SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL: Four Decades of Friendship with Gore Vidal

Detached and ironic; a master of the pointed put-down, of the cutting quip; enigmatic; impossible to truly know: this is the calcified public image of Gore Vidal--which the man himself was fond of reinforcing. Mewshaw offers an intimate look at Gore Vidal, a man who prided himself on being difficult to know. Photos.