The collective wisdom about Gore Vidal's essays is that those on literary topics are his best work, better than his novels, whereas the political essays—nearly as numerous—are not as good. This book collects a roughly even number of both types. Most were initially published in the New York Review of Books, an interestingly named publication, since much of what appears there, often erudite, frequently witty, are not book reviews in the usual sense.
Granted, when I read those on political topics in succession, they overlap. It’s evident that Vidal had some favorite themes (who doesn’t?) and that he had honed these to the high art of aphorism. Or perhaps the low art of sound-bite, forged in the course of his frequent appearances on the TV talk show circuit. The essay that gives this volume its name features many of these pet views: the Constitution was "framed" (he savors the fact that this is the verb commonly used to describe the process) to protect the monied class. Ever since, the putative republic has been an oligarchy, despite the illusion of choice at election time. Were such views outrageous at the time? Forty years on, they seem prescient, so I enjoyed reading them.
The literary essays, meanwhile, are as good as their reputation. Vidal was a master of the form, and despite not being reviews in the strict sense of the term, they often made we want to locate and read immediately whatever book he was discussing. ( )

Vidal explains it all for us. Some of the same themes he talks about in his personal appearances. If you get to see him in person - he's great! ( )

Assorted essays on literary and political subjects. While the literary subjects are somewhat obscure and the political essays can be repetitious, there is enough wit, not to mention catty remarks, to make these essays a delight. I had trouble putting the book down, which is very unusual for me with a book of essays. Most unfortunately, almost nothing has changed about Vidal's analysis of USian politics except for his predictions about how much longer we'd be willing to put up with things. My favorite essay of the bunch was his review of the Oz books that he read as a child. There is also a very insightful essay on Doris Lessing's science fiction and delightful historical portraits of Teddy Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. ( )