The Bonfire of the Vanities Tapa dura - 1987

The Bonfire of the Vanities is a 1987 satirical novel by Tom Wolfe. The book is a drama about ambition, racism, social class, politics, and greed in 1980s New York City. It focuses on three characters: WASP bond trader Sherman McCoy, Jewish assistant district attorney Larry Kramer, and British expatriate journalist Peter Fallow.

Sherman McCoy, a self-appointed 'Master of the Universe,' has a fashionable wife, a Park Avenue apartment, and a Southern mistress. His spectacular fall begins the moment he is involved in a hit-and-run accident in the Bronx. Prosecutors, newspaper hacks, politicians, and clergy close in on him, determined to bring him down. The Bonfire of the Vanities is a caustic satire on the money-feverish Eighties. This exuberant novel cemented Wolfe's reputation as the foremost chronicler of his age.

The novel was originally created as a serial in the style of Charles Dickens' writings, running  27 installments in Rolling Stone starting in 1984. The novel was a bestseller and an incredible success often noted as one of Wolfe’s greatest works.