{"product_id":"sympathy-for-the-devil-four-decades-of-friendship-with-gore-vidal-paperback","title":"Sympathy for the Devil: Four Decades of Friendship with Gore Vidal - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eMichael Mewshaw\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDetached and ironic; a master of the pointed put-down, of the cutting quip; enigmatic, impossible to truly know: this is the calcified public image of Gore Vidal--one the man himself was fond of reinforcing. \"I'm exactly as I appear,\" he once said of himself. \"There is no warm, lovable person inside. Beneath my cold exterior, once you break the ice, you find cold water.\" \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eMichael Mewshaw's \u003ci\u003eSympathy for the Devil\u003c\/i\u003e, a memoir of his friendship with the stubbornly iconoclastic public intellectual, is a welcome corrective to this tired received wisdom. A complex, nuanced portrait emerges in these pages--and while \"Gore\" can indeed be brusque, standoffish, even cruel, Mewshaw also catches him in more vulnerable moments. The Gore Vidal the reader comes to know here is generous and supportive to younger, less successful writers; he is also, especially toward the end of his life, disappointed, even lonely. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eSparkling, often hilarious, and filled with spicy anecdotes about expat life in Italy, \u003ci\u003eSympathy for the Devil\u003c\/i\u003e is an irresistible inside account of a man who was himself--faults and all--impossible to resist. As enlightening as it is entertaining, it offers a unique look at a figure many only think they know.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMichael Mewshaw\u003c\/b\u003e's more-than-four-decade career spans fiction, nonfiction, literary criticism, and investigative journalism. He is the author of, among other titles, the nonfiction works \u003ci\u003eLife for Death\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eShort Circuit\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eBetween Terror and Tourism: An Overland Journey Across North Africa\u003c\/i\u003e; the novel \u003ci\u003eYear of the Gun\u003c\/i\u003e; and the memoirs \u003ci\u003eDo I Owe You Something?\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eIf You Could See Me Now\u003c\/i\u003e. He has published hundreds of articles, reviews, and literary profiles in \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eWashington Post\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Nation\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eNewsweek\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eHarper's\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eMagazine\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eGranta\u003c\/i\u003e, and many other international outlets. During the winter he lives in Key West, Florida, with his wife, Linda; he spends the rest of the year traveling in Europe and Africa.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 224\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.52 x 8.25 x 5.5 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e January 19, 2016\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45336599855206,"sku":"9780374536015","price":27.22,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0599\/7255\/0758\/files\/bWE1QWR6QVA1bUVvWkdLRTlWWXZYQT09.webp?v=1774612162","url":"https:\/\/infinitylightwa.com\/products\/sympathy-for-the-devil-four-decades-of-friendship-with-gore-vidal-paperback","provider":"Infinity Light","version":"1.0","type":"link"}