The Pump House Gang is named after a California surfing elite. In addition to this astonishing pack of joyphiliacs and presbyphobes, Wolfe takes us among noble Sixties savages of all varieties, from La Jolla to London, all baying for new forms of status.
Dazzlingly brilliant as a stylist, daringly provocative as a commentator, and always entertaining, Tom Wolfe is at his best with The Pump House Gang. These exhilarating essays revive the Sixties with all their energy, their weirdness, their freaky vision, and their lurid legacy. Exposed are Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters, the rise of the psychedelic life style in America, and the founding of a bizarre new religion. In the midst of it all, many members of the redoubtable Pump House Gang turn to indoor sports-happily freaking out in pads rather than wiping out in the surf, but with the same unique Pump House Gang flair.