Originally published in 1973, Tom Wolfe’s long introductory essay argues that a new kind of reporting had begun to emerge in American writing.

Essentially, journalism had borrowed the techniques of the novel: scene-building, dialogue, interior perspective and narrative momentum. Rather than simply summarising events, these writers immersed themselves in the worlds they were describing.

The book gathers landmark pieces by figures such as Joan Didion, Truman Capote, Hunter S. Thompson, Gay Talese and Norman Mailer, showing how literary technique could reshape reportage.

Both a history and a provocation, the book helped cement the idea that journalism could be as stylistically ambitious and narratively complex as fiction. Decades later, it remains a foundational text for writers interested in narrative nonfiction and literary reportage.