Tom Wolfe Books

This is an exceptional documentary analysis of what goes on in the making of a film. The author, Julie Salamon, was given the opportunity to follow Brian De Palma for the total duration of a very difficult film project, Bonfire of the Vanities, the remake of the famous Tom Wolfe novel. It is an exceptional replay of everything that happened from original purchase of the rights to the novel, to the publicity and reviews of the famous movie, to the ultimate collapse at the box office. One only wonders how this book would have read had the movie been a success.

While I really enjoyed this book, I would not recommend this book to anyone that does not have an intense interest in Hollywood and the making of movies. Excessive time is spent poring over the roles of line producers, second unit directors and production assistants. The book gives you a great understanding not just of the stars but also what it takes to break into the business and what the career path can be. Particularly as it relates to De Palma's assistant looking for an assistant producer credit and the second unit director looking to break out and become a director of his own films. In addition, it does touch on the stars, both actors and director, and how their idiosyncrasies shape the movie and its making.

This is not a short book. So if you are looking for an exciting page turner, this is not for you. You will spend many pages following the tale of obtaining rights to shoot at certain locations, tales of screen tests of local judges, and boycotts and publicity by Bronx politicians.

Overall, this controversial book detailing separation of the haves and have-nots of the 80s becomes an even more controversial movie with screw-ups in producing of the movie and casting of the roles. But if you want to know what Hollywood is really like and not what just is on the screen, this is the book. You will learn why making movies is so personality driven. For the movie fans, Tom Hanks comes off as the incredible good guy he appears to be. Melanie Griffith and Bruce Willis are not so lucky. But maybe the most interesting personal portrayal is of De Palma. A creature of the 70's decade of the auteur, his portrayal is of a troubled genius that struggles with communication skills.

I strongly recommend this book if you have a detailed interest in the business of film. If not, take a pass as it will be too detailed.

First rate account of the making of Brian De Palma's Bonfire of the Vanities. Salamon, at the time a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, received what appears to have been total access to director De Palma, the actors, costume designers, cameramen, and practically everyone else involved in the making of the movie. The level of detail may be too much for someone looking for a quick account of what went wrong in the making of this film, but I found it all fascinating. The only other book I know of that provides a comparably detailed inside look at the making of a movie is Lillian Ross's Picture, which was an account of the making of John Huston's Red Badge of Courage in 1951. A fair amount has changed in movie making since this book was written. For instance, Salamon devotes considerable time to following the second unit director as he attempts to set up some difficult shots, one involving the landing of a Concorde jet at sunset. These days, I imagine most movie goers would assume such a shot was actually cgi. I read the Da Capo Press 2002 reprint. (Interesingly, the subtitle of the book changed from "The Bonfire of the Vanities Goes to Hollywood" to "The Anatomy of a Hollywood Fiasco." Probably an indication that this film had been largely forgotten by 2002.) The reprint edition has an afterword that briefly discusses the reception of the book -- Bruce Willis was livid -- and the impact of the film on the careers of De Palma and the other people who are the focus of the book. Unfortunately, the photos from the first edition are not reproduced and the quality of the printing is a little off. Whatever reproduction technique was used imparted a bit of waviness to many of the lines of text.

If you are like me and you like books on the business of Hollywood you will love this one. I do not like books by Hollywood "insiders". They tend to write the books for nothing more than to pump themselves up and trash actors/studios, however books by journalists tend to be more even handed. Hit and Run is probably the best book on Hollywood ever written, The Devil's Cany is now second. What makes this book great is that it explains what the jobs of certain people are. For instance I didn't know what a second unit director was till I read this. Not to mention that the story about the adaptation of Bonfire of the Vanities makes for a great tale.

The Devil's Candy is the story of the making of The Bonfire of the Vanities. It is the best (and possible only) book in recent times to describe how a movie is made, in depth, from inception to casting to production to editing to screenings and focus groups through release and box office.

The subtitle, "The Anatomy of a Hollywood Fiasco" is misleading. This is not a book that analyses why a movie production went wrong. It is a journalistic look at how a movie is made, any movie, and this book uses the example of the Bonfire of the Vanities because that happened to be the production Julie Salamon was invited to observe from beginning to end. Tellingly, the original version of the book was subtitled instead "Bonfire of the Vanities Goes to Hollywood" and the new subtitle was obviously added for the paperback version to try to pump up sales.

Most of the other reviews have said this book is for industry insiders, but it isn't. For insiders, there is nothing new here. This book is for people on the outside who want to know how the movie industry works. And what we learn is that for all the glamour, movie production is mostly meetings and sitting around sets doing endless takes of scenes that eventually get cut.

Assuming you're interested in learning how Hollywood works, from the endless scouting of locations to who is responsible for carrying the director's thermos of coffee, you will be educated. This book, at more than 400 pages, goes into gory detail, from just about everyone's point of view, from the director to costume manager. It's written as you would expect from a journalist on the banking desk at the Wall Street Journal (before she became the movie critic) - straightforward, inclusive, and accurate, not the breathless style with plenty of italics and exclamation points characteristic of showbiz books. But it is also the weakness of the book. There is too much detail that isn't important, too much describing the color of every carpet in every room visited, what kind of shoes everyone wears, and who is holding De Palma's coffee thermos at at every moment, too many people's points of view to keep the narrative flowing.

Overall, if you're looking for a juicy, fast flowing story about Hollywood disaster, you will be entirely disappointed. However, if you want a textbook on how a movie gets made, want to learn how Hollywood really works, this is *the* book.

Julie Salamon was lucky enough to get in at the beginning of what was anticipated to be a great film, and turned out to be one of the biggest critical and financial failures for Warner Bros. The book Bonfire of the Vanities was so popular and written in such a style that taking on the task of adapting it to film was a true challenge and doomed to fail. And fail it did. Salamon also gives a background of the steps it takes to get a picture made from buying the rights of the book to marketing the finished picture. She details the different roles of the movie set, answering the age-old question, "What does a grip do?". You gather a great understanding of how difficult it is to make a picture by studio standards and how the hierarchy on the set works. Fascinating insight from an outsider let into the circus of making a major motion picture. Brian De Palma must curse the day he agreed to let her chronicle the journey.
Also, I have to recommend reading Tom Wolfe's Bonfire of the Vanities. You can understand why he wanted no part of making the film adaptaton of his infamous book.

Although it does cover the subject and offer examples for inspiration, it does so in very broad strokes. I had hoped for mre istruction and less inspiration.

Tom Wolfe is an old school master with gift of putting out great and informative books, this is one of them.

I used this book as a basis for all my carvings, This book actually started me in the buisness of woodcarving and I created my first Walking stick from the instructions therein.

Loved the beauty in this full color, highly instructive book. I bought 4 books to get me into carving the wood spirits of my German ancestors, and this was the most instructive by far. I feel I can really make a carving on my own now.

The book is good for very young carvers. The pictures are great and the author does show everything. As a matter for discussion the author provides too much detail and if you need lots of detail then this book is what young starters can use effectively.

This series debut has everything you could want: a solid premise, 90-year-old unsolved crime, a great collection of characters (past and present), and a likable hero. Mark de Castrique thrusts you into the world of a disabled veteran and his search for a killer, while an unearthed journal from 1919 details a story parallel to the current investigation. It keeps readers guessing until the end. And no, I didn't see the killer's identity coming in the least. The characters are well drawn and the author provides a wealth of detail on Ashville, the Biltmore family, Thomas Wolfe, and more. The research is evident and the writing clear, dialogue real, and hopefully this is only the beginning to many Sam Blackman adventures!

Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (6/08)

Sam Blackman has just returned from Iraq, minus his leg. Not taking kindly to his public criticism of the military's inadequate care of their solders, he finds himself in a Veteran's Hospital in rural North Carolina. Having to deal with the loss of his leg, his career, and the recent death of his parents weighs heavily on him. An unexpected visitor, who is an amputee herself, pays him a visit one day. She helps snap him out of his self-pity and gets him motivated to start doing something else. She suggests that he can put his investigative skills to use working for her private security firm.

Unfortunately, that doesn't happen because she is murdered. Knowing that she had made a connection with him, her sister, Nakayla tracks him down and shows him an eighty-eight year old journal that she found in her sister's apartment. Since the journal appeared to have been disguised, she suspects that it holds a role in her sister's death. Sam reads the journal and discovers that it was written by a twelve-year-old boy, who was also an amputee. It also covers an incident in which his father, who was white, helped a black man, to whom the family felt indebted, transport a relative's coffin from their home to Georgia.

Sam wants to help Nakayla solve her sister's murder. This is where the adventure begins. They discover that there are people from the present who will do anything to keep this murder from being solved. They also have to interview people who had a connection with her sister. This includes the eccentric residents who reside in the apartments where she lived. This place is commonly referred to as "The Lunatic Asylum." Keeping themselves alive and trying to solve the murder help bring Sam back into who he was before his injury.

"Blackman's Coffin" is a wonderful mystery. The author takes you back and forth in time as he tells the tale from 1919 and the story in the present. His rich descriptions of the places that are involved with the plot help bring the story to life. The interactions between the characters range from being heartwarming to intriguing. The ending was one in which I was left surprised at the end. I liked that I wasn't able to guess it ahead of time. I was kept in suspense. In addition to being a great adventure and mystery, I was also left with the message that we should enjoy our life as it is presented to us and that we shouldn't waste time. To quote a one-hundred-and-one-year-old character, "Time is a gift from God." You should definitely take the time to read "Blackman's Coffin."

Former US Army Criminal Investigation Detachment Chief Warrant officer Sam Blackman lost his leg in Iraq. However that is not what has outraged him; instead his medical treatment in the states has been shabby and he has said no more. More to keep him out of the DC limelight, the VA transfer Sam to the Veteran's Hospital in Asheville, North Carolina.

At the VA Sam meets fellow amputee former marine Tikima Robertson who offers the despondent ex-soldier an opportunity to use his CID skills if he can stop the self-pity crap. However, before he can respond, someone murders Tikima; her body left floating in a nearby river. Tikima's sister, Nakayla asks Sam to find her sibling's killer. She gives him a 1919 journal that Tikima found that contains the musing of twelve-year-old white child Henderson Youngblood whose father was a funeral director; his dad Travis was assisting Negro Elijah Robertson transport a corpse for burial in a family plot in Georgia. In 2008 Elijah's body was found in the French Broad River near the same place where his great-great granddaughter Tikima's corpse was found.

The 1919 diary entries that appear throughout the super story line seem a bit mature for a preadolescent even for a child whose dad works with death and grief, but still well written in terms of an exciting look at Asheville in the early twentieth century. The two murder mysteries are fun to follow with both tied to post war people and racially terse overtones. Throw in some Thomas Wolfe to the mix as well as a bitter angry vet as the lead and whodunit fans will enjoy Sam's efforts to solve a modern day and nine decade old murders.

Harriet Klausner

Mauve Gloves and Madmen, Clutter and Vine is a collection of essays published in the mid-70s that embody the New Journalism movement which Tom Wolfe helped to found. In New Journalism, the author intermingles literary technique with traditional journalism in order to bring the reader into the piece and make them feel as though they were experiencing it first-hand as opposed to simply reading someone else's account. As one might expect, Tom Wolfe is a more than the titular leader of this movement, he's one of its grand masters.

The book begins with the tale of a well-known but unnamed writer who is ritualistically going over last month's bank statement, canceled checks, and unpaid bills. While the expenses mount and are suggestive of living above one's means, the writer isn't unnerved as most readers would be. In fact, he is nearly ecstatic. Money spent on flowers (from the florists Clutter & Vine) and caterers (Mauve Gloves and Madmen) for a cocktail party is evidence that he's "made it." He doesn't have to be like his immigrant father who worked as a tailor for years. He needn't do manual labor at all. He's educated and successful and free to write books and articles about the repressive nature of America vis-a-vis the underclass. Needless to say, the irony is completely lost on our renowned author.

Other sketches follow and, while not always directly related thematically, they nonetheless paint a picture of the times. Famously, it is in one of the articles contained in this collection that Mr. Wolfe coined the phrase "The Me Decade" to describe the 1970s. As with any form of journalism, the choice of topics, the way they are presented, etc. reflect the perspective of the journalist and his editors. With Tom Wolfe, his perspective is clear and entertainingly presented. Wolfe's virtuosity with literary mise-en-scene is what differentiates him from his contemporaries. Whether you actually remember the 70's or not, you'll feel as though you do after reading this work.

When an author's canon includes such masterpieces as "The Bonfire of the Vanities" and "The Right Stuff," it is easy to overlook his lesser-known, albeit no less brilliant, earlier work. "Mauve Gloves and Madmen, Clutter and Vine" includes a handful of Wolfe's classic essays from the mid-1970s, including the title piece (which close Wolfe readers will notice he reprised in a "Bonfire" passage),"The Me Decade," and the hilarious "Street Fighters." Any Wolfe fan looking for something to nibble on while they await the long-overdue "A Man In Full" will thoroughly enjoy this book.

I found this collection to be an extremely subpar effort by one of America's foremost essayists.

The first essay, "Hooking Up", is a precursor to Wolfe's awful novel "I Am Charlotte Simmons". He is preachy and judgmental about the sexual mores of today's youth. Rather than being a piece of analysis about society at the dawn of the millenium, this essay reads like a diatribe by a grandfather who is horrified at what the kids are up to these days.

Next comes a boasting and smug essay about the success of "A Man In Full". Wolfe keeps saying that he feels it is in poor taste to talk about reviews and sales figures and then goes on to talk about these subjects at length. He then moves on to an attack on Norman Mailer, John Updike, and John Irving. Granted, these authors attacked Wolfe's book first. But what happened to taking the high road? Wolfe smugly discusses his rivals' shortcomings and lack of success. Wolfe finally transitions to a proclamation of how "A Man In Full" is ushering in a new era for the novel and that he is a modern day Zola.

At this point, I stopped reading. If I wanted to listen to preposterous boasting, I would go and talk to a six year old. At least the kid would be amusing.

Skip this and read a better collection of essays.

Mr. Wolfe at least gives the reader notice in his preface that this book is basically a rambling free association of his thoughts on the current status of religion, morality, social conscience, transdisciplinary education, and neuroscientific theories in the US. The title is certainly misleading as discussions on "hooking up" and other sexual mores occupy only a small section at the book's beginning. The vast majority of the book is a detailed account of the development of the computer and certain silicon valley corporations. While somewhat interesting, these stories have little to do with the stated focus of this book. Other parts of the book are poorly organized, erudite hubris, and reading it is like wading through quicksand. I hate to be so negative on it, but I wish I had spent the time I wasted on reading this book on other activities, such as washing my car or cleaning my guns. I enjoyed reading other of Mr. Wolfe's books immensely, but, all in all, this book is a poor presentation of his literary effort and ability.

This is a collection of essays and one novella written by Tom Wolfe, author of "A Man in Full", "Bonfire of the Vanities", "I Am Charlotte Simmons: A Novel" and "The Right Stuff".

Whether you like Wolfe or not, you have to admit that he is one of the best, most widely read, and important authors of the the age. Those who dislike Wolfe simply disagree with his non-left-wing politics.

The title essay, "Hooking Up", is a short take on the current American Culture and its emphasis on sex and unrestrained license. Narcissism on steroids, if you will. Excellent, timely and well-written.

In "2 Young Men Who Went West" Wolfe follows the career of Bob Noyce and others who made Silicon Valley what it is. To me, this would be a dry un-interesting topic, but Wolfe not only made it interesting, he also gave this story context and meaning, no small feat. Read it if you want to have any macro-understanding of the computer revolution.

In "Digibabble" Wolfe takes on those vague theories and the names behind them so popular with the American pseudo-intellectuals that control our culture. Teilhard de Chardin's life and work is explained. One of his great theories was that technological advances would lead to "convergence", a one-world culture. Unfortunately, Teilhard's credentials as an evolutionist took a hit when he sponsored the Piltdown man missing-link that turned out to be a hoax. But, oh well, he was still right, even though he was wrong, right? Media commentator McLuhan is also given a quick blurb. Then Dawkins (yes, the guy with the current atheist best-seller). Dawkins has the same trouble as Teilhard, really big ideas but they are simply wrong. Dawkins was known for his concept of "memes" - which sound like Lamarckian intellectual traits. As Wolfe notes, "There turns out to be one serious problem with memes, however. They don't exist." This minor problem aside, memes are still an important, earth-shaking idea - just ask Dawkins. E.O. Wilson is the main protagonist/fall guy for the current determinism. You know, the 'man is simply a machine designed by evolution' nonsense.

"Sorry, but your soul just died" is a short essay on the same lines with more of a philosphical basis including a synthesis of Nietzche that is breathtaking in how it takes a complex system and makes it understandable (though not necessarily logical).

"In the Land of the Rococco Marxists" ridicules the current American pseudo-intellectuals. A quote in the article sums it up nicely, "An intellectual is a person knowledgeable in one field who speaks out only in others." This essay is spot-on from my time in academia.

Other favorite essays include "My 3 Stooges", a slam against Updike, Irving and Mailer, all of whom criticized Wolfe.

The 80 page novella "Ambush at Fort Bragg" is an excerpt that was part of Wolfe's preparations for "A Man In Full" and is a wonderful set-piece about the current drive-by media.

The last section of the book was the weakest because it was several old reviews of the editor of the New Yorker magazine in the '60's - something I have so little interest in that I couldn't force myself to read them thoroughly. But this last section is the reason I gave the book 4 stars instead of 5.

Overall, the brilliant Wolfe gives a wonderful overview (with the exception noted) of current American culture.

I don't know. I just can't help but feel, as indeed many reviewers do, that Tom Wolfe with this particular publication seems a bit dated. There's no (with the risk of sounding like a nobber) "zeitgeist" if you will. This was only the second book of Wolfe's that I read, which I guess just makes me unlucky, because all the others which I've read have all been smashing (or at least good).

I did also find that this particular book, probably will appeal mostly to an American audience. That dosen't give or take from the books literary quality. It's just an obervation.

I wouldn't recommend this book though, unless you're a completist. There are many, much better Wolfe books out there.

There is something riseable about the boy who doesn't like the way the game is played and picks up his glove (or ball) and stomps off with a pout on his moosh and retires to his Westside duplex or Connecticut McMansion. It's the spoiled child. We, outside the "glorious" US, are very well aware of the glitteringly attired and succesful Mr Wolfe living in the greatest city in the greatest country in the world. Please. Enough already. Most of us don't want it. Especially the silly patriotism, excessive consumption, selfishness, defensiveness, gloating. We just don't understand. Uh huh. In the game, Mr Wolfe is an ok short stop. But he is a lousy batter, can't steal bases, and is not a team player. He has never hit a home run. He's done a job. He's a second stringer. His book in review is like a high school debate preparation. In my estimation, Mr Wolfe lacks the empathy, generosity of spirit, and imagination to be a great writer. Gerald Murnane or Roth or Shirley Hazzard or Christina Stead are just three that spring to mind that I recommend to Mr Wolfe. Get a grip man!

an enlightening and humorous look at the ego battles amongst celebrated writers. One discovers that the competitive nature of writers rivals that of sports and rock stars.

Am amusing and insightful read that is akin to reading several biographies simultaneously.

Each chapter of Anthony Arthur's Literary Feuds tackles a different feud. The format is quite simple. Arthur sets forth the historical context of the feud. He recounts many of the "shots fired". Then he offers a brief reappraisal of the feud, and its impact on its participants.

The feuds are well-known--Twain/Harte, Hemingway/Stein, the "Two Cultures" debate, McCarthy/Hellman, and other similar literary disagreements. Arthur's style is light without being breezy, informative without being didactic. His critical evaluations are reasonably measured, and interesting rather than annoying or heavy-handed.

This is a fun read. It's serious enough to point up the issues, and in particular the similarities as well as the differences in the feud participants. But it's got a straightforward tone, as the author seeks to entertain rather than to preach. All in all, a very good book.

Anthony Arthur is, I bet, a fine teacher. Prodigiously well-read, entertaining, and not one to either worship at or wantonly tear down the authorial altars, he gives a brief but entertaining look at some important, and some not-so-important, feuds between writers.

The Library Journal review has it all wrong. We do not need yet another ponderous explication of these authors and their social climates and cultural milieus. There are hundreds of unread monographs and dusty stacks of periodicals (both paper and electronic) chock full of such dreck. For the purposes of this book, Arthur does a fine job of giving a flavor of who these folks are and what they were up to. In fact, a little more of the battles might have been nice; reading about fisticuffs between two aging authors (and Hemingway wasn't one of them) did indeed liven things up and tells us quite a lot about what these writers were.

Where this book lost me was in its missed opportunities. Twain, Hemingway, Dreiser, Lewis. I knew these were difficult men. Why they chose to hang on to a silly or destructive idea was interesting, but somehow I never fully felt Arthur captured the core of their animosities. The F.R. Leavis/C.P. Snow (leave it to the only two Englishmen among these 16 to be identified by their initials) is my favorite piece, but also the most disappointing. Arthur gets behind the authors into the armies they generaled. This is not social milieu but a significant argument between two intelligent and passionate men who have vital and differing viewpoints about something of consequence. But we get too much about whether Snow is a good novelist, which has nothing to do with the strength of his arguments. And too little of an analysis of their dispute.

The final three chapters, on the feuds between relatively negligible, but very PR conscious, writers, left me cold. 100 years from now, I'm thinking most of these folks will be footnotes at best, and their squabbles will be reduced to tales as important as any battles fought by George Meredith or Marie Corelli. Vidal and Capote, excellent writers, but neither excellent thinkers nor human beings, McCarthy and Hellmen, shrill harridan and pathological dissembler, Irving, Wolfe and Updike.....blah, who cares? (One fun thing though was the Ratheresque defense of Hellmen by her never-say-die admirers, an early appearance of the "Well yeah, maybe she lied, but she was telling a fundamental truth" line of reasoning; that would have been an interesting line to follow.)

I enjoyed this book. I'm not sorry I spent a pleasant evening reading it. I even learned a few things I didn't know. But overall, this is an unfortunately slight effort, not enough of one thing, not enough of the other. He misses the views on both sides.

This is great entertainment but Arthur also uses these anecdotes to illuminate his insights into the nature of literary reputations. Why do some bestsellers and Nobel prizewinners fade into oblivion within a generation? Why do some writers get to be taught in college? (One useful tip is that if you want academic immortality after you are dead you should not make your books too long).
Like any anthology it omits some favorites. One of my favorites in the Nabokov-Wilson wars was an acrimonious exchange of letters in the British journal "New Statesman''They were arguing about whether or not Pushkin knew English. Nabokov said he did not. Wilson seemed to have won the battle by proving that he did know a few words. Nabokov wrote conceding the point and saying "Let us end by agreeing that Pushkin had about as much English as Mr. Wilson has Russian."

As a voracious reader myself, I've heard of some of these feuds, but Anthony Arthur summarizes them competently in this volume, Literary Feuds: A Century of Celebrated Quarrels - From Mark Twain to Tom Wolfe. His scholarship is evident and he tells the stories in an interesting manner - kind of like talking to the smartest gossip on the block. The book was a literary guilty pleasure.

For me some of the feuds were more interesting than others. I enjoyed reading about Hemingway and Stein, while I learned nothing new about Twain and Harte. I thought the Wilson/Nobokov tiff was particular clever and filled with intellectual insults where they each struggled for the high road while dragging their relationship through the public gutter. Capote and Vidal was anticlimactic and I suspect there's more to their feud than what's written here, because it didn't seem very satisfying as a "great feud."

I'd recommend reading the parts you're interested in and skipping the authors you care little about. The prose is good and the material juicy. Enjoy

- CV Rick

Wet behind the ears review makes me really sad.
The fact you're buying a book on surf culture and you
don't know the name david carson, well that's just mind numbing.
I don't even know what to say about the whole "being arty" comment.

Please be advised that the layout of this book is riddled with jumbled double print in varying type sizes overlaid over other print, making it impossible to read. I suppose that this was done in a failed attempt at being "arty". Make sure that you peruse a copy prior to buying it and then decide if you want to spend the money on a book with illegible text. In fairness, there are some interesting representations of surfing and art, presented chronologically. It's just a shame that the material wasn't presented in a format worthy of the subject.

In reponse, to Shannon David Earle review...As I was reading the book again last night I couldn't help but be amazed at how everything was so easy to read-and at the same time so illogical and chaotic. Something only Carson could make work. This book is critical for any surfer's library as the book not only is extremely well written, but it also incorporates the art it talks about into its page design. Buy it.

i surfed with david carson a couple of times
for all his talk the guy is a total fraud!
he sat on the shoulder and didnt catch anything for hours

This is the most expansive book on the aesthetics of surfing! The impact on modern popular culture and design in general becomes evident after reading this book. Great writing throughout includes a Tom Wolfe essay.

Noted author Wolfe wrote this series of short stories in the mid 60s which describe a changing America, leaving the European framework of class structure and elegance for something different. Something that would evolve in our country even to today where people cared less about systems of status. It was a fascinating period which Wolfe identified and captured earlier that most social observers.

But, the stories are widely diverse from a group of surfers in La Jolla who have no desire to hold normal jobs, to Hugh Hefner's "nose thumbing" to sexual society, to new work habits of young adults living in London. And this is some of the problems with the book. You may like some stories but they are so diverse, you may loathe others. I find myself revisiting Wolfe's books as they provide expert commentary of the past 40 years. This one I found to be uneven but still enjoyable.

Because I grew up in La Jolla, and graduated from La Jolla High School, class of 1962, I was only interested in the short story: "The Pump House Gang."

I know most of the characters in the story, and believe that Wolfe did a good job describing them. His account of the La Jollans visiting the Watts Riots was right on. I visited the riot zone myself, and enjoyed the same experiences as Shine, Nelander, and Sterncorb.

Wolfe came as close as any "outsider" has been able to do, in analyzing the La Jolla nut house, the institution where the walls fell down, and none of the inmates left.

Tom Wolfe is brilliant in capturing a generation's feel. This collection of short stories describes the socialites, the freaks and the trend-setters. Wolfe's language manages to show the physical as well as the atmosphere within a few short sentences. If you liked his wit in "The Electric Cool-Aid Acid Test" and his observations (social x-rays) in "Bonfire of the Vaities," you will love this collection of social critical essays.

Tom Wolfe pursues the idea that many Americans and Brits since World War II have been checking out of mainstream status competition in favor of pursuing status within distinct subcultures. This plays out in some interesting ways--most notably Wolfe watches Natalie Wood pursue status in a more traditional way by acquiring knowledge of art and even some Old Masters, while others play their own status game around photographing celebrities, in this case Wood herself. Essays on Hugh Hefner, California surf culture, and London mods are also worthwhile, as is a comic piece on Wolfe's misadventures with an "automated hotel". Wolfe does bog down at times, however, in the minute stylistic details of the groups he covers; if you are not that interested in style in and of itself, your eyes may glaze over those passages. Still, this is a good read for anyone interested in subcultures (especially of the 1960s) and status-seeking.

Hart's West Facade of National Cathedral on the subject of Creation is the most famous piece of American scupture. ("Liberty," after all, will always be French.) The name of this piece is "Ex Nihilo" -- from nothing. The book has a wonderful photograph of "Ex Nihilo." Of course, our local rag The New York Times published a full magazine-page copy of this picture with left and right reversed and artificial green-tinted coloring. Typical New York always-in-a-hurry carelessness. ------ The work itself is astonishing. Everything given, nothing held back or calculated to please a critic. All driven by faith. A return to what is meant by the term masterpiece. Hart's personal items and the items of religious expression are sampled with his own favorites. ----- Enjoy ! This is a sweet book.

This book contains beautiful photographs of Hart's sculpture and wonderful essays. The copy I ordered from Amazon arrived only yesterday, and after leafing through it, I was stunned by an egregiously poor design choice by the publisher.

The full color photograph of "Ex Nihilo", perhaps Hart's most moving piece, is centered between 2 pages! Split down the middle by the binding! How in the world can a fine art book publisher do this ? Other art texts, National Geographic, even Playboy (for pity's sake!) publish large format photographs using a fold-out leaf. Yes, fold-out leaves are more likely to become torn, or detached with use; but the reader's enjoyment, not preservation concerns, should drive layout and design decisions.

I was also disappointed that no full color photos of the finished "Daughters of Odessa" were in the book. There are photographs of studies, and a b&w photo in the catalog raisonne, but the effect is not the same.

I probably will keep this book; but I certainly won't be buying an art book from this publisher again! If I had it to do over, I would check the book out from the library.

This book offers readers a complete overview of the world's most well renowned sculptor. Frederick Hart, who passed away suddenly last month, August 1999, created such famous works as the "Three Soldier's Bronze Sculpture in the Washington Public Gardens," "El Nihilo," the three phase triangular scluptures over the entrance to the National Cathederal, in Washington D.C. Maybe the most controversal sculpture Mr. Hart completed, "El Nihilo," was featured in the movie "Devil's Advocate" and was depicted in a lured, and distastful manner. The Hart Foundation sued the production company of "Devil's Advocate," with Al Pacino, the Hart Foundation won it's legal suit, and a disclaimer was placed on all Devil's Advocate's videos disclosing the "El Nihilo" sculpture was not used with The Hart's Foundation approval. Frederick Hart also created and invented the art technology of "double embedded lucite sculpture." This process involved creating a three dimensional free form floating sculpture "floating" within the lucite sculpture itself. Anyone who has ever viewed one of Mr. Hart's three dimensional sculpture's, know the incredible beauty and art that lay within his limited production of sculptures. The book can not honestly show the amazing detail of the "three dimensional double imbedded process" that Mr. Hart created. He and his work will be forever remembered as the finest bronze and lucite sculptor in the world to date. This book is a tribute to his master creations, depiction of his artwork, and ultimately a truly inspirational attestment to one of the world's greatest artists of all time.

This collection of little essays by Buckley proves gravely disappointing. Subtitled "A Literary Autobiography," one searches in vain for anything resembling an autobiographical thesis, and there is nary a discussion of books, or literature, in the entire tome. In fact, the lion's share of the text concerns the author's sailing voyages. (One wonders whether he considers his genteel life, based on vast inherited wealth, to be his greatest accomplishment.) I don't recommend anyone purchase this book to develop an appreciation of Buckley's life and thought; if anything, the material here is just the outtakes with which a cult figure, knowing he would have an audience for his grocery lists should he elect to publish them, pads out one more book. In fairness to Buckley, I expect his "other" autobiography, "Nearer My God," to be much better. I look forward to reviewing it in coming months and allotting quite a few more stars.

I always thought of Buckley has having four careers. He was of course that TV fellow that talked funny and look down his nose at his guests and viewers on a show that was very successful - Firing Line; he was that business man, writer, and publisher that started the National Review; he wrote fiction spy novels, and he wrote his sailing stories.
Most people would be happy and content to achieve just one of those undertakings. One might imagine that running the National Review for all those years and keeping it fresh was an enormous challenge. I never agreed with all the stories in the NR and conservatives are now much more complicated people but if you think it is easy to start something like the NR, try starting your own national magazine.

In any case I read many of his books and very much appreciated his sailing books. His book on crossing the Pacific "Racing Through Paradise: A Pacific Passage" was one of the best sailing books ever written. Hence the quote by John Kenneth Galbraith, who "consistently writes pleasant tributes to my own books, inevitably advising the reader that my political opinions should be ignored, my fiction or accounts of life at sea appreciated". Maybe you have to be a sailor to understand his books but it is unlikely.

In terms of a biography it would be very difficult for Buckley to achieve the same level of literary excellence in a biography that he might write today as compared to some of his many past writings. So in the end his collection of selected writings speak for themselves and are most appropriate. He does not need a conventional autobiography - his writing for those of us that have read his books are perfect. We understand that was always his strength.

How can one really criticize this book? The CD for myself was not needed. Incidentally and it is not really the same but George Plimpton came out with a similar series of stories which he called - a readers collection - in the book "George Plimpton on Sports" also available at Amazon.com, published in 2003. I read that book also and thought it was excellent and often very funny but less autobiographical. It is the same idea but for some reason it was never a best seller as the present book appears to be.

Thanks to this marvelous (as usual) piece the miles gone by are still with us. I don't know why but I find myself contrasting this favorably with W. V. Quine's "The Time of My Life". While I might occasionally read Quine's autobiography for insights on his philosophy, and find his life much like the rigorous mathematical logic of his books, "Miles" represents much more the sort of days I would imitate had they not already gone by. This is a comfortable book that leads to comfortable hours.