Wolfe, Tom

The Pump House Gang

New York, NY, USA: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1968. First Edition. Hardcover. "A young man of many talents burst upon the scene three years ago with a book called The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby, and the result was a revolution in the reporting of American popular culture. Since that time Tom Wolfe has been doing field work among many noble savages (from La Jolla to London) in search of new life styles. He has here gathered the results, a collection of essays on the way we live now, written with all the insight, perceptiveness and stylistic panache of his first book. Running throughout The Pump House Gang is the central theme of most of Tom Wolfe's writing: Status. Much of the book deals with a surprising phenomenon in contemporary life: A determined retreat from conventional social hierarchies that Tom Wolfe calls "starting your own league." " (from front flap) An acclaimed, now-classic collection of essays by Tom Wolfe (1930-2018), the great American author who substantially created the genre of New Journalism, which paralleled the Gonzo Journalism of Hunter S. Thompson. This is the second book-length work (or third, as it was released simultaneously with The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test per rear flap) published in the Wolfe canon. Hardcover in unclipped dust jacket (undoubtedly first issue with $5.95 price printed at front flap) designed by the iconic Milton Glaser (1929-2020), first edition, "First printing, 1968" as stated at copyright page. An essential Wolfe collectible in its rarest contemporary form. Book in relatively near-fine condition with only a touch of wear, some tiny bumps, creases & occasional spotting to edges & corners of front, back covers & spine; very slight age-toning & occasional spotting to side & lower edges of text block; slight fading & faint scratching to black-dyed upper edge of same. Interior near-fine with slight rubbing, age-toning to blank yellow paste-downs & endpapers; previous owner's charming bookplate affixed to front endpaper with typed name crossed-out in purple ink; one tiny spot at rear endpaper near left edge; very small semi-circular area of light residue from dot-sticker removal near lower left corner of rear paste-down; a hint of age-toning at blank margins/edges of page leaves. Dust jacket (also relatively) near-fine with very slight rubbing, faint scratching to front, back covers, spine & flaps; some tiny bumps, creases at/from edges & corners of same esp. upper spine-edge, corners. Near Fine / Near Fine. [Item #7705]

Price: $80.00