Tom Wolfe, the best-selling author who was know for his works of both fiction and nonfiction, as well as work in journalism, has died of pneumonia on Monday. He was 88 years old. The author died of pneumonia in a hospital in New York City, according to his agent Lynn Nesbit.
Wolfe is best known for his novels The Bonfire of the Vanities and The Right Stuff. He was also coined as the father of “New Journalism,” which was a form of news writing that integrated literary techniques and first-person experiences. His immersive reporting led to him publishing “The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test” in 1968, he wrote about the the hippie lifestyle without all the drugs. He also published “Radical Chic & Mau-Mauing the Flak Catchers” in 1970, which followed the story of limousine liberals trying to become friends with Black Panthers.
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No matter whether it was his novels or his journalism, Wolfe was known to dive into his work. He had a strong curiosity about human nature, always turning towards provocative social topics like race, money and faith. “There’s no way to understand individuals… without understanding the society around them,” he once said in an interview with Wall Street Journal.
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Wolfe attended Washington and Lee University for a degree in English, he then attended Yale University to get his Ph D. in American Studies. After finishing school he went on to write for various news organizations, such as the the New York Herald Tribune and the Washington Post. Afterwards he began to put his focus on his novels.
According to his daughter, Alexandra Wolfe, he was collecting notes for his next book in his final days. “He never takes vacations, he never stops working,” Alexandra said on Tuesday in an interview.
Aside from Alexandra, Wolfe is also survived by his son, Tommy Wolfe and Sheila Wolfe, his wife of nearly 40 years.
