Rating: 
Summary: Deus ex machina
Review: I don't think I can read a Wolfe novel or story and not enjoy it. That said, both of his novels end with a deus ex machina. Given that Epictetus leans heavily on this one, maybe we can forgive it. I liked it, but I would have liked it better without the rabbit-out-of-the-hat. Maybe next time....
Rating: 
Summary: it was rather anticlimatic
Review: I'm from the South, especially the areas they cover in the book. I felt it had a little historical content, also had several good plots going, but was limp in the end. I didn't bother to read the last few pages, just skimmed them.
Rating: 
Summary: A let-down
Review: This book was a disappointment. It was so contrived. Wolfe spent 11 years on this book. Tom Clancy writes even longer books in three months, and Wolfe is certainly a better writer than Clancy, but he doesn't show that HERE. I'm not feeling sorry for him financially, since Wolfe made millions off A MAN IN FULL. But what a waste of talent, when he could have been producing something great. F. Scott Fitzgerald said that the stuff he wrote the fastest was the best stuff. Wolfe should have heeded this advice in year 5, and started a different book. Oh, well, Wolfe can take comfort in the fact that Edmund Morris spent 16 years on his Reagan book DUTCH, and it's even bigger garbage than A MAN IN FULL. I hope Wolfe returns to nonfiction, which is what he does best (witness his recent article in FORBES).
Rating:
Summary: Ending takes 2 stars off an otherwise 5 star review....
Review: I really enjoyed the first 700 pages of A Man In Full, but the ending really deflated my opinion of the book. It seemed as if the literary mechanism he used to explain what happened to all the protaginists was a product of laziness instead of a desire to take the time to complete what otherwise is a very good work. A for the body of the book. D minus for the last chapter. I must also point out that I do not object to what happened in the last chapter, but how it was presented. The mechanism used was a big letdown.
Rating:
Summary: Good read, but could possibly have been told in less pages
Review: I was tempted to read this massive book because part of the setting was in Oakland, CA. I lived in East Oakland for a time and I could recognize some of the areas. However, the part of East Oakland Mr. Wolfe described is not as gruesome as he leads one to believe. Mr. Wolfe has pretty good character development, especially Charlie Crocker who is a laughable buffoon in some instances. I thought the characters were strong enough to stand on their own in their own separate books. Sometimes the story seemed to be meandering; and at some point Charlie gets lost in the background as an unlikely "hero" shows up in the character of Conrad, the misunderstood working stiff who lands in jail on a principle. I thought that Mr. Wolfe took an extraordinary amount of time in getting the characters to come together. Then when the characters did get together, it was a disappointment. Conrad becomes some sort of Zen-like figure after reading a book titled, The Stoics, while in prison. The book helps him endure his stay in prison. He carries this "new religion" to Atlanta, GA where he escapes to after breaking free from Santa Rita prison when it collapses after a devastating earthquake. He comes in contact with Charlie, who is recuperating from knee-surgery and is deeply depressed because his empire has financially nose-dived. Little by little, Charlie comes to depend on Conrad and his teachings about being stoic. The ending was disappointing. Mr. Wolfe built up the characters and has one waiting to see what climatic ending he has in store; then he drops the floor from under you by hurrying through what happened to the main character's future. I cautiously recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: The emperor has no clothes...
Review: Tom Wolfe's cumbersome epic features superficial characterizations, repetitive dialogue, a contrived plot and an ending that wholly relies on a device known in the film industry as "Morris the Explainer" to wrap things up. Depth, or what passes for it, is simply a vague ripoff of Stoicism. I waited for months to read this book and was profoundly disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: I can see why it took him ten years...
Review: ...because this is the greatest book I have read in ten years, maybe in my whole life. All of the main characters are superbly developed, you find yourself caring about them, frustrated with them, pitying them but above all...learning to understand and accept them through Mr Wolfe's brilliant narrative. Tom Wolfe is the greatest author alive today.
Rating:
Summary: Wow!
Review: Wow! and Wow! again. Get it, read it, listen to it. Absolutely amazing: real characters, real humor, a _real read_!
Rating:
Summary: Great Book with a Poorly Executed Ending
Review: First of all, I loved the detailed, vivid, sprawling descriptions of the characters and situations in Wolfe's tome -- after plowing through them, you really get some insight into the characters' (and Wolfe's) worldview. The story is very entertaining and complex, and has many interwoven storylines. As the novel accelerated to a peak in the last chapter, I was hoping for a snappy climax. After reading the final chapter & Epilogue, though, I felt cheated -- the conclusion seemed unrealistic, and a mediocre way (at best) way of resolving all the conflicts. Despite the poor conclusion, I would recommend reading this book -- it was an enjoyable story with strong characters & vivid descriptions -- just be prepared to tear out the last 2 chapters and write your own.
Rating:
Summary: A mildly entertaining read, but ultimately disappointing
Review: I read this book with eagerness, having been a big fan of The Right Stuff. I will admit to being pulled in for the first 100 pages. The research was excellent; the dual portrayal of life among the richest and poorest was clever, compelling, and well integrated for maximum effect. However, I found Wolfe's characterizations lacking in any sublety (Croker wrestles a huge rattlesnake and doesn't get bitten, despite a bum knee that soon afterward requires replacement? OK, I get it; he's the manliest of the manly. Puhleese!) The thing that angered me the most, however, was the copout ending, with Charlie's story being picked up where it left off by the most unlikely pair to discuss it (I won't give it away). Charlie turned into a completely different person, defying all his earlier characterizations. The Charlie of the first half never would have even spoken to or taken the advice of an underling such as his medical assistant (and with all his servants, why did he need Conrad, anyway?). Conrad comes to the realization that his whole ordeal, losing everything he cared about--happened so that he can come to the aid of this megamillionaire--and the very one whose callous act sparked his downward spiral? This, to me, is the height of snobbery. Was Conrad's life and growth as a person reduced to this, puffing up someone already so puffed up he could hardly fit in his clothes? What started out as a treatise for the common man, then, turns inexplicably into an obsequious tribute to male machismo and the affluent. In my opinion, Charley should have ended up serving Conrad, not the other way around. That would have really made him "A Man In Full."
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