Bonfire of The Vanities

Tom Wolfe, “Bonfire of The Vanities”, The Franklin Library, 1987, 659 Pages

Bonfire of The Vanities is often referred to in my readings of the current financial crisis when the author wants to make disparaging references to the lifestyle of the men at the top of the financial landfill heap. So I decided to read it but was disappointed. This book does portray quite well how a rich and famous person can get persecuted by the court system through the machinations of people such as Rev. Al Sharpton or Rev. Jesse Jackson and a politically motivated DA, but it does not get into the intricacies of the financial world, which was my reason for reading it. One of the characters in this book, Rev. Bacon, is inspired by the aforementioned Reverends.

Sherman McCoy, the main character of this book, will forevermore personify an object caught up in the criminal system after an alleged hit and run of a young black honor student in a crime ridden area of the Bronx. Wolfe is the author of many other books; most notably, to me, The Right Stuff.