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Mailer's work was uneven. His best novel remains The Naked and the Dead which I read before starting college in 1964. It was timely, as Vietnam was just being ramped up.
Most of his other novels were mostly forgettable.
His entry into non-fiction was a non-starter. In Oswald's Tale, for example, it was evident he had taken the Warren Commission's "kool aid" that Oswald did it. Which no one with more than air between the ears now accepts. (See also my early letters to do with the JFK assassination on Salon- just click on 'droogoy's other letters' and hit the first 1-5 pages)
That said, Mailer like other larger than life authors, did make life interesting, especially in the 60s.
