Gore Vidal

Author, playwright and gadfly -- via the New York Times. Always pithy and provocative, Vidal used his insider's perspective on the American political system to inform his contrarian work. Whether he was exploding the myths of American history in his novels, or writing fabulously well-written and -conceived essays, or just spouting off on the usual governmental insanity, he was a lot of fun to listen to and read. He thought of the American Empire as on its last legs, and our state on the verge of becoming a military dictatorship. He might be right. However, despite his cynicism, I believe that he espoused these thoughts in part to stimulate us to turn away from the seeming inevitable and act out of our higher selves.

UPDATE: August 2 -- the New York Times obituary referenced in my initial post contained several egregious errors -- via Gawker.