Inventing a Nation: Washington, Adams, Jefferson

In his latest book, Inventing a Nation: Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Gore Vidal takes readers behind the scenes as America's founding fathers fought and worked to create a new country. Among Vidal's revelations: Benjamin Franklin believed the Constitution was flawed and predicted it eventually would fail, and that the Revolution was kept alive only by the force of Washington's personality and "the cleverness of our diplomats" (including Franklin, Jefferson and Adams) in convincing France to come to America's aid.

[@ferabra8939]

You can tell he was highly intelligent...the way he reasons, jokes, tells anecdotes, and how he keeps his line of thought coherent at all times, while being entertaining. Delightful man , sadly passed in 2012.

[@MichaelSmith-jw8qw]

I sure miss Gore Vidal--glad this is on KZbin. It is always fun to listen to him.

[@sspbrazil]

Michael Smith I miss him too.

[@simonbailey8814]

Me too

[@cindymaceda2999]

He expressed his opinions about the useless wars in the Mid-East that de-stabilised the world , not fearing being called a traitor which he was NOT.

[@wally1452]

I come back to listen to one of the finest Americans we were so fortunate to have...and still have, with his wonderful writings and a good number of his visits as this or his spoken & written essays. I miss him and that great way he spoke so clearly and honestly re all persons & things concerning the U.S. and warnings that we must strive to go back to and heed the great ones that brought forth this nation. What an amazing, good man, great historian, always going forth telling the truth. There will not be another like him, I do not think.

[@bruceguerin]

Videl is a true intellectual and will be held in high reverence as time moves along

[@jake105]

I was at this event. It was so full of people, they needed two extra overflow rooms in which they rushed video screens into for us late comers to watch. I was in a room right next to the Girls Harvard swim team. And all these tall athletic blonds with wet hair and towels around their shoulders were walking in and out so much I could barely pay attention to the lecture. It was a great time though. I got to meet Gore at the book signing. He looked up at me like he expected me to say something interesting, but all I could say was thank you. looking back at it now, I'm sure he was just waiting for me to say my name so he could write it onthe page. I was just to nervous meeting him. Hey, it was my first ever book signing.

[@kristinpfanku3927]

Lucky you!

[@johnnylongfeather3086]

Fun story!

[@jake105]

I’d forgotten I posted that.

[@jake105]

Johnny, my father was born in Fort Yates ND. He took me there when I was 12. His mother and younger brother was still living there at the time. Summer 1972

[@seinfeld8812]

This is actually a good story thank you for sharing

[@wally1452]

I like hearing, reading Gore Vidal. He was our last great man of Letters.

[@daveatlarge5030]

At a time in history we need men like him. You are so missed....

[@Einstein1414]

Loved him. A Giant intellect!

[@dogcatparty7371]

November 2019 Everyone needs to listen to this video to prepare for every election count.

[@scottyjoe22]

Don't forget to restore and expand the Bill of Rights!

[@boeingdriver29]

What a mind, what a man !

[@ircrane3349]

The questions from the audience are quite good and concise ,not long winded like many debates.

[@19battlehill]

Dennis Kusinch is the best, Gore Vidal nails this -- the presidency is not a beauty pagent and he tells the truth. Vidal is telling the truth they own the media.

[@Bigwave2003]

How can an interview, professionally filmed at Harvard in 2003, look this color distorted and grainy?

[@feedyourhead434]

You seem to have forgotten how bad home video quality was in 2003

[@johnnylongfeather3086]

!!? Maybe it’s a VCR copy of a copy or something.

[@shangrila73eldorado]

the patrician renegade, the patrician maniac, the traitor to his class, the philanderer, the pied pooper, the midnight scooper, the loopty looper...none other than, the great, the wholesome, the fulcrum, the lever, and the beaver -- GORE VIDAL

[@Austin8thGenTexan]

Gore was anything other than wholesome - and FDR was "the traitor to his class..." Gore was wonderful - warts and all! 🌞 🌛

[@dengelke]

Thank you!

[@cindymaceda2999]

We really need him now. He expressed his opinions about the useless wars in the Mid-East that de-stabilised the world , not fearing being called a traitor which he was NOT.

[@simonbailey8814]

I love the way Gore played with his cane.

[@37Dionysos]

Lydon was always there to water every spark of genius.

[@jerrymiller2346]

33:20"Don't allege that he's thinking"! Gore to the interviewer regarding Bush!!!! Fkin right on!

[@petestevens3970]

Thank you.

[@paintboy776]

I worry the retribution and cost for our sins.

[@varisleek3360]

its gonna be wild

[@NikoHL]

Gore Vidal.. Brilliant man.

[@fredphilippi8388]

Gore Vidal was even more prescient for the 2020s.

[@Thomas-fu8vp]

GV left his estate to Harvard.

[@ferabra8939]

He has a point. "He has the wrong height to be President". Which sounds ridiculous, but it's true. Many over 6 feet tall. They look more presidential. Those under 5 10 are considered failures, those considered great presidents were the tallest. Lincoln, Washington, FDR, Jefferson....all over 6 2

[@de33ess3]

7:58 "by persons unknown"

[@cindymaceda2999]

We still don’t know 60 years later, do we?😮

[@johnnylongfeather3086]

Sharpton is sharp? Wow

[@edisone1]

Barely any discussion of Washington, Adams, or Jefferson

[@robertrichard6107]

He mentions 1876 thpugh, a great book of his to read. It is very essential in understanding how we're being undermined today.

[@BlueBaron3339]

Why, why, why, oh why do they feel they always have to open it up to questions from the audience? 😖 😞

[@BlueBaron3339]

@@meadow9441 Good point but sometimes it can make things worse. I mean...it's Harvard, complete with immense, entitled egos. Well...I can't say, as I stop watching these the moment the questions start, unless it was Christopher Hitches who loved to skewer folks who asked dumb or self-serving questions 😈

[@user-vr6io5xb9e]

32:58 “China will have its turn and there’s nothing we can do about it “... and the time has come

[@willpeony5534]

Would Vidal have masked?

[@stevenbollinger9776]

I love academic discussions and lectures, and I hate the pointless long-winded introductions. How many of you feel the same way, and why are the rest of you lying?

[@kiwitrainguy]

I've learnt to recognise them and fast-forward through them. It's so much fun to do that.

[@LisavonPoelking]

#getsmartlikegorevidal

[@ke11yke11z]

Scary the things thus man was saying 2o years ago. To think after the assassination of Sadam hussein how society keeps crumbling. Family Unit Keeps Degenerating

[@youtubeuser-7098]

13:00-

[@jeremiah5342]

A lot of people on the right have come around to his thinking.

[@cesargonzalez7957]

36:22 on third parties

[@kiwitrainguy]

I've recently come to the conclusion that the best way for US citizens to vote is for a third party, and it doesn't matter which one it is either.

[@tyleranyways]

6:30 39:51 45:20. 40:21 LOL

[@negbefla6956]

Problem with recording current events is they become dated quickly. I will read book but skip this video.

[@johnnylongfeather3086]

4:18 bad joke, didn’t make sense. Rewind it - the man didn’t misspeak

[@thefakenewsnetwork8072]

Long live freedom and democratic communism

[@cjprice1700]

Nice open mindedness from Harvard...

[@nuada123]

The despotism of the Trump Era surely demonstrates the truth of Franklin's words.

[@Matt-pt6rl]

The “potism “ of this era is exemplified by fake plants 🪴🪴🪴🫡🫡👍