The Pumphouse Gang [AUDIOBOOK] [UNABRIDGED] (Audio Cassette)

~ (Author), Harold N. Cropp (Contributor, Reader)

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Product Description

Tom Wolfe's second collection (1968) takes it title from a redoubtable surfing elite, many of whom abandoned the beach for the psychedelic indoor sports of the late sixties. Wolfe here continues his fieldwork among noble savages, from La Jolla to London.

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6 1.5-hour cassettes --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Blackstone Audiobooks; Unabridged edition (February 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786106522
• ISBN-13: 978-0786106523
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,149,067 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A social critic a la carte, November 30, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Pump House Gang (Paperback)

Tom Wolfe is brilliant in capturing a generation's feel. This collection of short stories describes the socialites, the freaks and the trend-setters. Wolfe's language manages to show the physical as well as the atmosphere within a few short sentences. If you liked his wit in "The Electric Cool-Aid Acid Test" and his observations (social x-rays) in "Bonfire of the Vaities," you will love this collection of social critical essays.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good and Mediocre Short Stories, January 13, 2008

By	R. Spell "raspell" (Memphis, TN USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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This review is from: The Pump House Gang (Paperback)

Noted author Wolfe wrote this series of short stories in the mid 60s which describe a changing America, leaving the European framework of class structure and elegance for something different. Something that would evolve in our country even to today where people cared less about systems of status. It was a fascinating period which Wolfe identified and captured earlier that most social observers.

But, the stories are widely diverse from a group of surfers in La Jolla who have no desire to hold normal jobs, to Hugh Hefner's "nose thumbing" to sexual society, to new work habits of young adults living in London. And this is some of the problems with the book. You may like some stories but they are so diverse, you may loathe others. I find myself revisiting Wolfe's books as they provide expert commentary of the past 40 years. This one I found to be uneven but still enjoyable.

4.0 out of 5 stars Good set of essays; not Wolfe's best, February 6, 2003

By	Joseph K Wright (Washington, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Pump House Gang (Paperback)

Tom Wolfe pursues the idea that many Americans and Brits since World War II have been checking out of mainstream status competition in favor of pursuing status within distinct subcultures. This plays out in some interesting ways--most notably Wolfe watches Natalie Wood pursue status in a more traditional way by acquiring knowledge of art and even some Old Masters, while others play their own status game around photographing celebrities, in this case Wood herself. Essays on Hugh Hefner, California surf culture, and London mods are also worthwhile, as is a comic piece on Wolfe's misadventures with an "automated hotel". Wolfe does bog down at times, however, in the minute stylistic details of the groups he covers; if you are not that interested in style in and of itself, your eyes may glaze over those passages. Still, this is a good read for anyone interested in subcultures (especially of the 1960s) and status-seeking.