Wolfe journeys among noble Sixties savages of all varieties, from La Jolla to London, all baying for new forms of status as they make a determined ...
read full description
reviews
Aug 02, 2011
Travis
rated it: 
i was a bit wary (prejudiced), because hunter thompson always talked mad shit about wolfe...called him a shameless phony, etc...maybe h.s.t. was a little bit threatened by wolfe. this book documented some interesting social scenes, and (to my pleasant surprise) it was full of muscular, provocative language and imagery. he only occasionally goes out a little too far on the ledge in trying to throw in the "authentic" slang, which comes across feeling a little forced. also, i was impress
More...
Jan 03, 2009
mark
rated it:
There is an impressive range in this collection of essays, from the early California surf grom scene ("Pump House Gang"), to the pioneers of silicon breast implants in San Francisco ("Put-Together Girl"), to Hugh Heffner's eccentric lifestyle ("King of the Status Dropouts"), to a couple of ascendant art collectors in New York ("Bob and Spike"). All of them published in 1968 at that. My favorite piece was the last, in which Wolfe walks around New York cit
More...
Dec 24, 2007
Chris
rated it: 
Trying to get in the spirit of visiting Southern California, where I am clearly a stranger in a strange land, I decided to pick up The Pump House Gang at a bookstore in La Jolla, mere steps from where the title essay is set.
That essay is not only ingenious but should be (and in many cases, is) required reading for would-be feature writers. There are also brilliant, if now dated, vignettes about the lives of celebrities, like Hugh Hefner and Marshall McLuhan, and the unsung, like two ra More...
That essay is not only ingenious but should be (and in many cases, is) required reading for would-be feature writers. There are also brilliant, if now dated, vignettes about the lives of celebrities, like Hugh Hefner and Marshall McLuhan, and the unsung, like two ra More...
Aug 16, 2008
Tiny Pants
rated it: 
My edition is way older than this, but this was the only one with a picture. The previous owner unfortunately underlined heavily and inserted helpful margin comments throughout ("GREAT!!!!!"). I read this book, along with basically the entire Tom Wolfe ouevre (excluding things I had already read or had of yet to be published) my freshman year of college, I decided to re-read it mostly I guess because the title vignette is about La Jolla in the '60s. Unfortunately, it doesn't really hol
More...
Jan 21, 2012
Tim
rated it:
I would give a lot to write like Tom Wolfe. Read this if you travel to San Diego or any other surfing locale.
May 15, 2011
Doc & Charly
rated it:
Articles culled from Tom's magazine writing career back in the Sixties. Well done but, obviously, dated.
Oct 29, 2009
Dave
rated it: 
dissapointing... either Wolfe is a dick or the old windnsea guys were racists; probably both.
Jul 29, 2008
Kirby
rated it:
this essay collection is excellent, covering figures who have achieved status levels outside of the mainstream social hierarchy. his subjects are rascally surfer kids, strippers, and the O.G. of creepy old men, hugh hefner. i think tom wolfe is getting pretty annoying in his old age, but this (written shortly after kool-aid) is one of his finest, in my opinion.
Oct 22, 2008
Andy
rated it: 
My favorite Tom Wolfe book. Selected subjects include pieces on West Coast surfers, British mods (Noonday Underground), Hugh Hefner, weekend bikers, stripper Carol Doda, Marshall McLuhan and more demented Wolfe sketches that predate old Ralph Steadman by a hoot-owl's age. Highly recommended.
Apr 20, 2011
Joel
rated it:
A wide-ranging collection of essays, almost all written within a 12-month period.
Many germinal ideas here which crop up with greater depth in more focused books from Wolfe, so apparently he had fondness enough for the content to use it as an outline for works to be published later.
Many germinal ideas here which crop up with greater depth in more focused books from Wolfe, so apparently he had fondness enough for the content to use it as an outline for works to be published later.
Nov 01, 2010
Sara
rated it:
I wanted to start reading Tom Wolfe, and this collection of essays was such a fun way to jump in. His insights into the emerging cultures of the 60s are fascinating and it's easy to draw parallels to today.
Dec 17, 2009
Jrobertus
rated it:
I thought I was going to wet myself laughing at this book. Even so, it is a most interesting look at American culture in the 60's. I should re-read Wolfe's stuff to see if it has dated.
Sep 22, 2008
Moses
rated it:
This was a real treat.
Surfer youth in La Jolla,
Hugh Hefner's strange living,
Topless waitresses,
and...hey waita minute...
oh yeah, that was in this one.
Surfer youth in La Jolla,
Hugh Hefner's strange living,
Topless waitresses,
and...hey waita minute...
oh yeah, that was in this one.
Dec 12, 2008
Emma
rated it:
Not quite sure what it is about Tom Wolfe, but his style is like strangling yourself. I think his writing style is really one of the worst I have ever encountered.
May 19, 2009
Tj
rated it:
While not quite as experimental as his later books, this collection of essays by Tom Wolfe is still an enjoyable critique of a bygone era, while still sounding relevant today.
Feb 02, 2012
Jan 30, 2012
