The names have changed and the shamelessness causes the eyes to pop even further, but the threats to the freedoms Vidal loved and fought so hard to defend were already vivid in these excoriating essays about the “Cheney-Bush junta” from 20 years ago. Witty, urbane, sharp and prescient, they should be read by anyone interested in how the US got where it is now, or even just for entertainment value – although it’s all arguably beyond a joke.