Jay Parini

"An apprentice writer has an entirely unexpected encounter with literary genius Jorge Luis Borges that will profoundly alter his life and work"--

An intimate, authorized, yet frank biography of Gore Vidal (1925–2012), one of the most accomplished, visible, and controversial American novelists and cultural figures of the past century.

The product of thirty years of friendship and conversation, Jay Parini's Empire of Self probes behind the glittering surface of Gore Vidal's colorful life to reveal the complex emotional and sexual truth underlying his celebrity-strewn life.

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Controversial, brilliant, and ever entertaining, Gore Vidal recalls his remarkable life as America's most outspoken intellectual superstar in this enlightening documentary.