The Bonfire of the Vanities

From the award-winning author of Bonfire of the Vanities and The Right Stuff comes a dazzlingly witty exposé of our times. In this first novel, Tom Wolfe paints a brilliant portrait of New York City in the latter half of the twentieth century. Among its unforgettable characters are Sherman McCoy, a handsome young Wall Street bond trader whose life begins to fall apart when a minor traffic accident turns into an assault case with racial overtones; Frank rat Packer, fabulously wealthy owner of the Manhattan newspaper that bears his name and one of America's most powerful men; and Reverend Bacon, who runs one of New York's most successful storefront churches--until he gets himself into trouble with both his congregation and the Internal Revenue Service.