Depressing and cynical, a sad view of human nature.
While this book is a quick and easy read, it reflects a very cynical view of human nature. "A Man in Full" could have been written by Thomas Hobbes. While critics claim the book is an accurate depiction of American society in the 1990s, a careful and honest reader will see that Wolfe fails to take into account the good side of Americans, describing only greed, selfishness, and self-pity. Americans are undoubtedly greedy and selfish, but they are also (perhaps paradoxically) kind and generous. Wolfe needs to look outside his narrow mind and see the good side of the American character. Perhaps then, like the Grinch, his pea-sized heart will grow and he will put his (undisputed) talent to work writing the truth about twentieth-century America--selfishness and generosity can (and do) exist together, and more often than not we care just as much about each other as we do about ourselves.