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The Bonfire of the Vanities: A Novel Paperback - 2008
by Tom Wolfe
- Used
- fair
"The Bonfire of the Vanities" is vintage Wolfe--the #1 bestseller that will forever define late-20th-century New York style. "No one has portrayed New York society this accurately and devastatingly since Edith Wharton"--"The National Review."
Description
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Details
- Title The Bonfire of the Vanities: A Novel
- Author Tom Wolfe
- Binding Paperback
- Edition Reprint
- Condition Used - Fair
- Pages 704
- Volumes 1
- Language ENG
- Publisher Picador USA, New York, New York, U.S.A.
- Date 2008-03-04
- Illustrated Yes
- Features Illustrated, Price on Product - Canadian, Table of Contents
- Bookseller's Inventory # 6874633
- ISBN 9780312427573 / 0312427573
- Weight 1.21 lbs (0.55 kg)
- Dimensions 8.26 x 6.08 x 1.21 in (20.98 x 15.44 x 3.07 cm)
-
Themes
- Chronological Period: 20th Century
- Cultural Region: Mid-Atlantic
- Cultural Region: Northeast U.S.
- Geographic Orientation: New York
- Locality: New York, N.Y.
- Library of Congress subjects Legal stories, New York (N.Y.)
- Dewey Decimal Code FIC
About this book
The Bonfire of the Vanities is a 1987 satirical novel by Tom Wolfe. The book is a drama about ambition, racism, social class, politics, and greed in 1980s New York City. It focuses on three characters: WASP bond trader Sherman McCoy, Jewish assistant district attorney Larry Kramer, and British expatriate journalist Peter Fallow.
Sherman McCoy, a self-appointed 'Master of the Universe,' has a fashionable wife, a Park Avenue apartment, and a Southern mistress. His spectacular fall begins the moment he is involved in a hit-and-run accident in the Bronx. Prosecutors, newspaper hacks, politicians, and clergy close in on him, determined to bring him down. The Bonfire of the Vanities is a caustic satire on the money-feverish Eighties. This exuberant novel cemented Wolfe's reputation as the foremost chronicler of his age.
Sherman McCoy, a self-appointed 'Master of the Universe,' has a fashionable wife, a Park Avenue apartment, and a Southern mistress. His spectacular fall begins the moment he is involved in a hit-and-run accident in the Bronx. Prosecutors, newspaper hacks, politicians, and clergy close in on him, determined to bring him down. The Bonfire of the Vanities is a caustic satire on the money-feverish Eighties. This exuberant novel cemented Wolfe's reputation as the foremost chronicler of his age.
The novel was originally created as a serial in the style of Charles Dickens' writings, running 27 installments in Rolling Stone starting in 1984. The novel was a bestseller and an incredible success often noted as one of Wolfe’s greatest works.
First line
AT THAT VERY MOMENT, IN THE VERY SORT OF PARK AVEnue co-op apartment that so obsessed the Mayor...twelve-foot ceilings...two wings, one for the white Anglo-Saxon Protestants who own the place and one for the help...Sherman McCoy was kneeling in his front hall trying to put a leash on a dachshund.
From the jacket flap
Tom Wolfe's modern American satire tells the story of Sherman McCoy, a Wall Street "Master of the Universe" who has it all -- a Park Avenue apartment, a job that brings wealth, power and prestige, a beautiful wife, an even more beautiful mistress.
Suddenly, one wrong turn makes it all go wrong, and Sherman spirals downward in a sudden fall from grace that sucks him into the ravenous heart of a New York City gone mad during the go-go, racially turbulent, socially hilarious 1980s.
Suddenly, one wrong turn makes it all go wrong, and Sherman spirals downward in a sudden fall from grace that sucks him into the ravenous heart of a New York City gone mad during the go-go, racially turbulent, socially hilarious 1980s.
First Edition Identification
The 'true' first edition of Bonfire of the Vanities was published by Franklin Library, under a special arrangement with Farrar Straus Giroux, who published the first trade edition, also in 1987.
The Franklin Library edition was limited and released in full purple leather with vibrant gilt lettering and embellishments. All edges gilt, raised bands on spine, silk bookmark, marbled endpapers. 'First Edition Franklin Library' is printed on the title page.
The first trade edition published by Farrar Straus Giroux has 'First printing, 1987' on the copyright page. The bottom of the first trade edition dust jacket says 'BY THE AUTHOR OF "THE RIGHT STUFF"
The Franklin Library edition was limited and released in full purple leather with vibrant gilt lettering and embellishments. All edges gilt, raised bands on spine, silk bookmark, marbled endpapers. 'First Edition Franklin Library' is printed on the title page.
The first trade edition published by Farrar Straus Giroux has 'First printing, 1987' on the copyright page. The bottom of the first trade edition dust jacket says 'BY THE AUTHOR OF "THE RIGHT STUFF"
Categories
Media reviews
Citations
- Entertainment Weekly, 07/05/2013, Page 102
- Library Journal, 05/01/2008, Page 118
