1931- American author and Journalist
He was born in and grew up in Richmond, Virginia. He got a degree from Washington and Lee University. He got his Ph.D from Yale in "American Studies". He worked as a reporter for several papers including the Springfield Union, The Washington Post, and the New York Herald Tribune. He also wrote stories for Harper's, Forbes, Rolling Stone and Esquire. He taught at the New School for Social Research.
Writers he admires include Honoré de Balzac, William Thackeray and Émile Zola. He says this is because they immersed themselves in the world in which they lived an reported on it. He has a very famous conflict with other American authors: John Updike, Norman Mailer and John Irving. The current writer he likes the best is Douglas Coupland.
He claims responsibility for introducing several terms into the popular vocabulary including, "The Me Decade" meant to describe the self centered attitudes of the 80's. "The Right Stuff" which is what you need to be an Astronaut. He also takes credit for the term "good ol' boy" which he used in an article about race driver Junior Johnson from North Carolina.
His best selling books include
He also wrote a very famous article called "The Me Decade and the Third Great Awakening".
He is known to wear white suits almost exclusively. Recently I saw a special on Mark Twain, who had the same habit in his later years. Coincidence???
Related nodes:
Sources:
http://www.tomwolfe.com/authbio.htm
http://www.bookbrowse.com/index.cfm?page=author&authorID=319
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/examiner/archive/1998/11/29/MAGAZINE8088.dtl
Last Updated 04.15.04 | 
