Ten years ago, we started calling up big names in business and culture and asking them, “What was the best gift you’ve received?”

In honor of Marketplace’s 25th anniversary and the holiday season, we’ve pulled the “Best Gift Ever” series out of our archives. Here’s the answer we got from writer Tom Wolfe, which originally aired in December 2004:

The best gift that I ever received was a set of rubber dolls, which were the Seven Dwarfs. 

The movie “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” was the rage of my youth, and I used to play with the Seven Dwarfs for hours. 

To me they were alive. I’d seen the movie, and I could figure out what they would say in any given situation. 

Also, they were small, as we were, and I’m sure that must have been an attraction.