Have White Suit, Will Travel

Tom Wolfe Discusses His Journalistic Journeys Into American Culture

(CBS) 
"And to my amazement, I'd read the article and then essentially it said what a colorful man. He wears white suits. I realized I had a substitute for a personality," he says laughing, adding, "And, and still do. I mean, these white suits have been worth their weight in gold. Of course, you have to have three to get through the day, you understand that."

Beneath the exterior of the white suits, does Wolfe have a personality unknown to those outside his family?

"I'm not sure they know. There are some people who – for -- are unfathomable, like Ronald Reagan. All these books about Ronald Reagan and nobody knows who he was. I consider that a great accomplishment on his part," Wolfe says.

In fact, as much as Wolfe is a public figure, the private man is an enigma. Home is New York, where he is married with two kids. He voted for Bush in the last election. He does not believe in God. Is well-mannered, yet he has waged an open war with Norman Mailer, John Irving and John Updike; a sort of verbal smack down among literary heavyweights over subject matter and art.

Wolfe contends that stories by Mailer, Irving and Updike lack adequate reporting.

"They -- all three of them -- now write what can only be described as fairy tales," Wolfe snipes.

At heart, it is the prospect of gaining attention that drives Wolfe's actions. Despite the nearly three dozen white suits he owns, Wolfe also desires to make a statement on the road.

Speaking about his latest passion, his car, Wolfe says, "It wasn't white enough so I had it repainted. Then I've, I've done the complete interior white. The floors are white, covered in vinyl.

"Now vinyl -- many people consider vinyl tacky. But I think these are great floors. And really pimped-up automobiles should have tacky touches," Wolfe explains.

The all-white car, Wolfe says, "makes me feel that perhaps I'll be noticed on the road. I mean, why waste all that time on the highway with nobody looking?"

Wolfe says his next book is about immigration. Not so much about how immigrants get here, but how status works with them once they arrive; in their own circles and society at large. He is forever foraging into the epic stories of our times.

As for a possible "Tom Wolfe" epic, the author's own autobiography, Wolfe, with a laugh, says he is in no rush.

"Well if it's, if it's going to be boring, I'm not going to write it."