The Bonfire of the Vanities - Tom Wolfe

The Bonfire of the Vanities

By Tom Wolfe

  • Release Date: 2002-02-21
  • Genre: Literary Fiction
4.5 Score: 4.5 (From 323 Ratings)

Book Synopsis

Vintage Tom Wolfe, The Bonfire of the Vanities, the #1 bestseller that will forever define late-twentieth-century New York style.

"No one has portrayed New York Society this accurately and devastatingly since Edith Wharton" (The National Review)

“A page-turner . . . Brilliant high comedy.” (The New Republic)


Sherman McCoy, the central figure of Tom Wolfe's first novel, is a young investment banker with a fourteen-room apartment in Manhattan. When he is involved in a freak accident in the Bronx, prosecutors, politicians, the press, the police, the clergy, and assorted hustlers high and low close in on him, licking their chops and giving us a gargantuan helping of the human comedy, of New York in the 1980s, a city boiling over with racial and ethnic hostilities and burning with the itch to Grab It Now.

Wolfe's novel is a big, panoramic story of the metropolis that reinforces the author's reputation as the foremost chronicler of the way we live in America.

Adapted to film in 1990 by director Brian De Palma, the movie stars Tom Hanks, Bruce Willis, Melanie Griffith, and Morgan Freeman.

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Latest Impressions

  • Say what you will about the other novels,

    5
    By iosnopes
    this one is a keeper. Yes, the author has his prejudices, but the story is a page turner and rippingly told. It may reflect a time, but it should stand on its own as the years continue to pass. It doesn’t have to be a history lesson. It is an American tale.
  • Excellent

    5
    By and investment advisor
    One of the best books I ever read
  • John

    1
    By Cussbutt
    Did not like the long windy writing style. It took effort to read
  • A Classic Look at NYC in the 80's!

    5
    By troyjjensen
    One of Wolfe's masterpieces. There's not much more I can add to the accolades that have been raining down on this novel since its release. If you want to read one of our most celebrated author's finest book, look no further...The Bonfire of the Vanities is a classic for the ages!!
  • GREAT

    5
    By 1554
    A great read, but unfortunate that it was not edited properly, before being sent to the iTunes Store. It has far too many typos, to even begin to list.
  • Amazing!

    5
    By Mercury2wo
    Keen observation. Wonderful writing style. A great read!!