---
title: "35 Gore Vidal Quotes by 29 authors"
description: "Browse 35 Gore Vidal quotes by 29 authors. Discover the best Gore Vidal sayings and thoughts."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ab/jerry-kramer-32461_another_the-whole-book-experience-was-a-look-int_1162014.jpg"
---

> [The whole book experience was a look into another world, the world of Gore Vidal and Norman Mailer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-kramer/the-whole-book-experience-was-a-look-into-another-world-the-world-of/)

[Jerry Kramer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-kramer/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ab/jerry-kramer-32461_another_the-whole-book-experience-was-a-look-int_1162014.jpg)

> [Gore Vidal was a man of immense literary talent, some of which he used well, some of which he wasted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-kaplan/gore-vidal-was-a-man-of-immense-literary-talent-some-of-which-he-used/)

[Fred Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-kaplan/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f49/fred-kaplan-18752_he_gore-vidal-was-a-man-of-immense-literary_984223.jpg)

> [Gore Vidal has been a friend of mine for years, and he's one of the greatest writers in American history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cybill-shepherd/gore-vidal-has-been-a-friend-of-mine-for-years-and-he-s-one-of-the/)

[Cybill Shepherd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cybill-shepherd/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b3/cybill-shepherd-17717_american_gore-vidal-has-been-a-friend-of-mine-for_2063077.jpg)

> [I loved Gore Vidal's Burr. That book gave me courage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/i-loved-gore-vidal-s-burr-that-book-gave-me-courage/)

[Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea5/hilary-mantel-440_book_i-loved-gore-vidal-s-burr-that-book-gave_371684.jpg)

> [They don't make people like Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgan-neville/they-don-t-make-people-like-gore-vidal-and-william-f-buckley-anymore/)

[Morgan Neville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morgan-neville/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45f/morgan-neville-8930_gore_they-don-t-make-people-like-gore-vidal-a_661145.jpg)

> [I read Noam Chomsky. I like some of Gore Vidal's stuff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cusack/i-read-noam-chomsky-i-like-some-of-gore-vidal-s-stuff/)

[John Cusack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cusack/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c82/john-cusack-3209_books_i-read-noam-chomsky-i-like-some-of-gore_136104.png)

> [I used to read Gore Vidal books and think I was cool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-smith/i-used-to-read-gore-vidal-books-and-think-i-was-cool/)

[Matt Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-smith/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fcc/matt-smith-5333_books_i-used-to-read-gore-vidal-books-and-thin_632078.jpg)

> [I always want to read Gore Vidal's nonfiction. Because everything he writes is an essay and it's worth reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-busch/i-always-want-to-read-gore-vidal-s-nonfiction-because-everything-he/)

[Frederick Busch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-busch/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d59/frederick-busch-12684_books_i-always-want-to-read-gore-vidal-s-nonfi_2587129.png)

> [I got to know Gore Vidal quite well, up front and personal: his magnificent strengths and his appalling, almost other-worldly weaknesses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-kaplan/i-got-to-know-gore-vidal-quite-well-up-front-and-personal-his/)

[Fred Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-kaplan/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0d/fred-kaplan-18752_front_i-got-to-know-gore-vidal-quite-well-up-f_1753281.jpg)

> [“A crock of shit,” Rick had called it. But actually this was worse. Shit, to quote Gore Vidal, has its own integrity.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/a-crock-of-shit-rick-had-called-it-but-actually-this-was-worse-shit/)

[Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e76/robert-harris-2039_gore-vidal_a-crock-of-shit-rick-had-called-it-but-a_99846.png)

> [Would it be anything like a literary disaster if Gore Vidal were to fall silent? Easy. No. In fact, there is something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-morrow/would-it-be-anything-like-a-literary-disaster-if-gore-vidal-were-to/)

[Lance Morrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-morrow/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd1/lance-morrow-17667_art_would-it-be-anything-like-a-literary-dis_3212912.png)

> [Gore Vidal said "Nixon is us, we are Nixon." I think we have to acknowledge that combination of idealism and sleaze; we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-stone/gore-vidal-said-nixon-is-us-we-are-nixon-i-think-we-have-to/)

[Oliver Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-stone/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcf/oliver-stone-1812_acknowledge_gore-vidal-said-nixon-is-us-we-are-nixon_1284738.jpg)

> [We lived in a classless society. We'd spend a summer at Gore Vidal's house in Italy, but we were on and off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaby-hoffmann/we-lived-in-a-classless-society-we-d-spend-a-summer-at-gore-vidal-s/)

[Gaby Hoffmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaby-hoffmann/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/36b/gaby-hoffmann-2890_classless-society_we-lived-in-a-classless-society-we-d-spe_2233403.png)

> [I came up in left-wing political writing. My first job out of college was working as Gore Vidal's fact checker.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgan-neville/i-came-up-in-left-wing-political-writing-my-first-job-out-of-college/)

[Morgan Neville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morgan-neville/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/739/morgan-neville-8930_college_i-came-up-in-left-wing-political-writing_1428675.jpg)

> [Dreadful is a poignant biography of a forgotten man who drank himself to death. It's a brilliant evocation of a self-hating gay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/dreadful-is-a-poignant-biography-of-a-forgotten-man-who-drank-himself/)

[Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5bb/edmund-white-2376_biographies_dreadful-is-a-poignant-biography-of-a-fo_1947836.png)

> [There will be a debate on Firing Line between Buckley and Gore Vidal on the proposition: "This nation cannot survive as long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-stanton-evans/there-will-be-a-debate-on-firing-line-between-buckley-and-gore-vidal/)

[M. Stanton Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-stanton-evans/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d8/m-stanton-evans-51171_affirmative_there-will-be-a-debate-on-firing-line-be_505530.jpg)

> [The novel ceases to be looked at as a novel. Such is the overwhelming power of motion pictures. Gore Vidal pointed out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/the-novel-ceases-to-be-looked-at-as-a-novel-such-is-the-overwhelming/)

[William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdb/william-monahan-3226_association_the-novel-ceases-to-be-looked-at-as-a-no_1099154.jpg)

> [Gore Vidal, the American writer, once described the American economic system as 'free enterprise for the poor and socialism for the rich'.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ha-joon-chang/gore-vidal-the-american-writer-once-described-the-american-economic/)

[Ha-Joon Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ha-joon-chang/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c1/ha-joon-chang-3497_american-writer_gore-vidal-the-american-writer-once-desc_2367779.png)

> [I wrote a piece from North Korea called Visit to a Small Planet which is a line I stole from a play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-wrote-a-piece-from-north-korea-called-visit-to-a-small-planet-which/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/468/christopher-hitchens-117_body_i-wrote-a-piece-from-north-korea-called_2262027.jpg)

> [There are a few things that tend to infuriate me. One is ignorance, because I have become accustomed to speaking to very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karrine-steffans/there-are-a-few-things-that-tend-to-infuriate-me-one-is-ignorance/)

[Karrine Steffans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karrine-steffans/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf6/karrine-steffans-13061_dating_there-are-a-few-things-that-tend-to-infu_468596.jpg)

> [I stayed at 'Cosmo' well beyond my internship, moving up the ranks over some 15 years to become books editor, then brand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-searles/i-stayed-at-cosmo-well-beyond-my-internship-moving-up-the-ranks-over/)

[John Searles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-searles/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f2/john-searles-15962_become_i-stayed-at-cosmo-well-beyond-my-interns_1293652.jpg)

> [“Think of the earth as a living organism that is being attacked by billions of bacteria whose numbers double every forty years.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-methos/think-of-the-earth-as-a-living-organism-that-is-being-attacked-by/)

[Victor Methos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-methos/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/422/victor-methos-19546_life_think-of-the-earth-as-a-living-organism_614826.jpg)

> [A couple of years ago my friend and business partner Jeffrey Richards was doing the Gore Vidal play, The Best Man, starring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hart/a-couple-of-years-ago-my-friend-and-business-partner-jeffrey-richards/)

[Chris Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hart/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/448/chris-hart-47474_best-man_a-couple-of-years-ago-my-friend-and-busi_2885885.png)

> [I wonder why do wars suddenly start and suddenly stop, and why do we Brits and you Americans get involved in some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/i-wonder-why-do-wars-suddenly-start-and-suddenly-stop-and-why-do-we/)

[Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cf/doris-lessing-501_get-involved_i-wonder-why-do-wars-suddenly-start-and_1669043.jpg)

> [Gore Vidal, Glenn Greenwald, Noam Chomsky, all these guys talk about how the United States became a national security state after World…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/gore-vidal-glenn-greenwald-noam-chomsky-all-these-guys-talk-about-how/)

[Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6e/michael-hastings-6810_absurd_gore-vidal-glenn-greenwald-noam-chomsky_811569.png)

> [Gore Vidal, Glenn Greenwald, Noam Chomsky, talk about how the U.S. became a national security state after World War II. Essentially there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/gore-vidal-glenn-greenwald-noam-chomsky-talk-about-how-the-u-s-became/)

[Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73c/michael-hastings-6810_absurd_gore-vidal-glenn-greenwald-noam-chomsky_957011.jpg)

> [“Hypocrisy—in other words, the practice of lying about lying—shields us from seeing ourselves as we are: a collocation of fragments that fit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-ligotti/hypocrisy-in-other-words-the-practice-of-lying-about-lying-shields-us/)

[Thomas Ligotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ligotti/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1e/thomas-ligotti-2073_ego_hypocrisy-in-other-words-the-practice-of_1181944.jpg)

> [“Gore Vidal, for instance, once languidly told me that one should never miss a chance either to have sex or to appear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/gore-vidal-for-instance-once-languidly-told-me-that-one-should-never/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39d/christopher-hitchens-117_advice_gore-vidal-for-instance-once-languidly-t_1924801.jpg)

> [“Beloved, white racial grief erupts when you fear losing your dominance. You get mighty angry at our demand that you live up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/beloved-white-racial-grief-erupts-when-you-fear-losing-your-dominance/)

[Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/540/michael-eric-dyson-1424_grief_beloved-white-racial-grief-erupts-when-y_1136717.jpg)

> [“The matter on which I judge people is their willingness, or ability, to handle contradiction. Thus Paine was better than Burke when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-matter-on-which-i-judge-people-is-their-willingness-or-ability-to/)

[Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a3/christopher-hitchens-117_america-first-commit_the-matter-on-which-i-judge-people-is-th_601985.jpg)

> [Queerness isn't just Lady Gaga and overpriced drinks and fauxhawks. It's James Baldwin and Bea Arthur and Gertrude Stein and Gore Vidal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cameron-mitchell/queerness-isn-t-just-lady-gaga-and-overpriced-drinks-and-fauxhawks-it/)

[John Cameron Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cameron-mitchell/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/976/john-cameron-mitchell-3889_arthur_queerness-isn-t-just-lady-gaga-and-overp_2986760.jpg)

> [“Nancy always made Clementine think of that Gore Vidal quote: 'Every time a friend succeeds, I die a little.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liane-moriarty/nancy-always-made-clementine-think-of-that-gore-vidal-quote-every/)

[Liane Moriarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liane-moriarty/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec6/liane-moriarty-1135_friendship_nancy-always-made-clementine-think-of-th_553048.png)

> [“Gore Vidal, the American writer, once famously described the American economic system as ‘free enterprise for the poor and socialism for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ha-joon-chang/gore-vidal-the-american-writer-once-famously-described-the-american/)

[Ha-Joon Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ha-joon-chang/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ca/ha-joon-chang-3497_american-writer_gore-vidal-the-american-writer-once-famo_3182002.png)

> [“he took political sketch-writing to a new level, invented sports commentary as we know it, and created the essay-form as practised by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duncan-wu/he-took-political-sketch-writing-to-a-new-level-invented-sports/)

[Duncan Wu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duncan-wu/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ee/duncan-wu-234139_politics_he-took-political-sketch-writing-to-a-ne_1912428.jpg)

> [“To be attacked by a Gore Vidal, or an H.L. Mencken, one of the great wordsmiths of American criticism, while surely unpleasant,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-e-woods-jr/to-be-attacked-by-a-gore-vidal-or-an-h-l-mencken-one-of-the-great/)

[Thomas E. Woods Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-e-woods-jr/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b7/thomas-e-woods-jr-29802_gore-vidal_to-be-attacked-by-a-gore-vidal-or-an-h-l_1436373.jpg)

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                        "text": "I stayed at 'Cosmo' well beyond my internship, moving up the ranks over some 15 years to become books editor, then brand director, then editor-at-large - editing everything from an excerpt of Gore Vidal's memoir to writing some of those juicy cover lines myself.",
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                        "text": "“Think of the earth as a living organism that is being attacked by billions of bacteria whose numbers double every forty years. Either the host dies, or the virus dies, or both die.   -Gore Vidal       CHAPTER 1     It began with a cough. Michael”",
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                        "text": "A couple of years ago my friend and business partner Jeffrey Richards was doing the Gore Vidal play, The Best Man, starring James Earl Jones. I asked Jeffrey out to lunch and asked him what he thought of James playing Grandpa in You Can't Take It With You. Jeffrey thought it was a fabulous idea and so did James.",
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                        "text": "I wonder why do wars suddenly start and suddenly stop, and why do we Brits and you Americans get involved in some of them and not in others? Is it possible that the arms manufacturers quietly foment wars without us knowing? Dropping bombs is a very profitable business for them. Gore Vidal was talking about this the other day, and he made a lot of sense. Whenever American policy seems inscrutable, he said, remember the military-industrial complex. He's the one who should have been President.",
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                        "text": "Gore Vidal, Glenn Greenwald, Noam Chomsky, all these guys talk about how the United States became a national security state after World War II. I agree with that thesis. Essentially there's this bipartisan foreign policy elite who've been calling the shots for the last few decades and they're clearly still in control regardless of how clownish or absurd or stupid they demonstrate themselves to be. There's no shaking their orthodoxy.",
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                        "text": "Gore Vidal, Glenn Greenwald, Noam Chomsky, talk about how the U.S. became a national security state after World War II. Essentially there's this bipartisan foreign policy elite who've been calling the shots for the last few decades and they're clearly still in control regardless of how clownish or absurd they demonstrate themselves to be. There's no shaking their orthodoxy. To me it was the most depressing thing, these full-scale military interventions firsthand for a number of years, seeing how quickly we can get involved in another war with very little debate.",
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                        "text": "“Hypocrisy—in other words, the practice of lying about lying—shields us from seeing ourselves as we are: a collocation of fragments that fit together as a biological unit but not as anything else, not as that ghost which has been called a self, a phantasm whose ecotoplasmic unreality we can never see through. By staying true to the lie of the self, the ego, we can hold onto the illusion that we will be who we are all our lives and not see our selves die a thousand times before our death. While some have dedicated themselves to getting to the bottom of how these parts create the illusion of a whole, this is not how pyramids are built. To get a pyramid off the ground takes a lot of ego—the base material of those stacks of stones that tourists visit while on vacation. Of course, a pyramid is actually a polyhedron, that is, a mathematical conception which pyramids in the physical world resemble . . . at least from a distance. The nearer one gets to a pyramid, the more it reveals itself to be what it is: a roughly pyramidal conglomeration of bricks, a composition of fragments that is not what it seems to be. This is also how it works with humans. The world around us encourages the build up of our egos—those pyramids of self-esteem—as if we needed such encouragement. Although everyone is affected by this pyramid scheme, some participate in it more than others: they are observably more full of themselves and tend to their egos as they would exotic plants in a hothouse. It helps if they can wear down the self-esteem of others, or simply witness this erosion. As the American novelist and essayist Gore Vidal said famously and often: “It is not enough to succeed. Others must fail.” None of this could work without the distance we put between what we are and what we think we are. Then we may appear to exist apart from our constituent elements. Self-esteem would evaporate without a self to esteem. As with pyramids, it is only at a distance that this illusion can be pulled off. Hypocrisy is that distance.”",
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                        "text": "“Gore Vidal, for instance, once languidly told me that one should never miss a chance either to have sex or to appear on television. My efforts to live up to this maxim have mainly resulted in my passing many unglamorous hours on off-peak cable TV. It was actually Vidal's great foe William F. Buckley who launched my part-time television career, by inviting me on to Firing Line when I was still quite young, and giving me one of the American Right's less towering intellects as my foil. The response to the show made my day, and then my week. Yet almost every time I go to a TV studio, I feel faintly guilty. This is pre-eminently the 'soft' world of dream and illusion and 'perception': it has only a surrogate relationship to the 'hard' world of printed words and written-down concepts to which I've tried to dedicate my life, and that surrogate relationship, while it, too, may be 'verbal,' consists of being glib rather than fluent, fast rather than quick, sharp rather than pointed. It means reveling in the fact that I have a meretricious, want-it-both-ways side. My only excuse is to say that at least I do not pretend that this is not so.”",
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                        "text": "“Beloved, white racial grief erupts when you fear losing your dominance. You get mighty angry at our demand that you live up to the sense of responsibility you say others should have—especially black folk and people of color. You often tell us to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps, to make no excuses for our failures, and to instead admit our flaws and better ourselves. And yet so many of you, beloved, are obstinate to a fault, intransigent and thin-skinned when it comes to accepting the calling out you effortlessly offer to others. Donald Trump is only the most recent and boisterous example. The first stage of white racial grief is to plead utter ignorance about black life and culture. It seems impossible to pull off, but many of you appear to live in what the late writer and cultural critic Gore Vidal called “The United States of Amnesia.”",
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                        "text": "“The matter on which I judge people is their willingness, or ability, to handle contradiction. Thus Paine was better than Burke when it came to the principle of the French revolution, but Burke did and said magnificent things when it came to Ireland, India and America. One of them was in some ways a revolutionary conservative and the other was a conservative revolutionary. It's important to try and contain multitudes. One of my influences was Dr Israel Shahak, a tremendously brave Israeli humanist who had no faith in collectivist change but took a Spinozist line on the importance of individuals. Gore Vidal's admirers, of whom I used to be one and to some extent remain one, hardly notice that his essential critique of America is based on Lindbergh and 'America First'—the most conservative position available. The only real radicalism in our time will come as it always has—from people who insist on thinking for themselves and who reject party-mindedness.”",
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                        "text": "Queerness isn't just Lady Gaga and overpriced drinks and fauxhawks. It's James Baldwin and Bea Arthur and Gertrude Stein and Gore Vidal.",
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                        "text": "“Nancy always made Clementine think of that Gore Vidal quote: 'Every time a friend succeeds, I die a little.”",
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                        "text": "“he took political sketch-writing to a new level, invented sports commentary as we know it, and created the essay-form as practised by Clive James, Gore Vidal, and Michael Foot.”",
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