The Bonfire of the Vanities - Tom Wolfe

I picked up this book for a holiday read and wished I had read it a few years ago when we had the chance to visit New York. The story contrasts the two different sides of New York life - the amazingly rich and wealthy white Manhattan community with that of the poor and violent black community. The two worlds collide when a "successful" white businessman accidentally takes the wrong exit on a motorway and ends up in the "wrong part of town". Wolfe exposes the motivations of all the different characters - their hypocrisy and lust (for both sex and power) - in both communities as the businessman life quickly unravels and he paints a soul-destroying picture of justice, business and the role of the media in shaping events. Although the book is set in the 1980s world of dramatic "winners and losers" the issues seem to be still depressingly relevant. A fast pace read that should spark a few debates!