV lays out our future. And it's pretty grim. "Monotheism and it's Discontents put it all together for me His essays 1952-1992 were so prophetic, and this carries on the tradition.

Where ARE today's honest, inteligent people. Not in government not in media not in the schools for sure.

[Frederick Gault · Rating 5 out of 5]

America is a totalitarian police state. Vidal states this simply, then proceeds to prove it.

[Brian Napoletano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gore Vidal was a brilliant writer and political analyst. His insights into the ways in which powerful corporations dictate the spectrum of dialog in the United States remain pertinent, as do his many indictments of the failure of the Democrats to live up to their unmerited reputation as the "progressive party." His biting critique of the racism and imperialism inherent in religious fundamentalism still describes much of the American church as it leads the fight against women, Muslims, and homosexuals in the United States. Vidal considered himself a radical and an "anti-'anti-Communist,'" and he was willing to step well outside the boundaries of the mainstream "liberal" consensus on important issues and propose measures such as a people's constitutional convention and the abolition of the CIA. Throughout the essays collected in this short volume, he repeatedly emphasized the militarism that has dominated the political establishment since the end of World War 2 as a critical issue that would eventually unravel the threads holding the American Empire together. Thus far history seems to be confirming his conclusions, as the Empire persists in expending the bulk of its wealth and lives on a series of unwanted military occupations, "regime changes," and corporate welfare programs, while deteriorating conditions at home continue to subject vast segments of the population to abject poverty and the sense of powerlessness fostered by the media and disinterested politicians continues to foster the growth of racism, paranoia, religious fundamentalism, and violence.

[B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such solid political/economic theory it for the most part comes off as simply a listing of facts. Vidal's tone is masturbatory and scathing, which doesn't bother me at all but does hurt his rhetoric in terms of reaching an audience that doesn't already agree with him and know that what he says is factual. It makes him annoying! But who are we who are not household name political commentators to be making such assessments...

The speeches/essays in this collection date from the mid-late 80s to early 90s and address the murder-suicidal nature of the American government's obsession with 'defense' (read: intrusive international military action to gain totalitarian control over foreign resources) and 'security' (read: intrusive covert national action to gain totalitarian control over its own citizens). They are cut and dry with their facts and are for the most part so aptly describing the dangers of these two obsessions if left unchecked that they are almost moot in today's world, as his visions of totalitarian hell, governmentally engineered and enforced poverty, rising illiteracy, and the abolition of the right to privacy are the modern American's everyday life.

If he thought less highly of himself he would be an even better speaker, but whether he's jacking off while saying it or not everything he says is pretty much spot on and given to the reader here in an incredibly digestible form.

[Juliana Maximiano Torres Carneiro · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little ranty for my taste, but I still love Gore Vidal.

[Don Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit dated but excellent and provocative book. A bit of preaching to the choir, but many may not have heard these radical contentions. He points out that the military is really running the US and consumes more than the lion's share of the budget. He points out that our two parties are microns apart politically. He reminds us that the soviet threat (and demise) was greatly exaggerated to justify curtailing US rights and lining the pockets of the military and intelligence industries. I totally agree with him that we should disband our military and intelligence services down to a pure maintenance level of no more than the size and budget of the next two countries combined. It, including veteran benefits, emergency appropriations, debt servicing, and ancillary domestic agencies, should consume no more then 30% of our non-social security, non-medicare budget, imho.

His last chapter rails against monotheism. He has many good points, but I have to disagree with his conclusion. It's not monotheism nor even theisms descendant from Judaism: it's the tribal interpretation and manipulation. Nevertheless, his experience of oppression is real and there's no excuse for this oppression under any banner. I just believe that that oppression would exist regardless of banner or cover: it's a human tribal trait and not a religious tenet.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of Gore Vidal's most interesting works on the subject of "The American Empire" that were penned back in the 80s and 90s are in this book. Many of them seem to be warning calls for the messes that we are in today when it comes to our economy and our foreign policy. Vidal's usual insights on the subjects of our military industrial complex and the monotheistic intentions of our nation are also discussed in this book. Reading this book in 2011 makes you realize that during the days of Reagan, Vidal was way ahead of the times and saw the problems that were brewing back then becoming a much more unfortunate reality now.

[Hollowman · Rating 4 out of 5]

One is not an America or USA basher/hater for reading and recommending Vidal's books. Vidal -- like Zinn, Chomsky and the late Chalmers Johnson -- want to protect their homeland from opportunistic exec-level intellectuals (= certain upper-level politicians in govt. and/or corporate execs [often they are one and the same!]) with either deliberate imperialistic agendas ... and/or self-interest agendas that result in imperialistic consequences. It gets complicated! But the results are not: 2008 econ. meltdown, gov. (taxpayer) bailout of major US banks and auto industry.

[Jim]

I believe this is the worst book I have read. I had heard about Vidal and knew he was not of my political bent. However, the elitist, condescending know-it-all bitterness that oozed into every word in the book made it difficult to finish, although, being a short book helped me in this regard. I should have picked another of his books as my first one since the bad taste in my mouth will make it difficult to desire to start any of his other books.

[Alexander · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is great, very insightful considering when he was writing. The American "defense" budget has snowballed out of control. the analogy of the pentagon being a blackhole was spot on. My only critique is how specific his religious takes were. Perhaps it's because he wasn't exposed to that behavior but his critique of Christianity could easily be applied to Islam. Overall great little book that's extremely insightful. 7/10 if you're into politics

[Michael Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, he is a clever man and American political history is an interesting subject that I don't know enough about. But he seems to spend his time rootling around in the shadows looking for the fault lines in the system. Every political system has them. While he is decrying expansionism, centralisation, pleutocracy, somehow he never seems to criticise degeneracy?

[Clem Paulsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The positions here are familiar -- has anything changed since 1988? Primacy of the military in national budgeting? Role of Christian Fundamentalism? The advantages in a more lenient approach to drugs?

Short. Opens your eyes to the work that still needs to be done.

[L. Guy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very fun to read, even though it's painfully obvious how wrong Vidal was on some key assumptions, primarily that the western world would become enslaved to an economically dominant Japan. If only he looked a tiny bit west....

[Homa · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this work, Vidal provides the answer to how this book can seem like it was written today despite being over 25 years old.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would give this book 10 stars if I could!! I can’t encourage people enough to read this! It is especially important to our lives at this time! We can make a change for the better!

[João Faustino · Rating 2 out of 5]

Always a pleasure to disagree with Vidal.

[lucia · Rating 3 out of 5]

pretty cool

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

An insightful little book. Six essays written on a topic that I find so engrossing it is clouding my ability to think clearly about the issues of 2011 America. Published as part of The Real Story series it provides a scathing assessment of America, corrupted to the core by corporate interests, the national security state perpetrated by the industrial military complex, and right-wing Christian fundamentalism. We live in a Clusterfuck Nation who honesty deserves what it is getting since we in essence have thrown the baby out with the bath water. I sincerely doubt our ability to wake up from our slumber-induced sleepwalking and address any of these issues as we hurdle down the highway to "The Rapture! God Bless America because I doubt anyone else will. Turn out the lights and sleep well, because in all honesty the system we have created in our urge to consume has been given our tacit approval by every action we do, and continue doing - so "ALL IS GOOD" in AMERIKA.

[Steve Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written originally in 1986 and updated in 1992, Vidal offers some fairly prescient observations of the fate of our empire. You'd think he had a (albeit slightly foggy) crystal ball.

Political wonks with a love of history will like this one. It's blessed with Vidal's prose, wit, and brilliance. It also is a very quick read, as it isn't much more than a pamphlet.

[Raimo Wirkkala · Rating 3 out of 5]

This 95-pg, Noam Chomsky-like, pamphlet is comprised of 6 essays/speeches produced by Gore Vidal during the late '80s and early '90s on one of his favourite topics; the American Empire. The passage of time makes some of this material badly dated but the author would probably be delighted by the degree to which his contrarianism still resonates and is, in fact, relevant.

[Kami]

This book is reminding me that I used to know how to read intelligent critics and smirk at thier snide comments. I'm reading this now and only getting about 1/2 of the inside smarty jokes.

[Karl Steffey]

The Decline and Fall of the American Empire (The Real Story Series) by Gore Vidal (1992)

[Ricky · Rating 3 out of 5]

quick read, finished it in a 24 hour period. its amazing how this collection of short stories that Gore wrote for The Nation 15-20 years ago is still ringing so true today.

[Tommy Estlund]

Funny, biting, honest.

[Bradley Hanson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even truer today than when I read it 20 years ago...

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read and a great intro to Gore Vidal's incisive political views.

[Chandler Jameson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Much of this book is based upon bold and baseless assertions and hyperbole, much of which he does not back with evidence. He seems to believe that his skill with language and writing will cover for these lapses. At least Chomsky in the same series of books gave specific examples and evidence.
Often he shows apparent ignorance, particularly on the topic of religion, but that does not stop him from pontificating.

In short, it is a typical Marxist/atheist screed.