Rating: 
Summary: Man in Full; Book in Three-Quarters
Review: This is a book about honor and redemption. It explores the implications of selling out by delving into the lives of people who have done just that. Some of the characters wrestle with their inauthenticity, most are clueless about it, and others celebrate it. Unfortunately, by the end we have no idea what to make of it all because, as many have noted here, Wolfe fails to deliver an ending that is satisfying. Nonetheless, the book is entertaining. It lacks the social bite and relevance of BONFIRE and RIGHT STUFF, but when it comes to Wolfe our expectations may be unreasonably high.
Rating:
Summary: A mix of delight and disappointment!
Review: Well, well, well. I certainly had great hopes for this book, having read and loved The Bonfire of the Vanities and heard all the rave reviews of this one. They said A Man in Full was deeper than Bonfire, and if that means more boring, they were right. A Man in Full was terribly uneven- flashes, more than just flashes, of brilliance, tempered by uninteresting subplots and a stagey storyline. The main problem, however, is with the man in question, Charlie Croker. I couldn't care less about him. I wanted to see him bite the dust-the book became one long, drawn-out bloodletting of this "great" man. The climax just wasn't. If the book had a stronger ending, I probably would have forgiven its weaknesses, forgotten them even. Unfortunately I was let down. The character I most cared about, hapless Conrad, became a footnote, and worse, a contrived plot point. The whole thing with Epictetus and the Stoics became nearly ridiculous. I shouldn't be so critical- there were parts of the book that were engrossing, most of which involved Conrad before his appearance as Charlie's savior. If the book had been Conrad's story- and Charlie the subplot- everyone would have benefitted. I do not regret reading this book, because it had more than its share of great moments and fantastic social satire. It just needed some judicial editing and a more swift ending.
Rating: 
Summary: Slow to start but then picks up
Review: Started the book and read it for two weeks and only was able to get through about 200 pages. Then it started getting interesting. Was unable to finish the book at that time as I had borrowed it from a friend and had to return it. Unable to stop thinking about it and bought it myself to finish it. Thought it was very good from about page 250, A particularly interesting story in the book involves a character named Conrad and what happens to him when he goes into Oakland, CA to apply for a temporary job.
Rating:
Summary: author! author! editor! editor!
Review: o, senor wolfe! oy vey! yee hah! dude, you took a good portion of my life away with this tome; i do not protest, as i enjoyed it greatly. HOWEVER...i would look forward to a book on interior decoration and architecture penned by yourself, as i find these subjects, of which you are highly informed and fully observant, immensely enjoyable; other side of this token finds me lamenting the egregious excess of description of these topics in this NARRATIVE. yoish. AND, what the hell happened to your editor? Conrad can't trade in ten bucks for rollS of quarters, a paltry ten dollars buys ONE roll of quarters. i'm SURE that Serena is luminous beyond the mere occurrence of eyestrain, but i don't need to have my POV illuminated to the point of wrist weariness. o dear god, it's 100 degrees in NYC and i've had one and one half bottles of beer, so i've got to cut this short; i do wonder, however....what the hell happened to Conrad? i really did adore the doofus in shining armour, where'd he ride off to? he was our only hope for a man truly in full, and he just sort of...fizzled. o, enough. thanks for the story...and, unlike others who have submitted reviews to this site, i LOVE the ending. 'cept for the fact of the missing conrad. your characters live on in my simple empty head, and i hope that ray and martha get run over by a lexus.
Rating: 
Summary: it's about male pride and folly
Review: Can't believe I'm adding to the 500+ list of reviews, but I haven't found anyone addressing what I think is the main point of this vast novel: male pride, male vanity, and male folly. The title begs the question, "What constitutes 'a man in full'?" And Tom Wolfe gives you pictures of some men to ponder..... Sure, the set pieces are wonderful - his eye is as good as it ever was. Would you invite him to YOUR house?? But I really do think his main theme is manhood in the late 20th century, and all the rest is window dressing.
Rating:
Summary: Fun ride, great characters, a fun read
Review: Ten years ago, "The Bonfire of the Vanities" was my first introduction to Tom Wolfe. Thrilling. If you haven't read "Bonfire", I'd recommend that over "A Man in Full." That said, "A Man in Full" is almost as fun a ride, with some deeper characters and a more satisfying ending. Certainly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: EGAD, WHAT AN ENDING!
Review: WOLFE HAS CRAFTED AN INTERESTING PLOT WITH A VARIED CAST OF CHARACTERS, ALL DRAWN TOGETHER IN EVER-TIGHTENING CIRCLES. IT ALL WORKS WELL FOR ABOUT 650 PAGES AND KEPT ME PONDERING THE VARIOUS POSSIBILITIES FOR THE ENDING. WHAT A HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT! PREPOSTEROUS, RIDICULOUS, STUPID, TOTALLY UNBELIEVABLE, IDIOTIC! WHAT HAPPENED? DID MR. WOLFE SUDDENLY GET SICK OF WRITING THIS STORY? KIND OF REMINDS ME OF GRISHAM WHOSE BOOKS SUFFER THE SAME DISEASE. THE NY TIMES REVIEW IS RIGHT ON THE MARK.
Rating:
Summary: Good, not great
Review: "Bonfire of the Vanities" was such a masterpiece (one of the quintessential books of the century), that it was a very hard task to write the follow-up. That said, Mr. Wolfe does a good job of it. He nails a lot of characters perfectly. I think everyone has seen or knows someone just like each character in this book. Wolfe, like in his previous book, makes some very pertinent comments on society, and how society (especially the South) has progressed in modern times. The plot was very well constructed, and seemed like it could very possibly happen in real life (most of it). On the other hand, the book's greatest flaw is that Wolfe uses FAR too much descriptive language to do little more than fill up space. Once we've met a character and spent a chapter or two with him/her, we don't need endless description of their clothing, meals, homes, etc. This book could have been 200 pages shorter and been a better book. All in all, read it if you have time over the summer, or on a vacation. It's worth your while, but it probably won't blow you away like "Bonfire" did.
Rating:
Summary: marvelously entertaining!
Review: wolfe is a master writer, his characters develop in such a way that they become larger than life --but still within reach for the reader to find ways to relate to them. the book is 742 pages long and my wish is that it would go on and on for thousands of pages. what entertainment! paraphrasing wolfe, i would ask, who ever said "a man in full" is to be regarded as literature of a shakespearean caliber? it entertains, period. and that is more than enough, period. let's just hope hollywood, that awful city of nightmares, doesn't make this into a movie. oh, the way they massacred "bonfire of the vanities"!
Rating:
Summary: Always entertaining & a thoroughly enjoyable rewarding read.
Review: From the first page Tom Wolfe grabs your attention and takes you into the gregarious world of Charlie Croker. One of the most outrageous (but you just can't help liking him) rogues of recent times. From big business 'huffing and bluffing' to Roger 'Too White's' flirtation with stardom to Conrad Hensley's inspiring story of integrity, we have yet another potentially defining novel for the decade of the 90's. Apart from the genuinely funny and often hysterical set pieces, Wolfe takes us from the 'greed is not good' 80's to the law of acting according to your principles for the 90's. Life is indeed too short not to learn how to handle it's dilemmas and really become "a man in full..."
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