Point to Point Navigation

A Memoir

By: Gore Vidal

Narrated by: Gore Vidal

Winner of both the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award, New York Times best-selling author Gore Vidal is one of the true masters of American letters. In this extraordinary memoir, Vidal recalls his accomplishments and defeats, discusses the friends and enemies he has made, and contemplates the nature of mortality.

In the Navy during World War II, Vidal was forced to use point to point navigation whenever compasses failed. It is an apt analogy for his life, which has been filled with glorious triumphs as well as spectacular controversies. Never afraid to enter uncharted waters, Vidal has had relationships with innumerable luminaries, including President Kennedy, Tennessee Williams, Eleanor Roosevelt, Orson Welles, Greta Garbo, and others.

Thoroughly engaging and, of course, provocative, Point to Point Navigation is the fascinating story of an American icon. Vidal himself narrates this memoir, intimately sharing the stories of his own life.

©2006 Gore Vidal (P)2006 Recorded Books LLC

Critic reviews

"In short, the memoir is a perfect encapsulation of Vidal's outsized personality." (Booklist)

Fascinating anecdotes from a master storyteller

Rich tales from a rich life are recalled by Vidal himself in this excellent collection.

Brilliant

Gore Vidal at the end of his long and over-the-top life, here exhibits his wisdom, his wit and his frustrations, as he settles old scores and drops many a name.

There is much to be learned from this too soon ended short account of a remarkable life.

A very articulate autobiography/memoir

A very articulate autobiography/memoir. I enjoyed many Gore books. Review complete.
Thanks to Audible Shop.
Glen W Stinnett
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Tongue in cheek

Mr Vidal is witty and wry. Love both so I'm a fan. He wouldn't care at all. One of a kind.

A Few Hours With Gore Vidal

I seem to have spent a lot of time circling around the works of Gore Vidal since my late teens. It was a pleasure then to come to the late author’s second volume of memoirs, even more so when read by the author himself. In theory covering forty years from 1965 to 2005, Point to Point Navigation instead sees Vidal exploring aspects of his entire life. From his childhood in 1930s Washington DC to various boarding schools, his career as a novelist, brushes with Hollywood stars and Washington politicians, and more besides, it’s all here. Told in anything but chronological order, it’s a fascinating, witty, and even at times poignant examination of Vidal’s life and times with insights galore about American politics and the media. Yet, also, of the man himself, from two failed runs for public office 22 years apart that Vidal writes about without bitterness but an acknowledgment of the forces against him, and the death of his partner of 42 years, Howard Austen. In doing so, Vidal shows a more self-reflective side of himself, leading to some of the memoirs most tragic moments. Yet it’s the incredible life, encounters fleeting, and longtime friendships that draw the listener in, with Vidal’s eye for detail and biting wit on full display. It’s a wonderful way to spend a few hours, taking in Vidal’s stories and anecdotes.