Rating: 
Summary: fun but fatal inaccurracies concerning real estate workout
Review: DCF means spreadsheet; it was invented for finding rate of return, not value or net worth as suggested by the book - which I regard as a spoof, anyway and great fun. A competent MBA would realize that - of course that leaves a lot of overpaid MBA's, which may be one of Wolfe's points. I taught this subject at Berkeley for decades, know prominent people who fit the main character very well and have had lots of students in workout and vulture occupations. I'd be glad to hear from anyone interrested in the technical issues. There is a difference between bakruptcy and foreclosure, for example. Will Tom Wolfe see these remarks? I would like to tell him how valuable this book is as a text, because it dramatizes real world hubris - which thrives!
Rating: 
Summary: A terrible book.
Review: This book can't compare with Wolfe's other notable works like "The Right Stuff" and "Bonfire of the Vanities". It's boring, repetitive and tedious. I have to wonder if the professional reviewers who raved about this book actually read it.
Rating: 
Summary: Cookie-cutter dialogue, unlikable characters, awful ending.
Review: From 'Bonfire' to this? About a hundred pages from the end, you realize you've been had. No way Wolfe can wrap up all these disparate and far-flung characters with any sort of meaningful ending, right? Right. Where do you start railing? First, you really can't like anyone in this book. You try to like Croker, but he is such a Cracker and a crank, you give up. Then you kinda fall for Conrad, but Wolfe's use of The Stoic, and his insistence on absolutely spelling out every philosophical connection, is mind-numbing. Throughout, the dialogue feels forced, especially between Roger White and Wes Jordan. And that limo ride tour through black Atlanta truly was painful reading. Overall, I think the novel lacked any sense of intrigue. I never felt the Fanon situation was one which might blow the lid off the city. And I never bought the idea that Croker's appearance at the press conference was of such vital importance. (Enough to waive five hundred million dollars in unpaid loans? Please.) And without buying into both of those concepts, you have no story. And one more complaint, regarding the connection that brings the whole novel together: There is no way in the world one of the richest men in Atlanta is going to hire a male nurse from a homecare company that charges $12 an hour. Mr. Wolfe, next time, stay in New York.
Rating:
Summary: I have been conned.
Review: I am angry that I let myself be conned again. Usually wary of promotional hype, I gave A Man in Full A Try. I've never done so much skimming when reading. The plot is weak. There are no fully developed characters; not even good caricatures. Hollywood should have a ball with this one. The screenplay has to be better than the book. I can also imagine a new ratings dilemma when the best sex scene turns out to be between two horses. Do horse sex scenes rate "R" or "X"?
Rating:
Summary: Profoundly shallow.
Review: This is an important book to read for anyone who wants to know what kind of clothes people wear, what food they eat, what kind of cars they drive, and what kind of houses they live in. Along the way you will stumble across a story and subplots of marginial interest.
Rating:
Summary: This is a major disappointment after Bonfire
Review: I really liked Bonfire, but A Man in Full is a tremendous letdown. The reporting is great, but this is supposed to be a novel, not a magazine article. The characters are made out of cardboard and the writing is surprisingly awful. Save your money; save your time.
Rating:
Summary: Worthy of a made-for-TV movie
Review: Sidney Sheldon for Highbrow
Rating:
Summary: The anti-minimalist strikes again!
Review: The subtext of this book is the driving force behind your will to continue. Mr. Wolfe's use of philosophers hits a little bluntly between the eyes, but otherwise conveys his commentary on society quite well.
Rating: 
Summary: Tom Wolfe has done it again!
Review: When I read "The Right Stuff", I thought it was the best book Tom Wolfe would ever write. Then I read "The Bonfire of The Vanities" and thought Wolfe topped himself. With "A Man In Full" Wolfe has written a readable yet significant book about not only Atlanta in the 90's,but also society in general. As a native of the Atlanta area, Wolfe's descriptions are close to the real thing, but no cigar. However, all of us here know people like Charles Croker,etc. Wolfe's main problem was after Charles Croker and a couple of his pals, the names of the characters were not consistent to the area. I would recommend this book to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Read for 600 Pages-A Big Disappointment at the End
Review: I really enjoyed this book for the first 600 pages. Only Tom Wolfe can make the incredibly detailed and accurate observations about American life that are made here. It reads much like "Bonfire of the Vanities" because of the laugh-out-loud humor that Wolfe comes up with when he describes the hypocrisies and foibles of American life at the turn of the 21st Century. And then after 600 pages the book just sort of died. Oh, if only he had spent more time thinking through the ending! It appeared to me that Wolfe wrote it in a rush, since he repeated many of the same observations that he wrote about in the first 600 pages. And he really lost track of the motivations of the characters there at the end of the book. There's no way a redneck cracker like Charlie Croker would have said what he said and did what he did at the end. Oh well, the first 600 pages were worth the price of purchase. After all, reading 600 pages of great writing is much better than slogging through 400 pages of what novelists like Grisham or Clancy give you in their formulaic books. Wolfe has always been a unique and interesting author. Two final points. I've always thought the Stoic philosophy makes the most sense in living a proper, fulfilled life, so Wolfe's philosophy of living is wonderful, and it would be a much better world if all of us lived life without excuses. But Tom, if you're reading this, enough with the detailed descriptions of architecture already! Most of us are much more interested in human beings than we are with the interiors or exteriors of buildings. Otherwise, got your back Tommy Boy!
|
