-
The Pump House Gang
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 8 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: History, Americas
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy for $29.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Our favorite moments from The Pump House Gang
The Pump House Gang, written in the pyrotechnic prose of his ‘new journalism,’ helped establish Wolfe as one of the most prominent social critics of his generation.
- Los Angeles Times
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test
- By: Tom Wolfe
- Narrated by: Luke Daniels
- Length: 13 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tom Wolfe - one of the 20th century’s foremost voices in cultural criticism - went from local news reporter to international icon in 1968, with the publication of The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. Now voiced with vivacity and vigor by Audible Hall of Fame narrator Luke Daniels, the non-fiction swan-dive delves into the world of hippies, hedonism, and everything in between.
-
-
Extremely well-narrated
- By JE on 03-29-19
By: Tom Wolfe
-
The Purple Decades
- A Reader
- By: Tom Wolfe
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 14 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Before he became a best-selling novelist (The Bonfire of the Vanities), Tom Wolfe was an essayist and keen observer of 1960s and 1970s culture for Esquire and Rolling Stone. (This is the man who coined the phrase "Me Decade", after all.) This ear-candy collection of 20 essays and articles narrated by Edoardo Ballerini was handpicked by Wolfe and includes some of his best-known nonfiction work.
By: Tom Wolfe
-
The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby
- By: Tom Wolfe
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
- Length: 11 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"An excellent book by a genius”, said Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., of this now-classic exploration of the 1960s from the founder of New Journalism and author of such influential works as The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test and The Bonfire of the Vanities. Tom Wolfe explores the style and culture of the 1960s in this dynamic collection of essays - originally stand-alone pieces, many of which were published in Esquire magazine - written in his unique, free-flowing style.
By: Tom Wolfe
-
Mauve Gloves & Madmen, Clutter & Vine
- And Other Stories, Sketches, and Essays
- By: Tom Wolfe
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this 1976 collection of essays, Americana icon Tom Wolfe explores the social status strife of the 1970s, eviscerating trends of faux-sympathy and self-absorption, going as far as to coin the term "The 'Me' Decade" to describe the period’s narcissism. And when paired with the clear, confident delivery of storied narrator and stage-and-screen veteran Peter Berkrot, Wolfe’s incisive wit and cynical bite is more blistering than ever.
By: Tom Wolfe
-
A Man in Full
- By: Tom Wolfe
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 35 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The setting is Atlanta, Georgia - a racially mixed, late-century boomtown full of fresh wealth and wily politicians. The protagonist is Charles Croker, once a college football star, now a late-middle-aged Atlanta conglomerate king whose outsize ego has at last hit up against reality. Charlie has a 29,000-acre quail-shooting plantation, a young and demanding second wife, and a half-empty office complex with a staggering load of debt. Meanwhile, Conrad Hensley, idealistic young father of two, is laid off from his job at the Croker Global Foods warehouse near Oakland.
-
-
What a pity!
- By Edgar on 08-01-18
By: Tom Wolfe
-
The Right Stuff
- By: Tom Wolfe
- Narrated by: Dennis Quaid
- Length: 15 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Millions of words have poured forth about man's trip to the moon, but until now few people have had a sense of the most engrossing side of the adventure: namely, what went on in the minds of the astronauts themselves - in space, on the moon, and even during certain odysseys on earth. It is this, the inner life of the astronauts, that Tom Wolfe describes with his almost uncanny empathetic powers that made The Right Stuff a classic.
-
-
Dennis Quaid was excellent.
- By David Del Monte on 12-05-18
By: Tom Wolfe
-
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test
- By: Tom Wolfe
- Narrated by: Luke Daniels
- Length: 13 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tom Wolfe - one of the 20th century’s foremost voices in cultural criticism - went from local news reporter to international icon in 1968, with the publication of The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. Now voiced with vivacity and vigor by Audible Hall of Fame narrator Luke Daniels, the non-fiction swan-dive delves into the world of hippies, hedonism, and everything in between.
-
-
Extremely well-narrated
- By JE on 03-29-19
By: Tom Wolfe
-
The Purple Decades
- A Reader
- By: Tom Wolfe
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 14 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Before he became a best-selling novelist (The Bonfire of the Vanities), Tom Wolfe was an essayist and keen observer of 1960s and 1970s culture for Esquire and Rolling Stone. (This is the man who coined the phrase "Me Decade", after all.) This ear-candy collection of 20 essays and articles narrated by Edoardo Ballerini was handpicked by Wolfe and includes some of his best-known nonfiction work.
By: Tom Wolfe
-
The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby
- By: Tom Wolfe
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
- Length: 11 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"An excellent book by a genius”, said Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., of this now-classic exploration of the 1960s from the founder of New Journalism and author of such influential works as The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test and The Bonfire of the Vanities. Tom Wolfe explores the style and culture of the 1960s in this dynamic collection of essays - originally stand-alone pieces, many of which were published in Esquire magazine - written in his unique, free-flowing style.
By: Tom Wolfe
-
Mauve Gloves & Madmen, Clutter & Vine
- And Other Stories, Sketches, and Essays
- By: Tom Wolfe
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this 1976 collection of essays, Americana icon Tom Wolfe explores the social status strife of the 1970s, eviscerating trends of faux-sympathy and self-absorption, going as far as to coin the term "The 'Me' Decade" to describe the period’s narcissism. And when paired with the clear, confident delivery of storied narrator and stage-and-screen veteran Peter Berkrot, Wolfe’s incisive wit and cynical bite is more blistering than ever.
By: Tom Wolfe
-
A Man in Full
- By: Tom Wolfe
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 35 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The setting is Atlanta, Georgia - a racially mixed, late-century boomtown full of fresh wealth and wily politicians. The protagonist is Charles Croker, once a college football star, now a late-middle-aged Atlanta conglomerate king whose outsize ego has at last hit up against reality. Charlie has a 29,000-acre quail-shooting plantation, a young and demanding second wife, and a half-empty office complex with a staggering load of debt. Meanwhile, Conrad Hensley, idealistic young father of two, is laid off from his job at the Croker Global Foods warehouse near Oakland.
-
-
What a pity!
- By Edgar on 08-01-18
By: Tom Wolfe
-
The Right Stuff
- By: Tom Wolfe
- Narrated by: Dennis Quaid
- Length: 15 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Millions of words have poured forth about man's trip to the moon, but until now few people have had a sense of the most engrossing side of the adventure: namely, what went on in the minds of the astronauts themselves - in space, on the moon, and even during certain odysseys on earth. It is this, the inner life of the astronauts, that Tom Wolfe describes with his almost uncanny empathetic powers that made The Right Stuff a classic.
-
-
Dennis Quaid was excellent.
- By David Del Monte on 12-05-18
By: Tom Wolfe
-
Ambush at Fort Bragg
- By: Tom Wolfe
- Narrated by: Edward Norton
- Length: 2 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As the producer of a prime-time TV news magazine, Irv Durtscher fancies himself the Federico Fellini of television journalism. For who else can draw 50 million viewers, satisfy the network's gluttony for profits, and advance the cause of social justice? The only problem is that no one else recognizes Irv's genius. Instead, all the accolades go to the blonde bombshell anchor who won't give balding, near-sighted Irv the time of day. But suddenly, Irv has a chance to break the most sensational story of his career.
-
-
Worthy listen for Ed Norton fans
- By Ashley on 07-12-16
By: Tom Wolfe
-
Barbarian Days
- A Surfing Life
- By: William Finnegan
- Narrated by: William Finnegan
- Length: 18 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Pulitzer Prize, Biography, 2016. Barbarian Days is William Finnegan's memoir of an obsession, a complex enchantment. Surfing only looks like a sport. To initiates it is something else entirely: a beautiful addiction, a demanding course of study, a morally dangerous pastime, a way of life.
-
-
An Amazing Performance by the Author
- By Laura on 02-01-16
By: William Finnegan
-
Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama
- A Memoir
- By: Bob Odenkirk
- Narrated by: Bob Odenkirk, Steve Rudnick, Leo Benvenuti
- Length: 7 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bob Odenkirk’s career is inexplicable. And yet he will try like hell to explicate it for you. Charting a “Homeric” decades-long “odyssey” from his origins in the seedy comedy clubs of Chicago to a dramatic career full of award nominations - with a side trip into the action-man world that is baffling to all who know him - it’s almost like there are many Bob Odenkirks! But there is just one and one is plenty. Featuring humorous tangents, wild characters, and Bob’s trademark unflinching drive, Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama is a classic tale told by a determined idiot.
-
-
Meh, it’s ok—Everyman
- By Cliff909 on 03-02-22
By: Bob Odenkirk
-
On the Road
- 50th Anniversary Edition
- By: Jack Kerouac
- Narrated by: Will Patton
- Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Few novels have had as profound an impact on American culture as On the Road. Pulsating with the rhythms of 1950s underground America, jazz, sex, illicit drugs, and the mystery and promise of the open road, Kerouac’s classic novel of freedom and longing defined what it meant to be “beat” and has inspired generations of writers, musicians, artists, poets, and seekers who cite their discovery of the book as the event that “set them free”.
-
-
My Favorite Narration and a Wonderful Book
- By Guillermo on 09-17-09
By: Jack Kerouac
-
Great Expectations
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Simon Prebble
- Length: 18 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of the most revered works in English literature, Great Expectations traces the coming of age of a young orphan, Pip, from a boy of shallow aspirations into a man of maturity. From the chilling opening confrontation with an escaped convict to the grand but eerily disheveled estate of bitter old Miss Havisham, all is not what it seems in Dickens’ dark tale of false illusions and thwarted desire.
-
-
Great Performance of a classic!
- By Steven on 08-18-13
By: Charles Dickens
-
Master and Commander
- Aubrey/Maturin Series, Book 1
- By: Patrick O'Brian
- Narrated by: Patrick Tull
- Length: 16 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This, the first in the splendid series of Jack Aubrey novels, establishes the friendship between Captain Aubrey, Royal Navy, and Stephen Maturin, ship's surgeon and intelligence agent, against the thrilling backdrop of the Napoleonic wars. Details of life aboard a man-of-war in Nelson's navy are faultlessly rendered: the conversational idiom of the officers in the ward room and the men on the lower deck, the food, the floggings, the mysteries of the wind and the rigging, and the road of broadsides as the great ships close in battle.
-
-
An Authentic Naval Story
- By Michael on 03-23-04
By: Patrick O'Brian
-
Son
- By: Jack Olsen
- Narrated by: Kevin Pierce
- Length: 21 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Recounts the tragic events that followed the arrest of Fred Coe, a conservative, clean-cut young man, for a series of rapes committed in the city of Spokane and led to revenge and murder.
-
-
Psychopathy Born or Made?
- By Michael on 04-29-15
By: Jack Olsen
-
Midnight's Children
- By: Salman Rushdie
- Narrated by: Lyndam Gregory
- Length: 24 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Salman Rushdie holds the literary world in awe with a jaw-dropping catalog of critically acclaimed novels that have made him one of the world's most celebrated authors. Winner of the prestigious Booker of Bookers, Midnight's Children tells the story of Saleem Sinai, born on the stroke of India's independence.
-
-
Historical with a touch of the fantastic
- By David on 07-02-11
By: Salman Rushdie
-
Suttree
- By: Cormac McCarthy
- Narrated by: Richard Poe
- Length: 20 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
No discussion of great modern authors is complete without mention of Cormac McCarthy, whose rare and blazing talent makes his every work a true literary event. A grand addition to the American literary canon, Suttree introduces readers to Cornelius Suttree, a man who abandons his affluent family to live among a dissolute array of vagabonds along the Tennessee river.
-
-
Challenging Read/Listen, Narrator Outstanding
- By Riley A. Vann on 03-07-13
By: Cormac McCarthy
-
On the Road: The Original Scroll
- By: Jack Kerouac
- Narrated by: John Ventimiglia
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Though Jack Kerouac began thinking about the novel that was to become On the Road as early as 1947, it was not until three weeks in April 1951, in an apartment on West 20th Street in Manhattan, that he wrote the first full draft that was satisfactory to him.
-
-
A Classic Brought to Life
- By Sil A. on 11-25-16
By: Jack Kerouac
-
Sometimes a Great Notion
- By: Ken Kesey
- Narrated by: Tom Stechschulte
- Length: 30 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A literary icon sometimes seen as a bridge between the Beat Generation and the hippies, Ken Kesey scored an unexpected hit with his first novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. His successful follow-up, Sometimes a Great Notion, was also transformed into a major motion picture, directed by and starring Paul Newman. Here, Oregon’s Stamper family does what it can to survive a bitter strike dividing their tiny logging community. And as tensions rise, delicate family bonds begin to fray and unravel.
-
-
Sometimes a Great Novel Pops up out of Nowhere
- By Mr. Eyuz on 06-07-19
By: Ken Kesey
-
Apropos of Nothing
- By: Woody Allen
- Narrated by: Woody Allen
- Length: 12 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this candid and hilarious memoir, the celebrated director, comedian, writer, and actor offers a comprehensive, personal look at his tumultuous life. He revisits his entire 60-year-long career as a writer and director, from his classics Annie Hall, Manhattan, and Hannah and Her Sisters to his most recent films, including Midnight in Paris. He discusses his marriages, romances, and famous friendships, his jazz playing, and his books and plays. We learn about his demons, his mistakes, his successes, and those he loved, worked with, and learned from.
-
-
Totally Woody
- By Ronald R. Kubiak on 04-19-20
By: Woody Allen

About the Author
Born and raised in Richmond, Virginia, Tom Wolfe is perhaps best known for his work as a trailblazer in the New Journalism movement of the 1960s and as the author of searing best-sellers such as The Bonfire of the Vanities. Originally a reporter, Wolfe worked in news for ten years, writing for publications including The New York Herald Tribune, Esquire, New York Magazine, and The Washington Post. In 1965, Wolfe published his first book, The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby, a collection of essays about the freewheeling 1960s, launching him into the public sphere as a whip-smart and madly inventive cultural critic. Several best-selling nonfiction publications followed, including The Right Stuff, The Pump House Gang, The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, and Radical Chic & Mau-Mauing the Flak Catchers, works that introduced popular slang—including statusphere,
the right stuff,
The Me Decade,
and good ol’ boy
—into the English lexicon.
Wolfe released his first novel, The Bonfire of the Vanities, in 1987 to much praise; the book remained on The New York Times best-seller list for over a year after its initial publication. Three of his books have been adapted into blockbuster films including The Last American Hero (1973), The Right Stuff (1983), and The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990). Wolfe was also the recipient of several prestigious awards, including the National Book Award, the Washington Irving Medal for Literary Excellence, the National Humanities Medal, and the National Book Foundation’s 2010 Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. A writer with a keen eye for style and all things sensational, Wolfe was known for not only his attention-grabbing writing but also his eye-catching fashion sense—he wore his trademark white suit for decades, donning his ivory tie and matching fedora no matter the season. He died in 2018 in New York City, leaving behind a legacy of deft, neon prose and razor-sharp satire.

About the Performer
Edoardo Ballerini has narrated over 250 audiobooks and appeared in over 50 films and television series, including The Sopranos and Boardwalk Empire. His 2013 recording of Jess Walter’s Beautiful Ruins was named Audible’s Audiobook of the Year and earned him the Audie Award for Best Solo Narration. He won a second Audie Award for Best Male Narrator, for his reading of Dean Koontz’s Watchers in 2019. He recently completed work on Karl Ove Knausgaard’s My Struggle, which has garnered international acclaim. He lives in New York.
Edoardo Ballerini
Audiobook fans know him as the smooth voice behind many thrillers and literary fiction. Explore some of his greatest hits.
Tom Wolfe
Tom Wolfe was the author of classics such as The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test and The Bonfire of the Vanities.
Matter of Fact
Nonfiction Editor Michael loves narrative nonfiction and memoirs—and still can't decide what to listen to next.