Proud Highway

Rating:
Summary: Eating skyward with a nosefull of ignorance
Review: A truely facinating approach to biography. None of the snooty, staleness is evedent here, that might be found in the self concious memoirs of a biography. Read this and weep. Nay read this and bleed you eyes dry. The death of humanity aproaches, so let this be the warning shot that is sounded over the flimsy silk bow, that guards the edge of the world.

Rating:
Summary: bat country?? this is total mayhem!
Review: After perusing 'fear'--and being totally enthralled; I picked up 'highway'. Being familiar with others by HST: 'shark hunt', 'swine'; you know the rest; I decided to finally find out about the man behind these outrageous tales of excess and rebellion. Indeed, I was not disappointed. I found, by reading these simple, yet extremely revealing odes to various family members, friends, rivals, presidents, etc., that there is a definate appeal to gaining the insight of HST as a person: someone you might meet on the street; penniless, desperate, but oh wow, how very interesting. I highly recommend the reading of this proud (as it were)showing of nonconformism; if only because that I too believe that life as we live it could be so much more--if only we dared to push the bounds; to entertain the thought that every day can very well be a new, exciting (if not prosperous and gainful)enterprise...

Rating:
Summary: the evolution of gonzo
Review: After sifting through three autobiographies of Hunter S Thompson, it's about time we get the real perspective of the man behind the myth. Through Thompson's letters, beginning in 1955 and working through 1967, we get watch him grow into one of the most controvesial Journalists of the 20th Century. Since this is only the first volume, one can only wait patiently for the second to arrive and enlighten us to what he was thinking in 1968.

Rating:
Summary: When the going get weird, the weird turn pro!
Review: An absolute, unadulterated blast! From the no-holds-barred author of the ground-breaking "Hell's Angels" and "Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas," Hunter Thompson shares his personal letters and writing examples from that very formative, creative time of his life (1955-67) -- long before he had the crap beat out of him by outlaw bikers or drove that Cadillac convertible into Gonzo history in Nevada. Even presents a tremendous insight into the author's real creative psyche ("I haven't found a drug yet that can get you anywhere near as high as sitting at a desk writing"). Fantastic read

Rating:
Summary: Endless Highway
Review: As much as I love reading the good Dr's. books, and as much as it pains me to write this, it must be said that this book is an ill conceived collection of personal letters meant to be passed off as literature on us unsuspecting HSToholics. This book is stupendously boring. I could not finish it and now instead of giving us guidance and deliverance in the form of a new tome, we get Vol. 2. ARRRGH!

Rating:
Summary: pretty fair
Review: between deadlines, i read it, at press conferences, being kicked out of video poker mogul meetings and a little old lady soirees in myrtle beach, s.c. i'm a big fan and a newspaper reporter, a journalist, snared in his trap.

Rating:
Summary: Start with Hell's Angels, then move here
Review: Did you ever secretly read someone's diary? You knew it was wrong but you couldn't help yourself. We do it because it offers a glimpse into a part of someone's personality that we may have not known. That's essentially what these letters are. When Thompson wrote them it's unlikely he ever intended for them to be open to the public. Although at one point he does make a prophetic statement about his suspicion that people like reading his letters better than his fiction. AND he did keep carbons of everything. No matter. This is completely entertaining. It's fascinating to the see the evolution of his writing and depth of his intellect. He really grows fangs and claws along the way and uses them, usually hilariously, to rip people to shreds. He says the things that we would want to but are afraid to. No one is off limits. Unfortunately, his incredible talent as a writer is overshadowed by his reputation for consuming freakish amounts of booze and pills. Everyone loves a freak show, right? But this shows his power--what made him great. If you're a writer, you'll especially love it. One note: If you've never read any Hunter Thompson, start with his breakout book, Hell's Angels, and then move here. Not only does Proud Highway culminate with the release of that book (which erupted Thompson's fame) but it also rumbles with energy and is a heck of a lot of fun.

Rating:
Summary: Important for anyone in their early 20s
Review: First, a disclaimer. Yes I realize that this, the volume that follows and the as of yet unreleased third volume, are all meant for die-hard fans and not introductory reading. Some would go so far as to claim that HST is now simply pandering and stoking his own personality cult.
That being said, despite whatever suspected intentions this book came out under, it has become one of my favorite "autobiography/memior collections" (shudder) ever. Any person interested in writing, travelling or living the unorthodox lifestyles we all really want to live, should read this while they're doing it.
The collection follows Thompson from his Louisville days editing the school newspaper and getting chased around by the local cops, to up-state NY, California and Colorado, all while trying to sell his first pieces of writing to magazines and newspapers and maintaining a life halfways on the road, halfways in the strangest of circles in the 1960s. Readers get to see the frustration (and hunger) of trying to make a living on words alone, then later the joy (and drinks) that success on one's own terms can bring.
In order to put the critics' claims to rest, I would say that even if this book were someone else's letters it would still be fantastic. That is to say, HST's "image" doesn't really play any role in making this a better read, but then again if that's what you're looking for, you might do better with "Fear and Loathing".

Rating:
Summary: Not so bad.
Review: For those who have mourned Thompson's extended plummet into pathetic self-indulgent schtick, this book is a reminder of what we lost. The central theme of the book turns out to be poverty and desparation as a catalyst for creativity. The letters are stunning. There is something fundamentally reassuring about a guy who hocks his beloved high-powered rifle to feed his writing habit. In retrospect, though, and with the hindsight provided by the hideous crap Thompson has foisted upon us since about 1976 (with the notable exception of Curse of Lono), the letters really become the tale of a tormented artist desparately seeking to escape his muse. Regrettably, Thompson succeeded. The story told by the letters and Thompson's later work is that Thompson was only willing to try to satisfy the demands of his talent for so long as he had to try to survive. Like so much of his recent work, this book is a monument to avoiding more creation. I'm certain that Thompson put these letters together not for the remarkable work that they are, but to keep himself in barbituates and hunting knives -- or whatever he is currently using to distract him from his lost art. For once, though, Thompson's fear has outsmarted him. In his continuing effort to find an easy way to cash -in his reputation without actually writing, he accidently provided something worth reading

Rating:
Summary: -
Review: Great insight on the growth of a man who chronicles what is often not caught by history.