Tom Wolfe Books

WOW!!! What a group of luscious photographs from a man who obviously loved photography and the Kennedys, a great combination! As a portrait photographer I was impressed by the rich quality of the prints as well as the overall stories told with these photographs and I can only imagine what a 1st generation print would have looked like. Thanks to all who helped put this book together, but especially to his daughter Thomasina.

very interesting photos that I had never seen before. too many books on this family are filled with all the same photos. Nice to see some new ones.

The terrorist attack on September 11, 2001 may have destroyed Jacques Lowe's negatives of the Kennedy family, but not the photographs or the brilliance evident in the camera capturing this shining light that once was Camelot. On the fortieth anniversary of the assassination, which is astutely, not for the first time, linked with September 11, 2001 as a turning point and a loss of innocence in our country's history, the magic of the Kennedys portrayed through Jacques Lowe's wise, perceptive lens makes us mourn for all we've lost.

Modern pundits and social critics might decry our fascination with the Kennedys, but their influence is felt strongly, especially now in Maria Shriver and hubby Ah-nold, a fierce Republican but a believer in the service to God and country that JFK practiced. You can't ignore Jack and Jackie keeping company with Premier Nikita Khrushchev, or Kennedy shaking hands with coal miners. Lowe's close-ups of the miners illuminate the dignity and strength of these men.

The Kennedys romp through a time of change in social, personal and political home movies. Particularly striking are the unguarded JFK moments, such as the photo of JFK thinking with a cigar (no Clinton jokes, please), or the sequence and closeup illustrating Kennedy's distress over hearing of Prime minister of Congo Patrice Lumumba's murder. We see the Kennedys, and they are us, with the added weight of John-John's salute. The intimacy lends more depth of history to this important, moving book.

What a surprise when I found this book.To think that after 40 years a refreshing new book on President Kennedy could still be published.All the photos were taken by Jacques Lowe,who was essentially the Kennedy family photographer.His photos show the personal and human side of Kennedy and the Kennedy family as well as the people who were close to the family.
Once JFK became President, things changed drastically,and we no longer saw the same kind of photos Lowe gave us.It is a shame that Lowe did not continue on as the family photographer and hence continue with the personal glimpses he gave us.This book also has many photos which were not previously published,which show the real emotions of the people involved.Also surprising is how good the text is that accompanies the photos.
Of the many Kennedy books I own or have seen,none is better or more personal and character revealing ,than this one.
One can only imagine what a treasure trove went up in smoke when all of Lowe's negatives were lost in the World Trade Towers destruction on 9/11.
This is a large,heavy,well printed and bound book using top quality paper;a little expensive,but worth every penny.

A real treasure of intimate photographs of the entire kennedy clan by the photographers who was granted access to them before jfk became president. this book is a treasure.

This is a gem of a book for anyone even remotely interested in American UFOlogy. It gives a nice cross-section, from the more sinister cult-type movements to earnest characters with their own home made mini-SETIs. Its a coffee-table book and the text, whilst complementing the photos, also serves as something of an introduction for the uninitiated. Glad I got this, will treasure it!

Curran's "In Advance of the Landing..." is a singular book that explores the mythological basis of the UFO phenomenon. Less concerned with the 'proof' of whether or not UFOs exist, Curran sets out to show that the impact of the belief in flying saucers and extraterrestrials (all of them much more clever and wise than mere earthlings) is pervasive and sits entirely within the continuum of Judea-Christianity beliefs.
A revised mythology for a new technological age is beautifully rendered through Curran's photographs and words.

IN ADVANCE OF THE LANDING is a sensitively written and photographed testimony of how far we will go to have something--anything--to hope for. I find myself looking again and again at the pictures and stories of people who labor in workshops or in empty fields building rockets and flying saucers, people who await the landing of extraterrestrials they KNOW are coming soon. This subject is as worthy of serious study as any religion, and you don't have to look hard to see how closely these people's expectations parallel second comings, raptures, and apocalyptic salvation scenarios of better-known religions. As ludicrous as some of the believers are (Ariel, the "queen" of the Unarian religon who dresses like a fairy godmother, a tiara atop her bubble hairdo) I came away with renewed fascination for and frustration at our capacity to believe. An excellent artifact of our times.

I've read virtually every UFO book that's come out over the past 40+ years, and this remains one of my all-time favorites. I have the original softbound edition, which has become a cult classic and now goes for something like $100. This is more of a sociological document than a UFO book. It perfectly captures the entire spectrum of quirky characters involved in the UFO field, and the photographs are an absolute hoot. I return to this book time and again just for a laugh and to remind myself that there are nuttier people in the UFO field than me. There's nothing condescending about the authors' treatment of their subjects, however. They obviously have a genuine fondness for them -- and you will, too. This is a "must have" for anyone with an interest in UFOs.

This is an excellent book which combines good journalism with excellent photography. Once you pick it up its hard to put it down. The book is facinating but at the same time alarming because the people in it are real. Mr. Curran gives an excellent and frank portrayal of the people who hold to the reality of UFO's and their occupants. He presents them, without any judgement, in an accurate a manner as possible. You can clearly see the bankrupcy of their beliefs. It is a sad but truthful commentary of the manner in which a human being can choose to waste his life.

He is insightful and incisive. He notes and cuts away the nonessential to reveal the underlying...nothingness of the 1970s.
"The Man Who Always Peaked Too Soon" is brilliant. Great drawings..and mini-essays.

Check it out -- large format hardback, 1980 printing by Farrar Strauss and GirouxIn Our Time

"In Our Time" examines, through essays and sketches, the fluxtuating cultural norms of 1970's America. It is a sort of logical literary culmination of Wolfe's "Me decade" works: The onservations of "Radical Chic," "Mauve Gloves and Madmen," and even bits of "The Painted Word" resonate in this more succinct and cutting collection. The "Me Decade" spawned countless small groups of so-called free thinkers, self-healers, and folks liberating themselves from the brutal tyranny of the worlds most prosperous economy. In "In Our Time," Wolfe is most interested with these people, whether they be the newly prosperous prole tearing up the roadways in monstrous autos, the bell-bottomed middle manager smoking marijuana during the lunch hour, or the literary, artistic, and political elements who fashioned themselves in response to wanton secularity. In addition to short essays, some pulled directly from his earlier books, Wolfe compiles and adds to his earlier drawings. These are wonderful to see in a large format, where Wolfe's rough, yet funny and insightful observations on the human body (specifically an American one) become all the better to revel in. Wolfe wonderfully expresses the basic silliness of fashion consciousness in the 1970's through sketches of hopefully hip septegenerians and young punks as dandies. In addition, the short essays, especially the opening comments on the end of the decade, are vintage Wolfe. Unfortunately, this edition is out of print and hard to find. However, it is the coffee table accesory for any fan of Wolfe or of that bitter pill of a decade we call the 1970's.

If you've never seen a cartoon by Tom Wolfe, it's a surprise and a real pleasure to see that he draws as brilliantly as he writes.

In Our Time has 89 of his cartoons (and a couple essays). You'll want to save it and look at the cartoons every couple of years -- "The Maternal Instinct," say, or "No. 1 The Modern Churchman," or maybe "The Man Who Always Peaked Too Soon," or the cartoon of a hugely fat Edward Kennedy wearing a tiny bathing suit, with a roach clip, a sacred heart locket, a coke spoon and a crucifix, each one dangling in his chest hairs, on its own separate chain.

You'll have your own favorites. Possibly the two cartoons about Jimmy Carter. They're especially sweet.

"In Our Time" examines, through essays and sketches, the fluxtuating cultural norms of 1970's America. It is a sort of logical literary culmination of Wolfe's "Me decade" works: The onservations of "Radical Chic," "Mauve Gloves and Madmen," and even bits of "The Painted Word" resonate in this more succinct and cutting collection. The "Me Decade" spawned countless small groups of so-called free thinkers, self-healers, and folks liberating themselves from the brutal tyranny of the worlds most prosperous economy. In "In Our Time," Wolfe is most interested with these people, whether they be the newly prosperous prole tearing up the roadways in monstrous autos, the bell-bottomed middle manager smoking marijuana during the lunch hour, or the literary, artistic, and political elements who fashioned themselves in response to wanton secularity. In addition to short essays, some pulled directly from his earlier books, Wolfe compiles and adds to his earlier drawings. These are wonderful to see in a large format, where Wolfe's rough, yet funny and insightful observations on the human body (specifically an American one) become all the better to revel in. Wolfe wonderfully expresses the basic silliness of fashion consciousness in the 1970's through sketches of hopefully hip septegenerians and young punks as dandies. In addition, the short essays, especially the opening comments on the end of the decade, are vintage Wolfe. Unfortunately, this edition is out of print and hard to find. However, it is the coffee table accesory for any fan of Wolfe or of that bitter pill of a decade we call the 1970's.

I'm sorry to see that this book out of print. It's both an excellent collection of articles, and a "how-to" for budding writers on how to write in the style of the "new journalism". I'd love to see this book back in print, or even better, a revised edition, with more up-to-date articles (anyone for a collection of New Journalist articles on the 80s and 90s?) and perhaps a new assortment of writers.

This is a wide slice of the mid-century New Journalism epoch. It features charged work from every major player (including Terry Southern and others curiously ignored in Weingarten's overview). The predictions in Wolfe's manifesto haven't panned out as pervasively as he expected - if anything, today's writerly writers, by and large, are more gimmicky, narcissistic and insulated than ever - but that's capital-L Literature's loss, and the night is young. Bring this thing back into print, and don't fear the carnival.

If there were superlatives that have not yet been applied to Martin Gardner, then I would use them here. While most know him as an excellent writer of mathematics, many know him as a conduit of knowledge in mathematics, puzzles and magic, a role that has earned him many close friends. This book is a collection of problems, puzzles and other assorted exercises for the mind that were written as part of the gatherings for Gardner (G4Gs). The fourth took place in February, 2000 and unfortunately, also had to include tributes to some who had passed on.
As befits his stature among everyone engaged in the pursuit of mathematics, puzzles and magic, the entries in this book are the best. The range is also consistent with the enormous variety of interests that Gardner has. There are seven sections in the book:

The Toast: Tributes, remembrances of those who have passed.
Tantalizing Appetizers: Challenges for the Reader, a series of quickie puzzles.
Smoked Ham: A Course in Magic, explanations of some basic magic tricks.
Chef's Caprice, some amusing stories that involve wordplay.
Wild Game (and Puzzles), some truly diabolical puzzles.
Mathematical Entrees, some longer papers on mathematics.
Mathematical Treats, short papers with a mathematical bent.

If you are a recreational mathematician or puzzler, then this is a book you must read. For the first time in my life, I laughed when I read a math book.

Published in Journal of Recreational Mathematics, reprinted with permission.

Collaboratively edited by David Wolfe and Tom Rodgers, Puzzlers' Tribute: A Feast For The Mind is an amazing compilation of classic brain teasers collected from all walks of science, mathematics, and verbal riddles to test the reader's thinking skills to their highest degree. Each puzzle is not only proffered, but comes with a detailed explanation as to the true nature of the problem, as well as a step-by-step solution. Highly recommended for mathematicians, magicians, and puzzle enthusiasts, Puzzlers' Tribute is amazing, varied, challenging, and fun leisure reading guaranteed to give its readers an itch for pencil and paper to work the problems out for themselves!

If the cataloging does not characterize `The Three Pigs, Business School, and Wolfe Hash Stew' as a one-of-a-kind children's book, then the biblical quote, the discrete reference to Bo Diddley, or the extraordinary illustrations certainly does. The cataloging of `The Three Pigs, Business School, and Wolfe Hash Stew' reveals a great deal about Matthew S. Field's second, unique, children's book:

1. Fairy tales-Adaptations. 2. Family-Juvenile fiction. 3. Education-Juvenile fiction. 4. Professions-Juvenile fiction. 5. Choice (Psychology)-Juvenile fiction. 6. [Choice-Fiction. 7. Family-Fiction.].

This entry in the fractured fairytale category is the story children have heard from their parents or grand parents, but Field adds a few additional dimensions. First, the story reveals more about the three pigs' lives before building their homes. The reader meets the three pigs' parents, Mother Sow and Father Boar. The home where the three pigs live is one which emphasizes love, appreciation of beauty, respect for ones' self and body, sympathy for others, and education. (How about that for a foundation of values for a 21st century world?) As the three pigs grow, each excels in school and continues to college and graduate school. The first pig goes to medical school, the second pig goes to law school, and the third pig goes to business school. When each graduates with and goes to work, each builds a house. Predictably, the first pig builds a straw house. The second builds a stick house. And, the third pig builds a brick house.

A story that targets children between the ages of 4- and 8-years old, the ideas like graduate school may seem a little "heavy" for the younger reader. However, Field broaches this and other ideas delicately and matter-of-factly, as if performing well in school and going to college are common and expected as taking music lessons, going to sports practices, or caring about others. So, in a very unobtrusive way, Field establishes for the young reader the expectation of doing well in school, going to college, and becoming a productive member of the community.

In addition to what may be the first moral of `The Three Pigs, Business School, and Wolfe Hash Stew,' the second appears to be, whatever else you do, have a some understanding of business management. As Field writes, "It is just as true in fairytales as it is in real life: sometimes, bad things happen to good pigs." While Field makes a clear suggestion of the identity of "B.B. Wolfe," he could be anything from a bully on the playground to devastating flood. Field makes a clear implication; regardless of the other good a person (or a pig) does in the world, be prepared for anything.

The Biblical reference is a New Testament quotation from Matthew, Chapter 7 and Verse 6 and aptly applies perhaps to those who may misinterpret the story as being derogatory toward doctors or lawyers or any other group: "Do not give to dogs what is holy, neither cast your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet and turn to tear you." The "swine" and "dogs" also fit nicely with the "pigs" and the "wolf" in the story. The Bo Diddley reference is sort of an homage to a musical legend whose "Bo Diddley Beat" inspired the song "Willie and the Hand Jive," which make reference to "a doctor and a lawyer and an Indian chief," from which Field likely drew upon his spin on the classic fairytale. There is actually a visual reference to Bo Diddley in one of Tom Hedderich's illustrations. While a child reader will certainly not appreciate some of these obscure references, their very inclusion makes the story more fun for the parent who reads the story to a child or group of children.

And finally, to make `The Three Pigs, Business School, and Wolfe Hash Stew' even more interesting, there is an unusual misprint on the dust jacket of the first edition that makes this children's book not only quite entertaining, but also quite collectible.

Author Matthew S. Field and illustrator Tom Hedderich, who gave us the memorable and popular FATHER LIKE A TREE book for adults and children to share equally, have succeeded in producing another beautiful volume in time for the holiday gift thinker's list. Based on the ages old story of the Three Little Pigs, Field has updated the story about choices and consequences and the integrity of the family, bringing it not only fully into the present time, but also 'translating' a children's tale into a sound and sensitive parable about goals and rewards.

THE THREE PIGS, BUSINESS SCHOOL AND WOLFE HASH STEW visits the family of the three little pigs headed by Mother Sow and Father Boar who encourage their beloved three 'boys' to learn art, music, gymnastics, and respect for their bodies, preparing them for the world outside. After successful schooling, each of the three brothers is off to pursue careers - a doctor, a lawyer, and a businessman. Of course these three little pigs become happy older men, each building a house unique to his needs: a straw house, a stick house, and a brick house. And of course out comes B.B. Wolfe, sort of an evil 'tax collector' type, who visits each pig and after encounters, makes good on his threat to blow the houses down - except of course the brick house, a fortress so protected that even climbing down the chimney places the bad Wolfe in a 'stew'. And the three brother pigs gather inside the surviving brick house, joined in trust, family bonding, and appetite for Wolfe hash stew!

Tom Hedderich's illustrations are artworks worthy of hanging. Not only does he capture the 'flavor' of the story, he has created wonderful updated images of the present day pig tale. The book will delight children who cannot read because the pages are so rich in fine illustration: naturally, the message will gradually seep into their minds and probably encourage questions from the reading adult...which is, after all, part of the agenda of well told fairy tales.

Bound to gather awards for both story and art, this is a book to add to the collection of many a family both for holidays and throughout the year. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp, November 07

I have been a sculptor in clay for many years and do casting of my work in pewter. Recently I decided to take up wood carving as well. The first Tom Wolfe book I read I borrowed from a friend. It was this book. It is easy to understand and Mr. Wolfe takes you thru each step. It was so helpful in learning to carve with pen knives I had to buy my own copy to keep as reference and will use it for many years to come. This is a wonderful book for beginners and great for long time carvers as a reference. He uses simple terms and easy to understand directions. The first carving I did following his direction is beautiful and sold for $90.00!

I loved listening to this book on tape. Many of the characters use black ghetto dialect, which is pretty hard to hear in your "mind's ear" if you read this book on printed page. After listening to this fantstically read book on tape, it is well worth the time to re-read the book. The book has really changed the way I view many black leaders, the financial gurus, and the press. Incidentally, I read the book "A man in Full" the same way - first by ear then by eye and that added to my enjoyment. Tom wolfe has remarkable insight into American society.

The 46th carving instructional book by one of the leading caricature woodcarvers in America, Carving Down-Home Angels with Tom Wolfe is a step-by-step guide that walks the reader through the process of creating charming, folksy wooden angels with endearing elderly features. Full color photographs on every page illustrate the process, and a bare minimum of text instructs the reader in the simple steps, from carving a block to painting minute details. The instructional process focuses on creating a single "down-home angel", but several examples of variations on the theme point the way to applying the general techniques to original creations. An excellent resource for woodcarvers seeking to train their figure carving talent or even handcraft Christmas gifts and decorations.

If you want to understand today's drug culture, you must go back to the origins in the Sixties. Wolf's account of this era and its principal characters is a not to be missed read and a valuable reference for that period. In fact, if you want to understand society today, certain lifestyles and the associated values, read this book. From the painted buses to the flower children to Ken Kesey and more, it is all here in extraordinary detail. You won't put it down until you finish, once you start reading, so carve out a few hours one weekend and have food and beverage to hand. Pencil and paper, too, for you will want to get Wolf's other books for his social insights.