Radical Chic & Mau-Mauing the Flak Catchers

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July 20, 2026

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Tom Wolfe's Radical Chic & Mau-Mauing the Flak Catchers is a collection of essays published in 1970. "Radical chic" describes socially prominent individuals associating with radicals or minority groups in a fashionable way. "Mau-mauing" refers to intimidating officials through hostile confrontation or threats, often for social or political gain. The term "mau-mau" originates from a militant anti-European movement in colonial Kenya. The book critiques these social phenomena, using Wolfe's characteristic New Journalism style.123

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Tom Wolfe
Wolfe’s other nonfiction works included Radical Chic & Mau-Mauing the Flak Catchers (1970), The Painted Word (1975), From Bauhaus to Our House (1981), and The Worship of Art: Notes on the New God (1984). The Right Stuff (1979; film 1983), which examines aspects of the first U.S. astronaut
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Wolfe’s other nonfiction works included Radical Chic & Mau-Mauing the Flak Catchers (1970), The Painted Word (1975), From Bauhaus to Our House (1981), and The Worship of Art: Notes on the New God (1984). The Right Stuff (1979; film 1983), which examines aspects of the first U.S. astronaut
Read More