The Smithsonian Institution (Harvest Book) - Softcover

Vidal, Gore

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0156006480 ISBN 13: 9780156006484

Publisher: Mariner Books, 1999

Synopsis

It's 1939, and a teenage math genius is mysteriously summoned to the Smithsonian Institution, where a crash program to develop the atomic bomb is being conducted in the basement. The boy turns out to hold the key to both the secrets of nuclear fission and breakthroughs in the time continuum. As he brainstorms with Robert Oppenheimer, he catches a glimpse of the coming war and becomes determined to ward off the cataclysm. In a race against time-and surrounded by figures from American history past and present, including Albert Einstein, Grover Cleveland, and Abraham Lincoln-he battles to save not just himself, but humanity. Gore Vidal has written some of the finest and most inventive novels in modern times. Readers of such bestsellers as Burr, Lincoln, Duluth, and 1876 will revel in this, his latest foray into the American scene. A brilliant and vividly imaginative tale about some of the key events of the twentieth century, The Smithsonian Institution is a dramatic masterwork of comedy and allusion.

About this title

Review:

"Vidal is in fine form here. The Smithsonian Institution, perhaps because it frees him from having to write realistically, is a masterpiece of frenzied invention.-Chicago Tribune "Phantasmagoric."-The New York Times
"A high-spirited tour of American history, romance and Washington politics interpreted by Vidal's unique brand of social commentary. The Smithsonian Institution wins the literary lion a small victory in his running battle with Washington's pomposity by proving that humor is mightier than the sword."-The Denver Post

Book Description:

*A sparkling, playful and, at its core, deeply moving novel 'about' the way history is made.

About this edition

• Publisher: Mariner Books
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0156006480
• ISBN 13: 9780156006484
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 272