Tom Wolfe’s book The New Journalism (first published in 1973) is a two-part description of an era – or more importantly, a style – in print journalism known as The New Journalism. The first part consists of three chapters which explains the history, style and ideas behind The New Journalism. Firstly, American journalist and novelist Tom Wolfe dissects this style of journalism, presenting the specific technical devices and stylistic features that defines The New Journalism. Then, Wolfe describes the state of journalism during the late 1960s – the time when The New Journalism began to emerge – and how it changed over the years to the early 1970s. Also, Wolfe gives a brief history of the literary aspects of The New Journalism, its relation to the novel and the effect it had on novelists and journalists at the time.

The second part of the book, edited by Tom Wolfe and E.W. Johnson, consists of excerpts from feature stories written by some of the most important New Journalism writers. Using the excerpts as examples of certain specific usage of the different techniques typical for The New Journalism, Wolfe and Johnson include Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood, Hunter S. Thompson’s The Kentucky Derby is decadent and depraved, George Plimpton’s Paper Lion and Norman Mailer’s The armies of the night. Excerpts from features written by Michel Herr, Rex Reed, Terry Southern, Gay Talese, John Eszterhas, Nicholas Tomalin, James Mills, Joan Didion, Richard Goldstein, Barbara L. Goldsmith, Joe McGinniss, John Gregory Dunne, John Sack, ‘Adam Smith’, Robert Christgau, Gary Wills and Tom Wolfe are also included.

The features span from a time range beginning in the early to mid-60s and the early stages of The New Journalism, to a few weeks before the book was completed. The New Journalism was first published in Britain in 1975 by Picador.

The New Journalism is the perfect guide to this style in print journalism. It is clear and straightforward, and when you have read it you have a clear picture of what The New Journalism is. If there was ever such a thing as "the undergraduate’s guide to-" series of books, for those people who feel it is an effort to read books but really need to find something out, this book would be that guide to The New Journalism.

The first part is well-structured, describing in good, concrete detail what technique and style is typical for The New Journalism. The first chapters are short, getting right to the point of what this book aims to do: define The New Journalism.

In a colourful way, Wolfe describes the somewhat bland journalistic climate on the big American newspapers during the 60s. He also shows, in an amusing way, the mindset of many pretentious journalists of the time who believed that writing features for newspapers was just pastime while getting ready to write the great American novel. As if he was not a journalist himself, Wolfe hilariously explains the relationship of the novelists and the journalists at the time, and how they almost competed to be able to call themselves the literary masters.

If the first part of The New Journalism is the business part of the book, presenting the reader with a clear idea of what this journalistic style is, the second part is the pleasure part of the book. Wolfe claims in the first lines of the book that the idea behind it was to put together an anthology of The New Journalism. E.W Johnson and Tom Wolfe succeed in doing this. The excerpts from these feature stories are not only a pleasure to read, they serve as examples to illustrate techniques and style in The New Journalism. Most important here is that there are examples of times when the writers have succeeded in using these techniques to improve the story – and there are examples of when it is not quite such a success.

Most memorable among the stories are Truman Capotes In Cold Blood, George Plimpton’s Paper Lion and John Sack’s M. In In Cold Blood, Capote depicts the events surrounding the murder of an entire family in Kansas, USA. In an eerie way, Capote switches the narrative from the murderers to the doomed family in Kansas in a way typical for The New Journalism. Also typical for The New Journalism is careful attention to detail. Through Capote’s description of the environment, the story becomes extremely vivid, and if you close your eyes it is almost possible to see the surroundings, from the banged-up, American pick-up truck making its way down the dusty country roads of rural America to the tacky, pink beach equipment strewn on a Florida beach.

In George Plimpton’s Paper Lion it doesn’t matter if you are ignorant to the rules of American football, Plimpton’s attention to every moment and detail as he makes a fool of himself playing for the Detroit Lions will make anyone keep reading. In this story, as in John Sack’s M, the journalists are living their stories (John Sack as a Vietnam war soldier) and write them in the novel format, the trademark of The New Journalism.

The second part of The New Journalism is a compilation of examples of sensational journalistic writing. Put together with the first part, the clear explanation of what The New Journalism is, this book is an excellent description of this style in journalism. Wolfe’s humorous writing and the quality of the journalists whose stories are featured in the book makes it a pleasure to read while it also provides a clear insight into this journalistic form. It is a perfect anthology of The New Journalism.

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