The American Spectator

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Youth Is Served

5.19.06 @ 12:01AM

COMMITTING IRONY IN PUBLIC
Re: R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr.'s Tom Wolfe -- Aha!:

I am confused by the words and phrases that Mr. Tyrrell used to describe the author Tom Wolfe. Young/youth was used five times, along with the phrases "still a pup," "puts on a few years," and "verve of his years," which were sprinkled through the article. Mr. Tyrrell credits Mr. Wolfe with writing three novels.

Given that the author Thomas Kennerly Wolfe (a.k.a. Tom Wolfe) was born on 2 March 1931 in Richmond, Virginia, and that R. (Robert) Emmett Tyrrell, Jr. was born sometime in 1943, it seems odd that the 62/63 year old Mr. Tyrrell would frequently describe the 75-year-old Mr. Wolfe a young man.

Many people credit Mr. Wolfe with inventing the "New Journalism" style of writing in his article about the hot rod and custom car culture of Southern California that was published in Esquire Magazine in 1963. A partial list of his published books include:
- The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby (1965)
- The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test (1968)
- The Pump House Gang (1968)
- Radical Chic and Mau-Mauing the Flak Catchers (1970)
- The Painted Word (1975)
- Mauve Gloves and Madmen, Clutter and Vine (1976)
- The Right Stuff (1979)
- In Our Time (1980)
- From Bauhaus to Our House (1981)
- The Purple Decades (1982)
- The Bonfire of the Vanities (1987)
- A Man in Full (1998)
- Hooking Up (2000)
- I Am Charlotte Simmons (2004)

I remain confused by Mr. Tyrrell's choice of words.
-- Newt Love
Annapolis, Maryland

How old must R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr. be to be calling 75-year-old Wolfe "young"?

I'm three years younger. What does that make me? A toddler? Well, I do a little of that but I assure you, it's not because I'm so young.
-- Ron Lutz

I'm puzzled by your reference to Tom Wolfe as a "young literary talent." According to Wikipedia, Tom Wolfe is 76 years old. I have been an admirer of his work ever since he skewered Leonard Bernstein's Black Panther fundraising party in the 1960s.

"Thomas Kennerly 'Tom' Wolfe (born March 2, 1930) is an American author and journalist, best known as one of the founders of the new journalism."
-- Alan P.
Los Angeles, California

What is this constant referring to Tom Wolfe as young? The man is 76 years old. I have been reading his books for 35 years. I assume that there must be some tongue-in-cheek point to your comments.
-- Steve Berry
San Jose, California

In his article "Tom Wolfe -- Aha!" Mr. Tyrrell keeps referring to Tom Wolfe as the "young" writer. Mr. Wolfe was born in 1931, which makes him 75 years old. What exactly is Mr. Tyrrell trying to communicate to the masses? Personally, I hope Mr. Wolfe stays alive for a long time so that he can write many more great books.
-- Rowe Sergent
Tempe, Arizona

I have read every book Mr. Wolfe has written, started in the '60s, with the exception of I Am Charlotte Simmons. Just haven't got around to that one yet.

The man's use of language, ability to enter into and see the world he is writing about is just beyond description.

And the worlds he enters! Truly a Renaissance man. Compare and contrast A Man in Full with Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. TAS readers, if you haven't read Tom Wolfe you're missing out on a true American sociologist and one of the finest humorists since Mark Twain.

A full menu awaits; art, architecture, astronauts, custom cars, surfing, the counter culture, hippies, business, radical chic, Black Panthers, buffoons, and bozos, and more. Americana in all its glory and absurdity. Treat yourself to a tasty morsel or sumptuous feast!

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