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Book Reviews on...

The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe
Buy now

The Bonfire of the Vanities

by Tom Wolfe

Recommendations from our site

“When The Bonfire of the Vanities came out in 1986 it captured New York life, and in particular the criminal justice system, like nothing else. I was jealous. I was living this life but Tom Wolfe wrote it. How was a non-cop able to capture this? He captured the nuances of the criminal justice system, and especially the issue of race. His treatment of the criminal justice system in the county of the Bronx is hilarious and deeply troubling. Cops certainly could relate to the prisoners in the Bronx jail who knew more about the sections of the penal law than all of the prosecutors and defence lawyers combined. The inmates were quite comfortable reciting the numerical chapter of the penal code as opposed to the English title of such code. And so we find one inmate proudly proclaiming that he is in for ‘160.15’ (which is armed robbery) as opposed to his less manly inmate who is only in for ‘140.10’ (a second degree burglary.)” Read more...

The best books on Policing

John Timoney, Policemen

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The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe

The Right Stuff
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Radical Chic by Tom Wolfe

Radical Chic
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I Am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe

I Am Charlotte Simmons
by Tom Wolfe

The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby by Tom Wolfe

The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby
by Tom Wolfe

The New Journalism by Tom Wolfe

The New Journalism
by Tom Wolfe

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