a generation of writers quietly leaving us

I see that one of my favorite writers/intellectuals/interesting people has died:  Gore Vidal, at age 86.  I in particular liked reading his memoirs, Palimpsest (1995) and Point to Point Navigation (2006).  He was one of those rare novelists whose real life was more riveting than his fiction. There aren't many of his peers left, and that's sad.  They don't make 'em like that any more.