Tom Wolfe, Author of 'The Right Stuff,' Dies at 88

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Tom Wolfe, who wrote "The Right Stuff" and a number of other iconic books, died
yesterday (May 14) in New York City at age 88.

Wolfe had been in the hospital battling an infection, according to The New York
Times, which published a detailed obituary of the flamboyant and innovative
journalist-turned-novelist today (May 15).

"In his use of novelistic techniques in his nonfiction, Mr. Wolfe, beginning in
the 1960s, helped create the enormously influential hybrid known as the New
Journalism," The New York Times wrote. "But as an unabashed contrarian, he was
almost as well known for his attire as his satire. He was instantly recognizable
as he strolled down Madison Avenue — a tall, slender, blue-eyed, still
boyish-looking man in his spotless three-piece vanilla bespoke suit, pinstriped
silk shirt with a starched white high collar, bright handkerchief peeking from
his breast pocket, watch on a fob, faux spats and white shoes. Once asked to
describe his get-up, Mr. Wolfe replied brightly, 'Neo-pretentious.'"

Wolfe's most famous nonfiction works are "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test," a
1968 book that put readers on the bus with counterculture legend Ken Kesey and
his band of Merry Pranksters, and 1979's "The Right Stuff," which chronicled the
early days of the United States' human-spaceflight program.

"The Right Stuff" profiled NASA's first astronaut class, known as the Mercury
Seven, as well as some test pilots who never made it to space — most famously,
Chuck Yeager, who in 1947 became the first pilot to break the sound barrier. The
best-selling book was made into a 1983 movie, which won four Academy Awards and
has become a cultural touchstone in its own right.

"I'm saddened to hear of the passing of legendary author Tom Wolfe. "The Right
Stuff" was an inspiration to me and millions of others. He will be missed," NASA
Administrator Jim Bridenstine tweeted today.




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