Finished Sa 7/17/21
This is a very large hardback that I've owned for many years, but had not read. It sat on the living room shelf and I saw it, but thought it was a copy of 'BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES'. I'm glad I finally opened it because it was a great read. Almost as good as 'BONFIRE'.
Set in Atlanta, Georgia and Oakland, California.
It is Tom Wolfe's second novel and was published in 1998
Charlie Croker is a very wealthy real estate developer who is just about tapped out. There are a myriad of characters, but the basic story is about this man.
I loved Wolfe's writing style and I should read more by this author.
From The New York Times:
"The protagonist, Charlie Croker, is a megalomaniacal white Atlanta real estate developer whose empire, along with his identity, is hurtling toward bankruptcy. Meanwhile, a black football star at Georgia Tech, Fareek (the Canon) Fanon, is accused of raping the daughter of a prominent white Atlanta businessman. The two events converge like a pair of churning rivers, and all of Atlanta is swept away in the deluge. Charlie's wives, his bank officers, his white business friends, his black legal adversaries, his former employees -- all these characters find themselves in their own peculiar jams. (All Wolfe's characters seem to start out in trouble on their way to even bigger troubles.) Nevertheless, each finds time to visit misery upon Charlie Croker."
The link to the book's page on Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Man_in_Full
The Conrad character becomes enamored with the philosophy of the STOICS through a philosopher named EPICTETUS.
Quotes:
***Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants.
***Men are disturbed not by things, but by the view which they take of them.
***If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid.
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