Book summary

Tom Wolfe's novel stars a college football star turned millionaire businessman who, in late middle age, finds himself with a troublesome young wife and a mountain of debt. The cast includes Conrad Hensley, who gets in trouble with the law after losing his job; a black ex-athlete accused of raping a white girl; and the lawyer who represents him. This explosive, multihued novel about the tension in late 20th-century Atlanta involves illegal immigrants, prison life, shady real estate deals, trophy wives and the women they have replaced. Wolfe's first novel in 11 years was a finalist for the 1998 National Book Award. A New York Times Notable Book for 1998.

Media reviews

"Tom Wolfe may be the hardest-working showoff the literary world has ever owned...[H]e is certainly the most gifted best-seller writer since Margaret Mitchell."