by Tom Wolfe (1987)

Sherman McCoy, a bond trader and self-styled “Master of the Universe,” watches helplessly as his life unravels after a hit-and-run accident in the Bronx, caused by his panicky mistress. All of the characters from the ’80s are here—imperious judge, ambitious prosecutor, alcoholic journalist, community activist and patronizing white liberals—roiling in the decade’s curious brew of scandalous wealth, permanent poverty and racial tension, and contributing to the stench of moral decline.

Note: Wolfe first produced the book as two-dozen Dickensian installments in Rolling Stone.