Rating: 
Summary: Great book marred by a bad ending
Review: As a person who has loved Wolfe for decades and adored Bonfire of the Vanities, I was looking forward to reading his second work of fiction: Man in Full. The great characters, the multilevel "reversal of fortune" story, and especially the acute cultural observations that we expect from Wolfe are all there. But the ending is a failure. Where the ending of Bonfire was both believable and fulfilling for the reader (man loses all the world but gains his own soul), Man in Full ends with Croker becoming some kind of pagan Jerry Falwell, preaching Zuesian tent revivals all over the south. Am I missing something, or did my revered Man in White run out of steam and throw his plot over the top?
Rating: 
Summary: Requires patience but is worth it
Review: This book--which is really about manhood--is a relief from the domestic fiction that I seem to have been lured into recently by Oprah-hype and best-sellers that focus on women's quests for fulfillment within the confines of their limited worlds. Their absorption within themselves becomes boring after a steady diet of this kind of work. So the world of wheeling and dealing, betrayal, racial politics, and even prison life and the large canvas of modern-day times played out against the question of what it means to be a man in today's society seemed interesting by comparison. Of course 742 pages of modern canvas is a bit much, no matter the entertainment value of the numerous set pieces described by other reviewers. When writers become this famous it's hard for editors to cut anything, but this book would have benefited by being 200 pages shorter.I think a problem with the novel is the structure: too many characters and an alternating focus on the characters that interrupts the momentum. The first half of the novel lacks impetus to move it forward; readers need lots of patience to keep interested. However, when the book reaches the prison break, the conflict has intensified enough to move the reader along. Yes, the ending may not be ideal. In this culture we are suspicious of any "answers" so the embracing of Stoicism may seem too pat, too 19th Century. Also, the author seems to be take Stoicism seriously one moment and then to ridicule it the next. The epilogue, however, made me chuckle as I thought, "Here we go again. Only the race has changed." The novel, while less outrageous and hilarious than Bonfire of the Vanities, is worth reading but does require perseverance. The characterizations are better than in Bonfire:Wolfe begins with types but he ends with fully rounded individuals in the case of Croker and Hensley, both of whom I care genuinely care about by the end of the book. For a really thoughtful assessment of this book see Michael Lewis's review in the New York Times.
Rating:
Summary: enjoyable but not uplifting
Review: I enjoyed this book, more so at the beginning than at the end. The characters were interesting, but I think that Wolfe was way harsh to the women in the book. Although I enjoyed the book, ultimately I found it kind of depressing. And I hated the ending.
Rating: 
Summary: Very funny!
Review: Tom Wolf's best yet.Although a bit long , the way all the the caracters interact together is pure genious!
Rating: 
Summary: Gross
Review: I had read good reviews of this book in Amazon.Com so I thought it would be good. What a surprise to find it an exact reflection of all that I don't like about our society and choose not to focus on. Violence, cruelty, ignorance, and boredom await you in this sorry tome.
Rating:
Summary: A perfect discription of class and race in 90's America
Review: Tom Wolfe again describes what is happening under the covers of American life. Greed and lust are alive and well in white as well as black America. Wolfe brings the charaters in this book alive.
Rating: 
Summary: Worth the time and effort despite the lackluster ending
Review: I am generally a slow reader, but I fairly flew through this massive tome. It swept me along on its swelling tide of words! As in "The Bonfire of the Vanities", Wolfe again vividly illustrates the roots of most people's problems in one form or another: sex, money and ego. That said, the main quibbles I have with the book are, firstly, that the ending is very disappointing after all that intense involvement in the characters! Secondly, he seems unable to create multi-dimensional and believable female characters. Thirdly, while Conrad is a very likeable character, all that business with the Stoics seems very contrived, as does the ending. I would say "ignore the Epilogue", except that there are one or two nuggets of Wolfeian commentary to be gleaned from it. All in all, it's a hugely entertaining read.
Rating:
Summary: Worth the time and effort despite the lackluster ending
Review: I am generally a slow reader, but I fairly flew through this massive tome. It swept me along fantastically! As in "The Bonfire of the Vanities", Wolfe again vividly illustrates the roots of most people's problems: sex, money and ego. That said, the main quibbles I have with the book are, firstly, that the ending is very disappointing after all that intense involvement in the characters. A shoddy way of tying up all the loose ends. Secondly, he seems not to be able to create multi-dimensionable and believable female characters. Thirdly, while Conrad is a very likeable character, all that business with the Stoics seems very contrived. It's still a great read, though!
Rating:
Summary: Charlie Croker never read "the Millionaire Next Door"
Review: What a useless, wasteful novel about nothing except the exploitation of money. The only character worth reading about, Conrad, was barely mentioned in the ending. I cannot believe I read the whole thing, I can't not believe it was the number 1 best seller for several weeks. Who cared about all the final epiloge of Wes and Roger. I have never read Tom Wolfe before and probably never will again. Horrible book....
Rating:
Summary: An extraordinary and entertaining satire
Review: Four stars instead of five because I believe the book can be edited more stringently. Sustainable satire is difficult to write and in this age, I believe, it is even harder to understand. We live in an "ironic" age where irony and satire are misunderstood or misued, and every serious expression is placed in quotes. That said, Mr. Wolfe has given us a satirical view of America as it exists vis a vis race and sexual relations. It's not just a Saturday Night Live skit. Race is the most serious issue blocking our path to undertaking the class issue that is literally killing us all. Sex has become politicized to the point of absurdity. Amused as we might be by many of the characters antics, childishness and boorishness, to name only a few, Wolfe's book presents serious issues to contemplate. As far as character: Mr. Wolfe's Charlie Croker was well drawn, believable and consistent. For satire this I believe is quite an achievement. To Mr. Wolfe I would say continue on this path and let no one, not even yourself off the hook. I do think the last chapter fizzled. Rework it if there's another edition, please. One last comment: the religion of Zeus fits in with the pronouncement that DeToqueville made about Americans and religion. Right on to that.
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