Vidal, Gore Creation ISBN 13: 9780394500157

Creation - Hardcover

9780394500157: Creation
View all copies of this ISBN edition:
 
 
Cyrus Spitama, aged Persian ambassador to Athens, recounts his official and personal journeys throughout the world of the fifth century B.C. and his encounters with the Buddha, Confucius, Socrates, and other great men of an extraordinary century

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

Review:
In 445 B.C., Cyrus Spitama, the grandson of the prophet Zoroaster, is the Persian ambassador to the city of Athens. He has a rather caustic appreciation of his situation: "I am blind. But I am not deaf. Because of the incompleteness of my misfortune, I was obliged yesterday to listen for nearly six hours to a self-styled historian whose account of what the Athenians like to call 'the Persian Wars' was nonsense of a sort that were I less old and more privileged, I would have risen to my seat at the Odeon and scandalized all Athens by answering him." Having thus dismissed Herodotus, Cyrus then dictates his life story to his nephew, Democritus, with similar disdain for the Greeks--whom we in the modern world have come to view as the progenitors of civilization, but whom Cyrus considers to be bad-smelling rabble.

Of course, Cyrus Spitama speaks with a very modern, ironic voice supplied to him by Gore Vidal--and the political intrigues in which Cyrus finds himself immersed are likewise familiar territory for fans of Vidal's historical fiction. But the narrator's delightfully wicked observations are the icing on a narrative of truly epic scope--out of his desire to understand the origins of the world, Cyrus undertakes journeys to India, where he encounters disciples of the Buddha, and China, where he engages Confucius in philosophical conversation while the great sage fishes by the riverside. Creation offers insights into classical history laced with scintillating wit and narrative brio.

From the Inside Flap:
A sweeping novel of politics, war, philosophy, and adventure-in a restored edition, featuring never-before-published material from Gore Vidal's original manuscript-Creation" offers a captivating grand tour of the ancient world.
Cyrus Spitama, grandson of the prophet Zoroaster and lifelong friend of Xerxes, spent most of his life as Persian ambassador for the great king Darius. He traveled to India, where he discussed nirvana with Buddha, and to the warring states of Cathay, where he learned of Tao from Master Li and fished on the riverbank with Confucius. Now blind and aged in Athens-the Athens of Pericles, Sophocles, Thucydides, Herodotus, and Socrates-Cyrus recounts his days as he strives to resolve the fundamental questions that have guided his life's journeys: how the universe was created, and why evil was created with good. In revisiting the fifth century b.c.-one of the most spectacular periods in history-Gore Vidal illuminates the ideas that have shaped civilizations for millennia."

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

  • PublisherRandom House
  • Publication date1981
  • ISBN 10 0394500156
  • ISBN 13 9780394500157
  • BindingHardcover
  • Edition number1
  • Number of pages510
  • Rating

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9780375727054: Creation: A Novel

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  ISBN 13:  9780375727054
Publisher: Vintage, 2002
Softcover

  • 9780349104751: Creation

    Abacus..., 1993
    Softcover

  • 9780345300072: Creation

    Ballan..., 1982
    Softcover

  • 9780385507622: Creation: A Novel

    Doubleday, 2002
    Hardcover

  • 9780345340207: Creation

    Ballan..., 1986
    Softcover

Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace

Stock Image

Vidal, Gore
Published by Random House (1981)
ISBN 10: 0394500156 ISBN 13: 9780394500157
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
GoldenWavesOfBooks
(Fayetteville, TX, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New. Fast Shipping and good customer service. Seller Inventory # Holz_New_0394500156

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 21.74
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.00
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Vidal, Gore
Published by Random House (1981)
ISBN 10: 0394500156 ISBN 13: 9780394500157
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
LibraryMercantile
(Humble, TX, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: new. Seller Inventory # newMercantile_0394500156

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 23.75
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 3.00
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Vidal, Gore
Published by Random House (1981)
ISBN 10: 0394500156 ISBN 13: 9780394500157
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Wizard Books
(Long Beach, CA, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New. Seller Inventory # Wizard0394500156

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 25.97
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 3.50
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Vidal, Gore
Published by Random House (1981)
ISBN 10: 0394500156 ISBN 13: 9780394500157
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
GoldBooks
(Austin, TX, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New Copy. Customer Service Guaranteed. Seller Inventory # think0394500156

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 28.20
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.25
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Vidal, Gore
Published by Random House (1981)
ISBN 10: 0394500156 ISBN 13: 9780394500157
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Front Cover Books
(Denver, CO, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: new. Seller Inventory # FrontCover0394500156

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 29.70
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.30
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Vidal, Gore
Published by Random House (1981)
ISBN 10: 0394500156 ISBN 13: 9780394500157
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Hafa Adai Books
(Moncks Corner, SC, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: new. Seller Inventory # Hafa_fresh_0394500156

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 46.21
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 3.95
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Vidal, Gore
Published by Random House (1981)
ISBN 10: 0394500156 ISBN 13: 9780394500157
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Books Unplugged
(Amherst, NY, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: New. Buy with confidence! Book is in new, never-used condition. Seller Inventory # bk0394500156xvz189zvxnew

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 50.45
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Vidal, Gore
Published by Random House (1981)
ISBN 10: 0394500156 ISBN 13: 9780394500157
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Book Deals
(Tucson, AZ, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: New. New! This book is in the same immaculate condition as when it was published. Seller Inventory # 353-0394500156-new

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 58.82
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Vidal, Gore
Published by Random House (1981)
ISBN 10: 0394500156 ISBN 13: 9780394500157
New Hardcover Quantity: 2
Seller:
Save With Sam
(North Miami, FL, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. Brand New!. Seller Inventory # VIB0394500156

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 67.37
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Vidal, Gore
Published by Random House (1981)
ISBN 10: 0394500156 ISBN 13: 9780394500157
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
BennettBooksLtd
(LOS ANGELES, CA, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: New. New. In shrink wrap. Looks like an interesting title! 1.8. Seller Inventory # Q-0394500156

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 96.46
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 5.46
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds