Hooking up

by Tom Wolfe

Paperback, 2001

Status

Available

Genres

Publication

New York : Picador USA, 2001.

Description

From the Publisher: In Hooking Up, Tom Wolfe ranges from coast to coast observing 'the lurid carnival actually taking place in the mightiest country on earth in the year 2000.' From teenage sexual manners and mores to fundamental changes in the way human beings now regard themselves thanks to the hot new fields of genetics and neuroscience; from his legendary profile of William Shawn, editor of The New Yorker (first published in 1965), to a remarkable portrait of Bob Noyce, the man who invented Silicon Valley, Tom Wolfe the master of reportage and satire returns in vintage form.

User reviews

LibraryThing member mrtall
Full of vintage Wolfe, although a big chunk of the book is taken up by the novella 'Ambush at Fort Bragg', an interesting piece that doesn't go much of anywhere. This volume also includes a full recounting of Wolfe's battles with the New Yorker, which are wonderfully funny.
LibraryThing member pbirch01
Scraps thrown together is one term that comes to mind. Wolfe titled the book after being surprised by the sexual habits of today's youth but the book does little to address this. It does however print many old stories Wolfe has had lying around for quite some time. The one highlight is the short
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story, "Ambush at Fort Bragg" which was cut from "A Man in Full". This short story shows Wolfe at his storytelling best and alone is worth the cost of the book.
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LibraryThing member messpots
We know that Wolfe has his own style of writing but thankfully he remains a journalist and writes without the pretensions of an artist. He sees and understands a lot, and he expresses well what he sees and understands, and you could hardly ask anything more of a journalist. In fact, as a journalist
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he goes one better: you find yourself enjoying subjects you wouldn't expect to enjoy.
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LibraryThing member fuzzi
A good friend has been trying to get me to read something by Tom Wolfe for a while, and I finally tried this book, a series of short articles about dating, etc.

I was 'hooked'.

I did try to read "The Bonfire of the Vanities" afterwards, but I just couldn't get into it...there were too many people in
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the story that I came to loathe.

But "Hooking Up" is a good read, and I recommend it.
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LibraryThing member mattchisholm
Wolfe makes the argument that the success of the tech industry was based on the lingering residue of "Dissenting Protestantism" fighting against the elitist stigma of the Eastern United States.
LibraryThing member mojomomma
The chapter about Noyce and his Grinnell origins was interesting. The rest of it, not so much.
LibraryThing member EThorelli
Good for those Tom Wolfe fans, and those that are distant from the youth in the country.
LibraryThing member mossland
Impossible for me to review Tom Wolfe because he is my gold standard. A little book packed full of pertinent golden nuggets. Timeless and yet amazing that it was published in 2000. Love him!
LibraryThing member RussellBittner
Tom Wolfe may dress up like Mark Twain, but Tom Wolfe’s a sheep in Twain’s clothing.

That said, Tom Wolfe — in Hooking Up — gives a riotous performance. From Silicon Valley to the halls of the hallowed “New Yorker” Magazine, Wolfe sheds light: much-needed and much-appreciated light.
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There are gems in this book, but you’ve got to know how to spot them.

Wolfe’s prose is edgy, amusing, straightforward — and a joy to read. He just ain’t Twain, Huck. (But then, nobody is except Samuel Clemens himself.)

RRB
04/16/11
Brooklyn, NY, USA
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LibraryThing member dbsovereign
Fun though not my favorite Wolfe. A bit of a mix of some of his good and his just okay essays. Still worth a read if you're a fan [as I am].
LibraryThing member br77rino
A great takedown of his latter-day critics Mailer, Updike and John Irving in one essay, and a fantastic takedown of Marxism in another.

Language

Barcode

7814
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