Rating: 
Summary: Too bad there isn't a no-star review option . . .
Review: . . . because I would definitely exercise it. Wolfe consistently employs cheap tricks and gimmicks to delineate the characatures that people this pile of kindling. Do we have to know, at his every appearance, the type of suit, tie, and shoes a certain lawyer is wearing? Do we have to be reminded 5 or 6 times that he has an inexplicable but constant urge to say "You're kidding" and that this, for some inexplicable reason, is humiliating for him? How often must we be treated to descriptions of the protagonist's back muscles? Is there one woman in this novel who has anything more on her mind than how to get money out of men? Why is there absolutely no insight into the thoughts of the black servants who are condescended to throughout? Does mentioning the "Palm Beach helmet" hairdo twenty or thirty times serve a literary purpose? The recent debate in the media over whether or not this book is "literature" is ridiculous and seems to be a well orchestrated charade designed to draw attention to this hastily written, poorly edited, overpriced consumer product. By my count, there are at least 3 egregious typos. The two books I've read since, Ethan Canin's For Kings and Planets and Alec Guiness's My Name Escapes Me are of a higher quality in every respect.
Rating: 
Summary: A page turner that exemplifies America in the 90s
Review: Man, can Tom Wolfe write! The author of The Right Stuff and Bonfire of the Vanities (not to mention The Electric Acid Kool-Aid Test) has done an excellent job re-creating all of modern-day Americana in a single tome. The characters, some villainous, others heroic, all have characteristics that we can identify with. The story woven around these characters is very good, but this book is mostly about what they represent, not what they do. And it's funny to boot!
Rating:
Summary: I'm sorry I wasted my time (and money).
Review: Is Mr. Wolfe kidding? This is one of the least satisfying reading experiences I have ever had. He loses steam at the end and wraps up all the very loose ends in the plot with a conversation between two of the characters. I don't blame him. I couldn't figure out much relationship between the two stories he is telling, either. He has filled the book with almost unreadable dialect. No one since Mark Twain has done dialect well, and even he used it sparingly. This book is a classic reminder to beware of hype.
Rating:
Summary: Good, fun reading
Review: The first impression of this book may be it's length -- over 800 pages. It's a fast read, but the length gives the reader time to enjoy Tom Wolfe's prose. Following in some of the same style as Bonfire of the Vanities, you may get a few laughs out of every chapter, but probably not as much as in Bonfire. The characters are written colorfully and can really make you cheer for them. Some people have complained that the ending was bad, but what could you expect? I thought of many other endings that would have been more satisfying, but this ending was different than anyone could have imagined. A lot of fun.
Rating: 
Summary: a good book until the end, ... it fell off a cliff, ...
Review: I have enjoyed everything by Tom Wolfe and this book was no exception. I enjoyed most of the character development, the vignettes and stories, the drama and suspense. However, the ending was so terribly disappointing. It was as though Mr. Wolfe simply got tired of writing and decided to wrap things up, .... and he didn't do a very good job. I regret reading the last ten pages. Better he would have left me to my own fantasies and conclusions about the character. A good piece of work gone to hell.
Rating:
Summary: The Stoics might also say that less is more.
Review: Wolfe's considerable powers of observation and description are exceeded only by his insatiable desire to display them. He dallies so much in the middle that the reader nervously watches the supply of remaining pages dwindle wondering when the plot lines will begin to intersect. Even the climactic scenes are cluttered with elaborate yet forgettable set-ups that the reader has by that point learned to pass over in search of a morsel of actual plot to chew on. The very end, ironically, cries for lengthier treatment -- or better yet, complete and untidy exclusion. Instead we're left to eavesdrop on a ridiculous plot wrap-up conversation straight out of "Charlie's Angels." I'm glad I got the Amazon 40% discount since that's apparently how much had been lopped off the back of my version. Still, the social messages of "A Man in Full" are extremely thought-provoking and entertaining. Further enjoyment is gained from imagining the real Atlanta (or the real fake one, I suppose) recoil in horror from the public display of the city's black roots -- in it's blonde hair, that is.
Rating:
Summary: Good build-up to a VERY weak ending
Review: This book was enjoyable, but I feel it could have been a lot better. Most chapters were very good, and several were outstanding. But after pg. 690 or so, Wolfe took the easy wrap-up style to end what could have been his best work yet. The ending was a big disappointment.
Rating: 
Summary: Glad it was a library book - All I lost was time!
Review: This book left me with the same feeling as when I watch an over-hyped movie on t.v. and then think, "Gee, I'm glad I didn't pay to see that. As a writer, this book was a depressing waste of my time. If it truly took Mr. Wolfe 10 years to write this, I'll never make it! I didn't like the characters, his knowledge of Atlanta doesn't make me feel like he knows the city and the all the repetition, repetition, repetition of phrases and lyrics was trying. The book could have been more compact without the needless descriptions of everyone's wardrobes. I didn't feel like I got to know the people, but I knew what they were wearing and what they smelled like. Just tell us the story, don't tell us the story and then explain what you've just said. I think readers know the slang he was using, and if not would have a pretty good idea. After a long passage about "da hood" Mr. Wolfe felt it necessary to explain everything which had transpired. Totally unnecessary. I recommend the Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test - these were written by the same person?
Rating:
Summary: Awful. And he misspelled "Freaknik".
Review: That's the only word for it. I spent most of my life in Atlanta, and I have no clue what city Wolfe's writing about, because it sure isn't Atlanta. I've never even met anyone who'd been to a debutante ball or whatever that is. Wolfe oversimplifies Atlanta, turning it into some "Gone With The Wind" ripoff. All I can say is - I've never seen anything like the Atlanta he describes. And I lived there. Tom Wolfe's writing is clever for about the first 10 pages. Afterwards, it's like driving nails into your forehead. And one last detail - anyone, and I mean anyone, who's lived in Atlanta will know what Freaknik is, and how much contraversy surrounds it. But on page 1, Wolfe misspells it. For somebody who's so concerned with accuracy and local color, he sure is sloppy. This isn't satire - this is torture.
Rating:
Summary: Depressing and cynical, a sad view of human nature.
Review: While this book is a quick and easy read, it reflects a very cynical view of human nature. "A Man in Full" could have been written by Thomas Hobbes. While critics claim the book is an accurate depiction of American society in the 1990s, a careful and honest reader will see that Wolfe fails to take into account the good side of Americans, describing only greed, selfishness, and self-pity. Americans are undoubtedly greedy and selfish, but they are also (perhaps paradoxically) kind and generous. Wolfe needs to look outside his narrow mind and see the good side of the American character. Perhaps then, like the Grinch, his pea-sized heart will grow and he will put his (undisputed) talent to work writing the truth about twentieth-century America--selfishness and generosity can (and do) exist together, and more often than not we care just as much about each other as we do about ourselves.
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