Tom Wolfe Replies to Robert S. Boynton on 'The New New Journalism'

To the Editor:

Is it really true that due to the sheer enormity of the task, college department heads today no longer read books -- and instead rely on "book briefings" by graduate students? When that rumor began circulating four years ago, I dismissed it as absurd. But recent events have caused me to pause, and ponder.

For example, in The Chronicle Review's March 4 issue, writing about what he calls "the New New Journalism," Robert S. Boynton, director of New York