I started reading Hunter S. Thompson when he was writing articles in Rolling Stone about Richard Nixon. Later, those articles were collected in Fear & Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’72. After that, it was Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream that fried my brain. Hunter S. Thompson’s writing style is unique. It’s hyperbolic. It’s funny. And, surprisingly, it often tells the truth. Thompson called his style of writing “Gonzo Journalism.” Picador Press has done us all a great service by publishing an inexpensive, thick volume (1000 pages!) collecting Hunter S. Thompson’s wonderful writings from The Great Shark Hunt, Generation of Swine, and Songs of the Doomed. The Gonzo Papers Anthology glitters with a brilliance that we solely lack today. Highly recommended!
Very hard to resist – thansk George, I’m in!
Sergio, Picador’s THE GONZO PAPERS ANTHOLOGY gives you a lot for your money!
Lo-o-ord! I still remember reading FEAR/VEGAS, and the discombobulating effect it had. Them wuz the days…..
Dan, Hunter S. Thompson’s writing had the same effect on me as a youth. Mind-blowing!
George, I’m familiar with Hunter S. Thompson’s writing although I have not read his books. An anthology would be a nice way to get to know the writer better.
Prashant, Hunter S. Thompson’s work will give you a thrill ride! Since you like politics, you might want to try FEAR & LOATHING ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL ’72. Prepare to be astonished!
My recommendation to the uninitiated: read very quickly and let the sense of the words flow over you (I have found this method works best for reading Don Delilo too). If you slow down and try to savor the writing, it seems to fall apart; but if you read it at a lightening pace, the essence of what Thompson was trying to communicate is more apparent.
Toward the end of his life, Thompson was writing a sports column for ESPN.com and those are very good too.
Deb, a lot of sports vocabulary finds its way into Hunter S. Thompson’s writing. I agree: read fast and fasten your seat belt!
The first thing I remember by Thompson was his HELL’S ANGELS book. I then read the two FEAR & LOATHING books back to back. He was sui generis.
Jeff, I read Thompson’s HELL’S ANGEELS book after I read his FEAR & LOATHING books. It seemed tame by comparison.
Perhaps it’s that “read fast” thing that kept me from becoming a fan. I don’t read fast, I parse every word. I tried F&L Campaign and thought it wordy and over-reaching. Plus I’m not buying 1,000 page door stops these days (and won’t be buying and reading Alan Moore’s million-word novel Jerusalem, either).
Rick, THE GONZO PAPERS ANTHOLOGY is literally as thick as a brick. Hunter S. Thompson is an acquired taste.
I had an English professor give me Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas saying it was one of the three funniest books ever written (he did not name the other two). He was right and I have loved HST ever since. Great choice, George.
Scott, Hunter S. Thompson’s prose just crackles off the page with all of its energy. And, as your professor pointed out, he’s really funny!