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The Pump House Gang

By: Tom Wolfe
Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
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Publisher's summary

A collection of non-fiction essays about the counter-culture of the 1960s that dives deep into the issues that marked the era: female empowerment, increasing freedom around sexuality, vibrant subcultures, and the rise of psychedelic drugs.

In this sprawling work, Wolfe profiles Playboy founder Hugh Hefner and compares him to Jay Gatsby, interviews one of the first women to get breast implants, and hangs out with freewheeling surfers (aka The Pump House Gang).

Tom Wolfe's second collection of essays continues his fieldwork among the thriving anti-establishment subcultures of the 1960s - from La Jolla to London.

©1968; 1966; 1964, 1965, 1966 Tom Wolfe; The World Journal Tribune Corporation; The New York Herald Tribune, Inc. (P)2019 Audible, Inc.
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

Our favorite moments from The Pump House Gang

The Pump House Gang
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  • A palace of technological glories
  • The Pump House Gang
  • A chronic chaos in society
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The Pump House Gang, written in the pyrotechnic prose of his ‘new journalism,’ helped establish Wolfe as one of the most prominent social critics of his generation.

- Los Angeles Times
Tom Wolfe

About the Author

Born and raised in Richmond, Virginia, Tom Wolfe is perhaps best known for his work as a trailblazer in the New Journalism movement of the 1960s and as the author of searing best-sellers such as The Bonfire of the Vanities. Originally a reporter, Wolfe worked in news for ten years, writing for publications including The New York Herald Tribune, Esquire, New York Magazine, and The Washington Post. In 1965, Wolfe published his first book, The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby, a collection of essays about the freewheeling 1960s, launching him into the public sphere as a whip-smart and madly inventive cultural critic. Several best-selling nonfiction publications followed, including The Right Stuff, The Pump House Gang, The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, and Radical Chic & Mau-Mauing the Flak Catchers, works that introduced popular slang—including statusphere, the right stuff, The Me Decade, and good ol’ boy—into the English lexicon.

Wolfe released his first novel, The Bonfire of the Vanities, in 1987 to much praise; the book remained on The New York Times best-seller list for over a year after its initial publication. Three of his books have been adapted into blockbuster films including The Last American Hero (1973), The Right Stuff (1983), and The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990). Wolfe was also the recipient of several prestigious awards, including the National Book Award, the Washington Irving Medal for Literary Excellence, the National Humanities Medal, and the National Book Foundation’s 2010 Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. A writer with a keen eye for style and all things sensational, Wolfe was known for not only his attention-grabbing writing but also his eye-catching fashion sense—he wore his trademark white suit for decades, donning his ivory tie and matching fedora no matter the season. He died in 2018 in New York City, leaving behind a legacy of deft, neon prose and razor-sharp satire.

Edoardo Ballerini

About the Performer

Edoardo Ballerini has narrated over 250 audiobooks and appeared in over 50 films and television series, including The Sopranos and Boardwalk Empire. His 2013 recording of Jess Walter’s Beautiful Ruins was named Audible’s Audiobook of the Year and earned him the Audie Award for Best Solo Narration. He won a second Audie Award for Best Male Narrator, for his reading of Dean Koontz’s Watchers in 2019. He recently completed work on Karl Ove Knausgaard’s My Struggle, which has garnered international acclaim. He lives in New York.

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a glimpse into the Mod Life of the sixties

I enjoyed getting a view into life during the 60's from Tom Wolfe's unique perspective. however, in my opinion, few of the stories held my interest completely like many of his later works.

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