Book · 2002 · Fiction
The Bonfire of the Vanities
A Novel
#149 of 16,790 books, ranked by how many different people bring it up on podcasts
- mentions
- 21
- people
- 16
- podcasts
- 10
- episodes
- 16
- critical mentions
- 0
And the book that I recommend to understand the sort of peak of urban dysfunction in America is Tom W bonfire the vanities which is you know his sendup of urban American life in the 1980s and I think is a parody but is also in many ways true to reality and says a lot about today's urban life as.
Ezra Klein · The Ezra Klein Show · Oct 2024 Listen at 1:31:40 What they say about it
- Rereads the novel“read it again”2
- Discovered in prison2
The best things said about it
Bonfire, I think it's such a joy ride and it's so smart.
I go to the prison library and I stumble upon a book called bonfire of the vanities like Tom Wolf of course I pick up this book and I'm like oh my God I want to write like this.
Jordan Belfort The Tucker Carlson Show · Dec 2023 Then I think of another book that I loved bonfire the vanities by Tom Wolfe love that book too great novel.
Stephen Dubner No Stupid Questions · Oct 2021 Over the vacation I finally got around to reading I had read it like a long time ago and I finally read it again um bonfire the vanities and that term ink stained wretches was in there.
Megyn Kelly The Megyn Kelly Show · Jan 2023 All of New York got that because all of New York was represented.
Where and when it comes up
Mentions per year
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How it comes up
16 people who brought it up
Why people recommend it
The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe is a satirical novel chronicling ambition, greed, and urban decay in 1980s New York City. Harlan Coben cited it on How I Write as a beloved book from his coming-of-age years despite its notoriously poor film adaptation. Ezra Klein recommended the novel on The Ezra Klein Show through guest Charles Fain Lehman as an essential read for understanding the history of urban dysfunction in America, and Dwight Garner praised its smart, joyful narrative on The Book Review while predicting its enduring legacy. The novel also inspired various cultural comparisons and historical analyses. Rich Roll likened Anand Giridharadas's writing style to Wolfe's work on The Rich Roll Podcast, David Brooks discussed the novel on Conversations with Tyler to illustrate how Wolfe once captured the entire public life of New York City, and Andrew Klavan examined the book on The Megyn Kelly Show as a prime piece of 1987 art critiquing contemporary greed.
Every mention
Dwight Garner I think several the books I think people are going to be reading the electric coate acid test for as long a… 2
Discussed
“there are many people including Harold Bloom who would take bonfire the vanities over John Up's best work”
Recommended
“I think several the books I think people are going to be reading the electric coate acid test for as long as people are reading books um bonfire I think it's such a joy ride and it's so smart”
Ezra Klein and the book that I recommend to understand the sort of peak of urban dysfunction in America is Tom W bonfi… 1
Recommended
“and the book that I recommend to understand the sort of peak of urban dysfunction in America is Tom W bonfire the vanities which is you know his sendup of urban American life in the 1980s and I think is a parody but is also in many ways true to reality and says a lot about today's urban life as”
Harlan Coben two of my favorite books of the you know when I was sort of coming of age poor noise complaint by Philip Ro… 1
Recommended
“two of my favorite books of the you know when I was sort of coming of age poor noise complaint by Philip Roth and Bonfire the Vanities by Tom Wolf both are horrendous films unwatchable”
Jordan Belfort I go to the prison library and I stumble upon a book called bonfire of the vanities like Tom Wolf 2
Discussed
“I go to the prison library and I stumble upon a book called bonfire of the vanities like Tom Wolf”
Discussed
“I go to the prison library and I stumble upon a book called bonfire of the vanities like Tom Wolf of course I pick up this book and I'm like oh my God I want to write like this”
Megyn Kelly over the vacation I finally got around to reading I had read it like a long time ago and I finally read it… 2
Discussed
“over the vacation I finally got around to reading I had read it like a long time ago and I finally read it again um bonfire the vanities and that term ink stained wretches was in there”
Discussed
“Nelson actually said to Doug in that interview Sheldon maybe you heard it that goes to Manhattan he said is actually better than bonfire of the vanities”
Rich Roll You said Bonfire of the Vanities, which, you know, Tom Wolf, amazing book. I read it as I was starting this. 2
Discussed
“It's almost like a Tom Wolf story. It's like bonfire of the inequalities without the satire on some level”
Discussed
“You said Bonfire of the Vanities, which, you know, Tom Wolf, amazing book. I read it as I was starting this.”
Stephen Dubner then I think of another book that I loved bonfire the vanities by Tom Wolfe love that book too great novel 2
Discussed
“then I think of another book that I loved bonfire the vanities by Tom Wolfe love that book too great novel”
Discussed
“The journalist Julie Solomon was actually on set for a lot of the making of that movie; she wrote a book about it. She wrote a book about the making of the movie because it was just one disaster after the next, and the book was called Devil's Candy.”
Andrew Klavan and the other is a novel by the right-wing right leaning author Tom Wolf the bonfire of the vanities 1
Discussed
“and the other is a novel by the right-wing right leaning author Tom Wolf the bonfire of the vanities”
David Brooks It wasn't that long ago that a Tom Wolf novel said in this city of New York in I don't know what year Bonfi… 1
Discussed
“It wasn't that long ago that a Tom Wolf novel said in this city of New York in I don't know what year Bonfire the Vanities was published, but I think sometime in the 80s, all of New York got that because all of New York was represented.”
Dennis Miller Did you ever read the great Tom Wolfe book, well I liked it, I don't know if a lot of people called it "A M… 1
Discussed
“Did you ever read the great Tom Wolfe book, well I liked it, I don't know if a lot of people called it "A Man in Full", and it was a book, well, you'd have to read it.”
Doug Brunt Sheldon maybe you heard it that goes to Manhattan he said is actually better than bonfire of the vanities a… 1
Discussed
“Sheldon maybe you heard it that goes to Manhattan he said is actually better than bonfire of the vanities and that they need to make a movie out of it”
Gilbert Cruz Andrew Ross sarin and David enrich will be here to talk about Gary Stein's Lake Success Tom Wolf's bonfire… 1
Discussed
“Andrew Ross sarin and David enrich will be here to talk about Gary Stein's Lake Success Tom Wolf's bonfire the vanities and more”
Glenn Loury I mean I thought I don't know if you remember the the bonfire of the vanities the bonfire of the vanities t… 1
Discussed
“I mean I thought I don't know if you remember the the bonfire of the vanities the bonfire of the vanities that was uh Tom Wolf uh comic novel from the mid-1980s”
Joe Rogan use those notes okay to recreate that scene in electric kool-aid acid test um 1
Discussed
“use those notes okay to recreate that scene in electric kool-aid acid test um”
Tina Jordan the first author on the list who talked about his summer was Tom Wolf and he said I've sworn to make electr… 1
Discussed
“the first author on the list who talked about his summer was Tom Wolf and he said I've sworn to make electrifying progress on a book I'm writing entitled so far the bonfire of the vanities”
Tommy Chong and it was like a copy of tom wolf you know bonfires and humanities and i i said you haven't written [ __ ]… 1
Discussed
“and it was like a copy of tom wolf you know bonfires and humanities and i i said you haven't written [ __ ] and handed it back to him”
Also mentioned in the same episodes
Other mentions (3: passing, ad reads, own books)
Passing
“is that what you think made Rolling Stone as a magazine work that it transcended the music that it was also culture that was where bonfire the vanities was serialized the right stuff”
Passing
“Like I'm a good long-form conversationalist, but I'm a bad mingler and I feel awkward as hell and usually I just wind up doing the thing that like I learned from reading Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe is like the least cool, most like abhorred thing there is to do, which is finding your spouse...”
Passing
“oh bonfire the vanities that's what I was about to say”