A review by thisisstephenbetts
The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe

3.0

Having just about got over I Am Charlotte Simmons, I wanted to remind myself why Tom Wolfe was once considered an important writer. And my faith was restored. While his style is still a little too jarring with its vernacular stylings, here it is put to good use. Wolfe does a brilliant job of conveying the culture of elite military pilots. Having established the fighter-jock spirit he shows how it was undermined in the early days of the space programme, and then how it was gradually restored so that astronaut became the new pinnacle to which a pilot could aspire. A fascinating and detailed story, with naturally huge and over-the-top characters, suitably voiced by a naturally huge and over-the-top writer.

(Interesting to see that Wolfe was using his the frankly disturbing phrase "loamy loins" - scattered rather too liberally through I Am Charlotte Simmons - as early as The Right Stuff. Try not to let that put you off.)