Inventing a Nation

Washington, Adams, Jefferson

By: Gore Vidal

Narrated by: Paul Hecht, Gore Vidal

Gore Vidal, winner of the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award, is one of the great figures in American writing. Now through Vidal's extraordinary literary talents, the three men most responsible for the shaping of America come to life as never before.

Volumes have been written about George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson, but no previous work captures the intimate and vital details the way Inventing a Nation does. Vidal's consummate skill takes you into the minds and private rooms of these great men, illuminating their opinions of one another and their concerns about crafting a workable democracy.

Inventing a Nation is a remarkably vivid portrait of three American icons, men whose revolutionary ideas had a profound and lasting impact on the nation they helped create.

©2003 Gore Vidal (P)2003 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

"This entertaining and enlightening reappraisal of the founders is a must for buffs of American civilization and its discontents." (Booklist)
"An unblinking view of our national heroes by one who cherishes them, warts and all." (New York Review of Books)

Eeeeh

This is a great treatise on exactly what it is titled -- the inventing of our nation, how the founders put together the democratic republic that exisits today, even if it isn't exactly what many of them intended. It's not really the author's fault that I am lukewarm. I probably should know more about American history than I do to enjoy this audiobook. He does jump around a lot... one minute he is talking about the Hamilton/Burr duel and the next telling us what Hamilton is doing. I'm like, wait I thought Hamilton was dead! In his defense, the whole "US invade Canada in response to 9/11" thing is really quoting some modern-day pundit and comparing that silly notion to an attack on Canada that took place in 1795. (Some people are so sensitive!) If you're really into history and can understand some of his more oblique references, I'm sure you will love this book. As for me, it is back to "U.S. History for Dummies!"

I enjoyed how Mr Vidal laid the timeline out.

I learned a lot about the three figures in the book. It was easy to follow from where he starts a little after the revolution in 1780s til their timely passing. The last hour really felt like a movie scene. I really enjoyed it and do plan on listening to listening to another work of Mr Vidal.

Being with Gore Vidal

I love Gore Vidal and American history. Listening to him discuss various aspects of our history, official and unofficial, with little asides and gossip, is an absolute pleasure. One reviewer called it a "pontification", and I agree -- but am so pleased to just curl up and listen to such a brilliant mind pontificate! Its a joy. But the work IS complex so be prepared to give it your full attention.

Vidal at his finest

An accessible introduction to the early Republic. This read will be much richer if you have taken an introductory American History course.

For dedicated students of history

Vidal is obviously a brilliant writer and an excellent historical researcher. I used to consider myself a bit of a history buff, but I was put in my place by this challenging-to-follow book. There were extensive quotes from our Founding Fathers; it was fascinating to hear their actual words! But their florid writing styles and 18th century vocabulary often felt opaque and impenetrable. Gore’s narrative was not always chronological, which was also confusing.

For me, it would have been better to have actually read this book, rather than attempt to listen while multi-tasking. True comprehension of this weighty, dense material would require my focused attention with the ability to re-read sections and reference a dictionary and sources like Wikipedia, for additional context and background. I still learned some things - such as politics was just as divided back then as it is now (they fought hard and sometimes even dirty). Spoiler alert - the author really didn’t like Hamilton - along with a lot of other people!