Why people recommend it
The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe is a sweeping satirical novel that exposes the extreme greed, ambition, and urban dysfunction of 1980s New York City. The book has drawn commentary from various public figures across different podcasts. On How I Write, Harlan Coben cited the novel as one of his absolute favorite books from his coming-of-age years, despite describing its cinematic adaptation as an unwatchable disaster. Charles Fain Lehman recommended the text on The Ezra Klein Show as the quintessential American novel for understanding historical urban dysfunction, praising its blend of sharp satire and enduring realism. On The Megyn Kelly Show, Andrew Klavan highlighted the book as a prime cultural artifact mocking the era's unbridled corporate greed, while Megyn Kelly shared a comparison made by Nelson DeMille regarding contemporary fiction. On The Tucker Carlson Show, Jordan Belfort revealed that he stumbled upon the novel while in a prison library, utilizing Wolfe's masterclass in writing style to help teach himself how to craft stories. Furthermore, on No Stupid Questions, Stephen fondly recalled loving the novel, subsequently discussing Julie Salamon's behind-the-scenes book Devil's Candy, which chronicled the chaotic and disastrous production of the Hollywood movie adaptation based on Wolfe's literary masterpiece.
Who recommended it
- Harlan Coben Recommended
- Megyn Kelly Discussed
- Ezra Klein Recommended
- Jordan Belfort Discussed
Harlan Coben — 1 mention
“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”
Megyn Kelly — 1 mention
“and the other is a novel by the right-wing right leaning author Tom Wolf the bonfire of the vanities”
Ezra Klein — 1 mention
“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”
Jordan Belfort — 1 mention
“I go to the prison library and I stumble upon a book called bonfire of the vanities like Tom Wolf”
Mentioned on the show without a named speaker — 5
“But then I think of another book that I loved, Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe. I love that book too, a great novel. Then the movie came out, and I can't remember that movie!”
“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.”
“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”
“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.”
“use those notes okay to recreate that scene in electric kool-aid acid test um”