Fear and Loathing in America : The Brutal Odyssey of an Outlaw Journalist

If you are interested in learning about Hunter and about social/political scenes of the 60’s and 70’s both of these books are a must have.

This is a special, limited edition of Hunter S. Thompsons' Fear and Loathing in America. To see more reviews of this title, look it up under the regular hardcover edition. What makes this edition so special is the signature, spelled out "H.S. Thompson" on the book itself, rather than on a bookplate. There are a number of instances in the past where the Doctor signed a bookplate "HST", or even a front page, yet even these are extremely uncommon. Collectors may note that full signature Hunter S. Thompson works are very, very rare indeed, and sell for up to $2900.00.According to a Simon & Schuster rep, there are only 300 of the special signed edition in existence. It is a reddish, leather-bound volume with the knife-and-fist Gonzo trademark imprinted on the front cover. The edges are gilt, making this edition look rather more like a bible then other, more familiar Steadman covers. Obviously designed for the dedicated fan of an American legend, this edition will occupy a prize position on your bookshelf, next to other HST works that you would be wise not to lend out.

Great book is as described

History sure, yeah yeah. As if it's over. What can you say about a guy who ends a piece -- on ESPN.com no less, two weeks ago -- with this gratuitous aside: "And the whole Bush family, from Texas, should be boiled in poison oil." What can you say except keep it coming, Doc."...you can go up on a steep hill in Las Vegas and look West, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost *see* the high-water mark -- that place where the wave finally broke and rolled back." So wrote HST in Fear and Loathing, part the first.Except that it never really broke. Never really rolled back. He said it never got weird enough for him. But it will. Believe it. And it's coming in like a king-hell tsunami. As we say out here in the wild and wooly world-wide west: Yee-hah!

I have written a number of reviews about the book s of the late outlaw gonzo journalist "Doctor Gonzo" Hunter S. Thompson. Those reviews have centered on the impact of his journalistic work in the pantheon of American political and social criticism and the jail break way that he presented his material that was like a breath of fresh air coming from out in the jet stream somewhere after all the lame gibberish of most reportage in the1960s and 1970s (extending unfortunately to this day). His seemingly one man revolt (okay, okay Tom Wolfe and others too but he was the king hell king, alright) against paid by the word minute stuff of hack journalism told us the "skinny," and told that straight, warts and all. The book under review however is more for aficionados like this writer who are interested in the minutiae about how this man created what he created, and the trials and tribulations, sometime bizarre, he went through to get the damn stuff published. And while one can rightly pass on the pre-Gonzo first volume of Thompson's letters this one is worth reading for it provides the back drop to Doctor Gonzo's most creative period, that period from about the publication of Hell's Angels until his "discovery" of one Jimmy Carter. The period when Hunter S. Thompson was "riding with the king."In those earlier reviews (especially Hell's Angels, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Fear and Loathing On Campaign 1972, and Songs of The Doomed) I began with some generic comments applicable to all his work and they apply here as well so I will recycle them and intersperse additional comments about this book as well."Generally the most the trenchant social criticism, commentary and analysis complete with a prescriptive social program ripe for implementation has been done by thinkers and writers who work outside the realm of bourgeois society, notably socialists and other progressive thinkers. Bourgeois society rarely allows itself, in self-defense or hidebound fear, to be skewered by trenchant criticism from within. This is particularly true when it comes from a known dope fiend, gun freak and all-around lifestyle addict like the late, lamented Dr. Hunter S. Thompson. Nevertheless, although he was far from any thought of a socialist solution to what ails society, particularly American society, and would reject such a political designation we of the extra-parliamentary could travel part of the way with him. We saw him as a kindred spirit. He was not one of us- but he was one of us. All honor to him for pushing the envelope of journalism in new directions and for his pinpricks at the hypocrisy of bourgeois society. Such men are dangerous.I am not sure whether at the end of the day Hunter Thompson saw himself or wanted to been seen as a voice, or the voice, of his generation but he would not be an unworthy candidate. In any case, his was not the voice of the generation of 1968 being just enough older than us to have been formed by an earlier, less forgiving milieu. The hellhole, red scare, cold war night in all its infamy that even singed my generation. His earliest writings show that shadow night blanket, the National Observer stuff, well-written but mainly "objective" stuff that a thousand other guys were writing (and were getting better paid for). Nevertheless, only a few, and with time it seems fewer in each generation, allow themselves to search for some kind of truth even if they cannot go the whole distance. This compilation under review is a hodgepodge of letters over the best part of Thompson's career, 1968-76.As with all journalists, as indeed with all writers especially those who are writing under the gun and for mass circulation media, these letters reveal the tremendous time pressures put on writers under contractual publishing deadlines, the ridiculous amount of time spent trying to "hustle" one's work around the industry even by a fairly well-known writer , the creative processes behind specific works (particularly the Fear and Loathing books) as outlined in several letters, including some amusing "cut and paste" efforts to use one article to serve about six purposes , and horror of horrors, damn writer's block (or ennui). Some of these letters are minor works of art; others seem to have been thrown in as filler. However the total effect is to show the back story of a guy who blasted old bourgeois society almost to its foundations. Others will have to push on further."Gonzo" journalism as it emerges in the crucible of these letters, by the way, is quite compatible, with historical materialism. That is, the writer is not precluded from interpreting the events described within himself/herself as an actor in the story. The worst swindle in journalism, fostered by the formal journalism schools, as well as in other disciplines like history and political science is that somehow one must be `objective.' Reality is better served if the writer puts his/her analysis correctly and then gets out of the way. In his best work that was Hunter's way. And that premise shines through some of these letters.As a member of the generation of 1968 I would note that this was a period of particular importance which won Hunter his spurs as a journalist. Hunter, like many of us, cut his political teeth on raging deep into the night against one Richard Milhous Nixon, at one time President of the United States, common criminal (unindicted, of course), and all- around political chameleon. Thompson went way out of his way, and with pleasure, skewering that man when Nixon was riding high. He was moreover just as happy to kick Nixon when he was down, just for good measure. Nixon represented the "dark side" of the American spirit- the side that appeared then, and today, as the bully boy of the world and as craven brute. If for nothing else Brother Thompson deserves a place in the pantheon of journalistic heroes for this exercise in elementary hygiene. Anyone who wants to rehabilitate THAT man before history please consult Thompson's work first. Hunter, I hope you find the Brown Buffalo wherever you are. Read this book. Read all his books to know what it was like when men and women plied the journalist trade for keeps.

It's a wonderful study of gonzo writing when reading Hunter S. Thompson. I used to not want to read his writing because his lifestyle made me uncomfortable, but when I approach the writing as an observer, it is profound.

Were HST alive (and sane) today, he would likely still be at war with the retarded American political establishment AND all the new-media ‘fake-news’ hacks corrupting the national nightmare that is being sold as the MAGA Dream. Miss you, rube, and your wonderfully lucid mind.

After reading "The Proud Highway" it's hard to believe there is so much fresh material still to be published. Thompson is a Great American, and a Great Writer. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Everyone who wants to know about the 60's must read "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas." " Fear and Loathing in America" puts in perspective Thompson's best as well as what has happened to the American dream. The only weak point of this book is the poor footnotes. They are tediously obvious to anyone who has been alive the past 20 years. This is a small flaw in a great effort.Enjoy!!!

lecture relaxante

Being a disciple of all Hunter's works (even the less popular e.g.better than sex, Hey Rube...) I wasn't sure what to expect from another collection of private letters & papers, yet I considered this an essential purchase rather than not!Well I hadn't expected such a weight of paperback for the price (doorstop sized & attractively bound) so I dived in & was in Gonzo heaven straight from Hunter's introductory thoughts on speed, the vile Nixon & good ole Bob Dylan...The letters range from personal, playful, desperate to damn right hilarious & smattered with customary bile stains where the recipitent required it! If you're not used to Hunter's style of writing & familiar with his compilations, eclectic as they are bizarre & adventurous then you may find Fear & Loathing in America a little daunting but if you can empathise with what was after all in Hunter's own words 'A brutal age of Nixon & Tet fuelled by speed & bad debt!', then it might all seem a little confusing or irrelevant. The sense of social & historic detail that is under discussion is nicely explained in a brief keynote at the start of every letter which is most helpful indeed.Personally I'd submit full 5 marks overall as for the price paid & the quality of these most intimate pearls & I hope there are more to come. Gonzo never died, he only left the building!

As promised.

You sometimes get the feeling from his published works that HST lived a carefree life of hedonism and financial success.These two volumes of correspondence counter that myth and paint a picture of a man in the throes of impending poverty,furiously burning the midnight oil in an attempt to extract fees and expense accounts to fend off the bailiff, and get credit at the local store.Its a hefty book and there's a few superfluous letters in there but on the whole its all compelling stuff if you want to know the truth behind the legend.Some will feel cheated and their perceptions shattered but I feel he doesn't come off that badly considering the pressures he puts himself under,trying to earn a crust freelancing and retaining his creative integrity as well as feeding his family at the same time.I'd rank this as a far better portrait of the man than any of the biographies that have been published and hope that a third volume will come around sometime in the future.

Very good book