Tom Wolfe is the author of more than a dozen books, among them The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, The Right Stuff, The Bonfire of the Vanities, A Man in Full, I Am Charlotte Simmons, and Back to Blood. A native of Richmond, Virginia, he earned his B.A. at Washington and Lee University and a Ph.D. in American Studies at Yale. He received the National Book Foundation's 2010 Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He lives in New York City.
"An entertaining and informative romp, thanks to Wolfe's patented
stylistic hijinks. It may raise more questions than it answers, but
that may well be its greatest virtue....very funny."
--Frank Wilson, Philadelphia Inquirer
"....a hundred years from now, the one whose work will still be
read - whose work will remain imperishable in the face of any new
discoveries - is Wolfe. In the long game, the kingdom belongs to
him."
--Caitlin Flanagan, New York Times Book Review
"(Wolfe's) trademark rich reporting is unmistakable throughout....
he brings to this academic debate the same irreverence and
entertaining quality that lit up Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test....
You'll find here the same manic prose, the hip rhythms and cleverly
crafted arguments of the genius Tom Wolfe. Which you must
read."
--Don Oldenburg, USA Today
"A fresh look at an old controversy, as a master provocateur
suggests that human language renders the theory of evolution more
like a fable than scientific fact....Wolfe throws a Molotov
cocktail at conventional wisdom in a book that won't settle any
argument but is sure to start some."--Kirkus Reviews
"Barely a dull sentence."
--John McWhorter, Vox
"Come for the big ideas, stay for the terrific stories. Wolfe's
bracing and witty style redeems a subject that in other hands might
have you hitting the snooze button."
--Clarke Crutchfield, Richmond Times-Dispatch
"Head-hopping nonfiction....slick narrative storytelling alongside
heaps of documentary evidence."--Mark Lundy, Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette
"In lively, irreverent, and witty prose, Wolfe argues that speech,
not evolution, sets humans apart from animals and is responsible
for all of humankind's complex achievements....Wolfe's vibrant
study manages to be clever, funny, serious, satirical, and
instructive."--Publishers Weekly
"In this mettlesome, slyly funny takedown, Wolfe spotlights two key
scientific rivalries, each pitting a scrappy outsider against the
academy....Wolfe's pithy and stirring play-by-play coverage of
compelling lives and demanding science transforms our perception of
speech....As always, white-suited Wolfe will be all over the
media...stirring things up and sending readers to the
shelves."--Donna Seaman, Booklist
"Linguistics is famously boring, but Tom Wolfe is
fun....beautifully written."
--Chris Knight, Counterpunch
"Mr. Wolfe, now 85, shows no sign of mellowing. His new book, The
Kingdom of Speech, is his boldest bit of dueling yet. It's a
whooping, joy-filled and hyperbolic raid on, of all things, the
theory of evolution....a provocation rather than a dissertation.
The sound it makes is that of a lively mind having a very good
time, and enjoying the scent of its own cold-brewed napalm in the
morning."
--Dwight Garner, New York Times
"Stimulating, clever and witty, Wolfe's little book is sure to
provoke discussion about the role language plays in making us
human."
--Henry L. Carrigan Jr., BookPage
"The most savage and entertaining of all "new journalists" has
found one of the most unlikely subjects to stimulate his lifelong
penchant for mocking naked emperors whom the world considers the
epitome of regal splendor. Of eminent B.S. in this world, there
will always be a surplus. Which is why we always need Wolfe."
--Jeff Simon, The Buffalo News
"This being Tom Wolfe, the ponderous debate over language and
evolution takes on a kind of pop-art pizzazz....A curiously
entertaining little book."
--James Sullivan, Boston Globe
"Tom Wolfe aims his unparalleled wit at evolution, arguing that
complex language is the singular superpower that allows humans to
rule the planet."
--Harper's Bazaar
"With his usual sharp wit and style, Wolfe's return to his roots is
a thrilling journey into the who, what, where, when, why, and how
of speech that will undoubtedly provoke stimulating
conversations."
--Library Journal
"Wolfe doesn't mince words, and his comments are convincing and
captivating."
--Ina Hughs, Knoxville News Sentinel
"Wolfe, still a master at using language, is another claimant for
the throne. The Kingdom of Speech is best read, then, with Wolfe
not just as a narrator-historian but as a character. One who, after
critiquing theorists who rule from insulated rooms, depicts himself
in that exact setting for his book's final vision."
--Nate Hopper, Time
If you thought every question pertaining to evolution has been
solved, think again: Wolfe explains in his typically high-energy
prose how the development of speech is still an area in which
science has far more questions than answers."
--New York Post
Praise for The Kingdom of Speech: "The author's own prose is, as
ever, a marvelous mix of gleeful energy and whip-around-the-neck
control, and his book is a gas to read."
--Charles C. Mann, Wall Street Journal
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