Rating: 
Summary: I want the last 300 pages!
Review: This book was awesome! The early development of Conrad almost caused me to skip those chapters, but I hung in there and boy, am I glad I did. I really liked the comparison of real prison life to the social and financial prison of the elite. The climax of the book, in my opinion, was the final press conference. I was quite alarmed to see only a few pages left when I reached that point. It really appeared that the book was truncated. That's probably a typical reaction to such a good book coming to an end. Mr. Wolfe, if you happen to publish "the last 300 pages" of A Man in Full on the internet, I think it may be downloaded faster than the Starr report! I'd even pay full price at the bookstore just for that! Thanks for a great novel! DL
Rating: 
Summary: Its pages amount to a surprisingly upbeat twist of irony.
Review: A Man In Full by Tom Wolfe takes its reader on a societal roller coaster covering the hierarchy of modern life, to a ironic ending full of meaty moralistic delimmas. To set us up for an ironic ending the author makes Atlanta society the backdrop for racism, sexism, and homophobic and ideological intolerance. The picture is painted with depth and understanding and a bit of humorous caricature. I was happily surprised to find more to Wolfe than just a Mitchneresque, broad stroke of American life in our times. The book paints a real and powerful picture of mankind at the turn of the second millennium - but there is more. There is more than characterization, conflict and a problem solving denouement. There is a point to it all. There is an honest-to-goodness philosophical comment about life. It's about courage and what it takes to become a man in full as opposed to a man of the world. Hats off to Wolfe for describing our plight as members of the human race and for giving us an answer to our spiritual hunger for the truth. Wolfe has upped the standards of the human race and of American literature.
Rating:
Summary: No masterpiece, but a great read
Review: "A Man in Full" gets it right. About Atlanta, about the white southern male, about the tricky doublespeak that characterizes race relations these days. It's too long by about a hundred pages, and there is far too much detail about jailhouse life in the Alameda County clink. It's the reporter's compulsion to include every detail in his notes, and the publisher should have exercised a restraining hand. That said, this is a fine novel in the tradition of Balzac, not Dickens. It is not navel-gazing fiction by someone with a grant and a university teaching gig. This is about real life, and it is very well researched and informed. Most of the reviews I've read indicate that the reviewer either didn't read the book all the way through or didn't pay much attention to details.
Rating: 
Summary: What a disappointment - but let's cast the movie!
Review: My overall feeling about A MAN IN FULL is that it was a disappointment. The characters were overblown stereotypes, the women woefully underdeveloped and pathetic, and the moralism preachy and hollow. Not to mention the tacked-on, flimsy ending which has been bashed to bits in these reader reviews! That said, however, I did enjoy many of the scenes and descriptions, most notably the "Saddlebags" workout session between Charlie and PlannersBanc. Great stuff, if highly unrealistic! Although the book ultimately frustrated and disappointed me, I still had a ball casting the movie. I'd love to hear other thoughts on this. My vote is for either Gene Hackman or Robert Duvall as Cap'm Charlie, Danny Devito as Peepgass, Denzel Washington as Roger Too-White, Forrest Whitaker as the Mayor, and Matthew McConaghey (the young lawyer in "A Time To Kill") as Conrad. The "workout master," Harry Zale (or Zell) could be a fantastic scene-stealing cameo for Alec Baldwin or even Robert DeNiro, and Coach McNutter could be Nick Nolte. Tellingly, I am unable to cast even a single female role because they were all vacant and insubstantial characters. Serena, Jill and Martha? Please.
Rating:
Summary: A great work with a lousy ending
Review: It is hard for me to remember another work that has captivated me such as A Man in Full has. It was a wonderful read full of excellent detail. However, the detail seemed to end before the story did. The end of the book is a severe and quick. I wonder to myself how such a great book could have ended in such a abrupt way. This could have been one of the great works of our time, but alas the ending destroys the entire work.
Rating:
Summary: If Plato could reach for this tome from his tomb...
Review: He would happily include "satisfaction" in his lexicon. Wolfe understands human action on every social level, but selfishness does not satiate each act in "A Man in Full" as it does in "Bonfire of the Vanities." For that he's criticized??? What's the difference between Bork's "Slouching Towards Gomorrah" and Wolfe's "A Man in Full"? "A Man in Full" has answers. The fun is discovering them.
Rating: 
Summary: Give Me A Break! ! ZEUS ???
Review: There were many great moments in this book. I was practically cringing, squirming & sweating during poor Charlie's workout session at PlannersBanc. The Suicidal Freezer Unit chapter was marvelous. The introduction to the one truly noble & heroic character in the book --- Conrad Hensley --- was a pleasure. And then there was the transformation of his buddy Kenny from (I thought) a rather unlovely, shallow, crude fellow into a kind-hearted, caring human being when he learned about Conrad's misfortunes. That was a particularly moving scene. As for Charlie Croker, he was a unique character --- likable and unlikable all at once --- but always a very real individual. Peepgass was nicely drawn. But all the good things in this book were brought down by one thing --- Zeus! Why in the world didn't Wolfe use one of the great religious writers from the Judeo-Christian tradition to inspire Conrad & Charlie with the concept that the soul is far more important than mere material possessions? This would have been far more realistic and believable. The idea that a late 20th century real estate developer would become an evangelistic preacher of Zeus is just absurd, ridiculous and incomprehensible. Wolfe really lost his marbles when he came up with that screwy idea.
Rating:
Summary: That Darn Deus Ex Machina!
Review: I thought Conrad's story was powerful in the very beginning, and Wolfe did a good job of building it up to a climax. Then, just as he's on the verge of a major showdown, an act of Zeus magically rescues Conrad from certain doom! From then on, it was one unbelievable thing after another. I wouldn't have been surprised if the Tooth Fairy had shown up with a billion-dollar gift for Charlie. Plus, some of the dialogue is incredibly stilted, as though Robert Heinlein were describing parliamentary procedure. And the fetish for architectural detail can get tiresome after a bit. And then there's... the ever-present mannerisms! They sound like... a Marvel comic book! "The plane... crashing into the ground! The kryptonite... must get away! Blood! Blood! Red! Blood!" And yes, a lot of modern music sucks, but he writes about it like someone who hates indiscriminately (I suppose this is to sledgehammer in the point that THESE WORKING CLASS MEN HAVE NOTHING TO LIVE FOR AND ARE SLOWLY KILLING THEMSELVES). There were parts I liked but now I can't remember what they were, though I finished the book only an hour ago. Sorry.
Rating: 
Summary: Absolute junk, not worth the time or the money
Review: The hype that preceded this book was obviously a publisher's attempt to regain what must have been a hefty advance. This book is total fluff - 742 pages worth. No redeeming qualities here at all - not a single chapter, character, phrase, sentence or word justifies the time and money invested. I am HUGELY disappointed and will never purchase a book by Mr. Wolfe again.The author and publisher should be ashamed to have their names attached to such nonsense.
Rating:
Summary: this book was so good, i am lost now that i have finished it
Review: I know everyone of these people, every single one, and so do you. How can an author write a chapter like "saddlebags" and not have lived it? How? You tell me. As an entreprenuer i've been there and that chapter rekindled long buried flashbacks that took their time resettling. Wolfe's dialog and vivid descriptions of such diverse and singularly unique lifestyles rings crystal true in every instance. What a book! If you have been in the arena, are alive and living life, this book is for you.
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