Gore Vidal, the man called "America's most controversial writer" by The Guardian, died yesterday at his California home from complications of pneumonia. Whether you're a devoted follower of his sixty-year career or are just discovering his rich body of work, there is much to learn about our complicated country and selves in his novels, plays, screenplays, memoirs, and incisive essays, many of which are collected in "United States (Essays 1952-92)," recipient of the 1993 National Book Award.

Here's our selection of essential Gore Vidal titles, chosen with this insight from his 2003 novel "Julian" in mind: “How marvelous books are, crossing worlds and centuries, defeating ignorance and, finally, cruel time itself.”

“Palimpsest: A Memoir”

This gossip-laden memoir of Vidal’s first thirty-nine years weaves in magnetic cultural and political characters including the Kennedys, Marlon Brando, Anais Nin, and Eleanor Roosevelt.

“Point to Point Navigation: A Memoir”

This witty and chronologically meandering memoir emphasizing the second half of Vidal's life is rich with reflections on mortality, including the death of his longtime companion, Howard Auster.

“Gore Vidal: Snapshots in History's Glare"

A visual memoir including photographs, letters, and manuscripts from an elegant life, captured in his classic quote: "Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn."

“Selected Essays of Gore Vidal”

This selection of twenty-four Vidal essays, edited and introduced by his literary executor Jay Parini, includes classics like “Theodore Roosevelt: An American Sissy" and "Pornography."

“Gore Vidal: A Biography” by Fred Kaplan

Biographer Fred Kaplan (who has also documented the lives of Henry James, Mark Twain, and Charles Dickens) analyzes Vidal’s genre-crossing body of work while shedding light on his Washington, D.C. childhood, runs for political office, complicated sex life, and famous feuds with larger-than-life personalities William Buckley, Norman Mailer, and Truman Capote, among others.