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May 16, 2008

W.B. rated it:

This is cobbled together creation, rather a literary Frankenstein's monster, a pastiche of various essays with some fiction thrown in, but it's actually a very rewarding read. You don't have to like the man or share his values to appreciate his ability to understand history's machinations, to trace trends and cultural tendencies with a rarely rivaled acumen. I don't share many of his values, and do find him to be an unremittent elitist (which is always an embarrassment for readers) but I still f More...

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Dec 23, 2008

mark rated it:

I enjoyed this collection of essays and one short story, but it is not Wolfe at his finest. I noticed more than I had with his earlier works just how US-centric his viewpoints are and how little he criticizes the country, specifically in its foreign policies. I'm thinking of the pieces "Hooking Up" and "In The Land of The Rococo Marxists," both of which are very entertaining and make some excellent observations, but in which he overstates his case. Of course, that is Wolfe More...

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Oct 27, 2011

Kelly added it

Anyone with a child in school knows the signs all too well. I am intrigued by the parents now invest--the craze began about 1990- in psychologists who diagnose their children as suffering from a defect known as attention deficit disorder, or ADD. Of course, I have no way of knowing whether this "disorder" is an actual, physical, neurological condition or not, but neither does anybody else in this early stage of neuroscience. The symptoms of this supposed malady are always the same. More...

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Aug 15, 2010

David rated it:

Tom Wolfe's Hooking Up is a collection of essays on a variety of themes which he explores more fully in I am Charlotte Simmons: American Exceptionalism vs. colonial apologetics; the morphing of the date into the "hook-up" and other interesting modifications in American sexual mores; and most entertainingly his response to being called "not real literature" by Updike, Mailer, and Irving.

In addition, he includes a novella, Ambush at Fort Bragg about a group of journ More...

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Dec 17, 2009

Ani rated it:

I think the best piece in this book is the first one, a fascinating story detailing the impact of Congregationalism and the state of Iowa on the birth of Silicon Valley and really, modern corporate culture in the US. You can see the seeds of the atrociously long and out-of-touch novel I Am Charlotte Simmons in the piece called "Hooking Up," which is much better than the novel that it generated.

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Oct 01, 2011

Erik marked it as to-read

I'm only adding this because I read the first essay in it and want to write about it. I'll read the rest of it, I'll just do it super slowly over the course of many months.

But the first section was fascinating. Ten years and this book is already mildly out-of-date. I think Tom Wolfe thinks that he's writing about my generation -- and in 2000, he was. However, by 2001, the world was a different place. On page 4, he writes about the average American worker: "Indirectly, subconscious More...

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Dec 30, 2008

Tonya rated it:

At least Wolfe 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 c More...

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Dec 13, 2008

Dave rated it:

If you like Tom Wolfe like Tom Wolfe likes Tom Wolfe, you will like "Hooking Up." If you think Tom Wolfe is ok, like I think Tom Wolfe is ok, you will probably think this book is ok.

My biggest complaint is that "Hooking Up" only appears in the first essay(?) and only there in a convoluted, confusing, dissatisfying way. The book improves after that providing some interesting biographies of people that I'd never heard about before, such as William Shawn, editor of More...

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Jul 19, 2009

Carol rated it:

Since this book is a potpourri of fiction and non-fiction, there was lots to learn about literary style, literary in-fighting and rivalries, and how briliantly Wolfe can write in dialect. There is fascinating information about the genesis of Silicon Valley and Intel (especially about Robert Noyce) and about the workplace culture therein. The chapter on Teilhard de Chardin was beautifully written---he was an almost mythical figure in my college years----the scientist, theologian, priest whose i More...

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Nov 06, 2011

Crystal rated it:

Had to be honest and say "I didn't like it." That should in no way detract from the mastery of Tom Wolfe's writing, and if you like him and you want to know a lot about stuff that happened way back (like everything you never wanted to know about The New Yorker in the '60s), by all means take a gander. There was a lengthy essay about the germination of Silicon Valley, but I found inaccuracies in the depiction. My favorite part of the book was his novella, "Ambush at Fort Bragg," More...

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Jul 07, 2008

Jessica rated it:

A collection of essays and one novella by Tom Wolfe, covering a wide range of topics, from art history to neurotechnology to literature. It was ok, but not great. My favorite essays were "Sorry, But Your Soul Just Died" (about philosophy, religion and neurotechnology...interesting bits on Nietzche's predictions for the future after the "intellectual elite" agreed that religion was no longer a viable belief) and "In the Land of the Rococo Marxists" (interesting downl More...

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Apr 07, 2008

Lars rated it:

I'm probably only going less than all the way because Wolfe so joyfully savages many of my beliefs and predispositions. That makes me resent that he is so damned fun to read. After reading a story in the SF Chronicle about his upcoming book on neuroscience and language (and I'm interested in that for lots of reasons--right now I'm reading Stuart Shanker and Stanley Greenspan's "The First Idea"), which referred to Wolfe's "Sorry, But Your Soul Just Died," I got this book just More...

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May 31, 2009

Fran rated it:

I have been a Tom Wolfe fan since the late 60's, and I was SO DISAPPOINTED in his HORRIBLE "Charlotte Simmons". You can see parallels between it and the essay that titles this collection. But thank goodness this collection of several essays and one novella restores my admiration and faith in Tom. In fact, some of the essays are almost luminous, and they certainly are illuminating!!!! THANK YOU TOM WOLFE!

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Dec 06, 2009

Peter rated it:

Tom Wolfe is normally one of my favorite writers but this book is hopefully a "one off" miss.I found it to be boring and basically an insider's tour of the book publishing industry. I generally enjoy his analyses of foriegn lifestyles (Kesey's bus, the art galleries, NASA Pilots, college campus life, etc.) but I just couldn't get a toe in the door with this work.

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Apr 20, 2011

Julie rated it:

Oh my gooooooddd this book was boring. Please be forewarned - this book has nothing to do with delving further into societal rituals, like dating in the 2000s, as the title "Hooking Up" might imply. This book is a mishmash of dry essays on the evolution of technology, a silly short story (there was a reason it was cut out of A Man in Full, like how deleted scene extras on a DVD always kinda suck), and then a section on his literary wars with famous authors and The New Yorker. I reme More...

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Jan 09, 2010

Mary rated it:

I wonder what Tom Wolfe thinks of writers/authors now in 2010 almost 10 years after he wrote this book. I wonder if he read the NY Times book review last weekend about the mentions of sex in books linked with the generation/political correctness of the writer-pretty interesting stuff. I liked what he had to say about movies taking over as novels for the younger generation. I think that is true...along with video games and other electronic devices..it's sad. I also wonder if his stuff is avai More...

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Dec 05, 2007

Maggie rated it:

i have so far read electric koolaid acid test as well as bonfire of the vanities by tom wolfe. after reading up to the novella about fort bragg i felt seriously let down by an author i previously considered one of my favorites. it seems he has abondoned his more objective (obviously not totally objective) journalistic style and decided to hop up onto his soapbox for a while. i found his essays in this collection opinionated and a little too patriotic for me. i did semi-enjoy the novella near the More...

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Jul 28, 2011

Derek rated it:

Now that I'm a grumpy old fogey it's especially enjoyable reading Mr Wolfe's sneering essays on yoof culture and other modern superficialities. Possibly his best collection, or perhaps it's just that I've come to see things more the way he does as the years go by.

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Aug 04, 2009

John rated it:

I hadn't read Tom Wolfe in years. Boy, it was good to be back. I love his stuff--his nonfiction stuff--and I loved this book. I especially liked the two old articles at the end where he gave The New Yorker down the road.

Fun, fun, fun.

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Dec 04, 2008

Craig rated it:

Worth reading just to learn how Tom Wolfe provoked J.D. Salinger into breaking radio silence. Though Updike, Mailer, and Irving lovers might want to give it a pass. (Hint: the book contains an essay titled."My Three Stooges.")

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Jun 29, 2011

Julia rated it:

(mdc) i like this book. he gets pretty histrionic at times but i think most of his observations have some merit. there is a chapter about how john updike, norman mailer and john irving dissed a book of his and it is hi-larious.

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Dec 26, 2009

Gregory rated it:

Fantastic! Some essays are for mature readers only (the content is adult-level, and Wolfe is a realist), but his survey of modern culture is penetrating ... and fun to read! He even made the history of computers a page-turner.

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Aug 14, 2010

Brian rated it:

Ok this book is terrible and Tom Wolfe sounds 400 years old when he writes about young people. But there is a great chapter about how Updike and Mailer are hacks, so I'm going to cut Wolfe some slack.

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Mar 02, 2011

Hubert rated it:

I actually think Wolfe's non-fiction writing is much more compelling than his recent novels. This tome solidifies his standing as an avid and intelligent commentator on contemporary American culture.

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Jul 31, 2010

J. rated it:

This particular book b Tom Wolfe was to me ok, or in other words fair. It did not capture me or get me going with it. Sorry.

J. Robert Ewbank author "John Wesley, Natural Man, and the 'Isms'"

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Nov 03, 2009

Griff rated it:

Fascinating group of essays and short stories that range over numerous topics and ideas, somehow are interrelated. Commentary on truth, existence, limits of science, nature of art, etc.

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Jul 20, 2010

Lauren rated it:

Tom Wolfe's first book of shorts... really interesting mix. I like some better than others- there is a journalism flair to this and he discusses his own work, including the 11 year wait between his first two novels, The Bonfire of the Vanities and A Man in Full.

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Dec 12, 2008

Mary rated it:

Provocative insights into our cultural"now" - may come across as a bit intellectually snobbish - good read for anyone who is a fan of the New Yorker.

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May 30, 2009

Cindy rated it:

OK maybe only 3.5 stars but I love this author. Met the man in full white-suited presence when he was inspiring young journalists at UF in 2000 and researching this book.

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Apr 15, 2011

Doc & Charly rated it:

Some of the articles fascinated. Others inspired skimming. All, however, were well written...of course. Thom Wolfe is an inspired wordsmith.

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