Rating: 
Summary: the bees knees
Review: This book provides a fascinating and often hilarious insight into the mind of one of the best authors from the beat generation.
Rating: 
Summary: worth reading if you like HST
Review: This book reminds me of Bob Dylan's collections of outtakes that are released every few years in a box set: They're better than the stuff he chose to put out on his regular albums. If you like HST, this book is definitely worth it. Much of it is a lot better than anything Thompson's published in the last 20 years. It's also fun to watch the evolution of his style.
Rating:
Summary: Must read for all people in their 20s
Review: This book will give you hope. Make you realize you are not lost in the passage known as "youth."Thought it was a collection of letters...this book is much,much more. And on top of that, you get to see a great writer " find his voice" along the way. This collection of letters turns into the Great American Novel: All things are possible in America but getting there is seemingly impossible. This is an incredible story of perserverance of a person's dream against all odds. If I had read it at 23,my dream would have come true. Interestingly, I read it as my vacation book last summer. The day I returned to work,I was fired. A white male at age 47, this book gave me the courage to get thru the tough months ahead.
Rating:
Summary: Laugh Out Loud Funny and Thought Provoking
Review: This is a collection of letters written from Hunter's Childhood up to his successful Hell's Angels book. The most interesting thing about this book is the immense difficulty he had selling his stories and the desperate poverty in which he lived for years as a struggling writer. I guess like all people I kind of thought that someone this brilliant was just embraced by literary circles, and any problems he had was because he was a drunken, drugged out, crazy freak who upset everyone who tried to help him. This was not the case.
Like many geniuses Hunter was so far ahead of everyone that he had to wait for them to catch up.
The humor is so funny that it almost impossible not to crack up on every page, even in the midst of terrible personal turmoil Hunter was one funny man.
ONE problem, I wish that there were more letters FROM the people he wrote to over the years. Some of the funniest moments were the letters he received from people over the years. More of those exchanges would have helped and made the book much more interesting. That is why it is not 5 stars. It is still worth reading. Especially if you want to be a writer.
Rating:
Summary: Simply awesome!
Review: This is a must for every wannabe author. This is not simply for the diehard HST fan. The author speaks to everybody but for those born before 1964 it is particularly poignant, a real coming-of-age story. If this had been fiction, it would not have been published because it would have simply been too outrageous to accept. I'm sure in this case 90% of it is true, but only HST would know for sure -- and even he probably forgets much of it. (If you can remember the 1960's, you weren't there.)The softback copy has a great feel and look to it, the paper and the font. A great book to keep in your carry-on baggage even if it is a bit heavy.
Rating:
Summary: Simply awesome!
Review: This is a must for every wannabe author. This is not simply for the diehard HST fan. The author speaks to everybody but for those born before 1964 it is particularly poignant, a real coming-of-age story. If this had been fiction, it would not have been published because it would have simply been too outrageous to accept. I'm sure in this case 90% of it is true, but only HST would know for sure -- and even he probably forgets much of it. (If you can remember the 1960's, you weren't there.)The softback copy has a great feel and look to it, the paper and the font. A great book to keep in your carry-on baggage even if it is a bit heavy.
Rating:
Summary: Passionate prose
Review: This is going to be a very bold statement - as well as perhaps the highest compliment one can behold on a book - but here it goes: This book (The Proud Highway... by HST), changed my life. You can quote me on that. Here's why: There is such vigor and zest in Thompson's writing that you can't help but get caught up in his escapades and shenanigans. From a very early age (the book starts when he was 17), you can see the notorious gonzo journalist beginning to form. One thing that surprised me is how meticulous and serious he takes his writing (perhaps because he realized he had nothing else). He is very confident about his future and practically clairvoyant when he stated that he planned to publish a collection of his letters - almost 40 years before this book come out.
I only have a few qualms (if you can call them that) with this book, but only because nobody is perfect, even the great Mr Gonzo. No. 1: Since HST occasional gets caught up in the moment when he is composing on his typewriter, it makes me wonder if some things are truth or just Thompson's strange breed of fiction. No. 2: Even though Thompson wrote many letters, this disjointed collection doesnt exactly add up to a autobiography. Some times you find stories overlapping and sometimes you just wonder what the hell he is talking about (even after you read the footnotes). Nonetheless, I still find anything this man writes intriguing, due to his magnificant warping of the English language.
As for how it changed my life, the reason has to do with advice he gives in one of his letters. He states something to the effect of: Dont set goals for yourself or follow other people. Decide the way you want to live your life and then go do it - and dont let anybody get in your way. Thompson says that if you are true to yourself then you will ultimately be happy in life, and be a lot better off than if you just follow others people's lead.
At least that's what I got out of it. Don't quote me on that one. I feel invigorated after reading this book. HST has gave me direction to go grab the world by the balls and waste anyone who gets in my way. I can see that I have now also picked up Thompson's penchant for writing rambling breathless missives, so I'll end it here. Ciao... and God Bless America and God Bless Gonzo.
Rating:
Summary: The roots of Gonzo
Review: This is really an interesting way to view someone who has been viewed mostly as a drug abusing maniac by the general public, and as a drug abusing revolutionary journalist by the literary world. It shows an unsure, wandering young man... a lot like most people in their early twenties. The letters range from ridiculous (such as the ones he used to ward off creditors) to the lowest feelings of poverty and despair. All of it covered with HST's bizarre humor that makes you laugh out loud at first, and then reflect on it as one of his most powerful tools to convey a deeper message about the times and places he wrote from. The only problem I had with "The Proud Highway" were some of the redundant love letters, but then there weren't so many of them as to make the book any less interesting.
Rating:
Summary: Never ending fun and humor for any reader
Review: This is the 1st Volume of four of the Gonzo letters. Extremley entertaining from the 1st page till the end. True Gonzo at it's best, Hunter S. Thompson shows all of his emotions to bring out the best of every situation. Also including some younger pictures of Hunter, that you probably wouldnt see anywhere else. Till this day Hunter S. Thompson is one of the best writers in the 20th Century. Once you pick up one book, you will keep on reading all of his work. A must read book for anyone looking for an adventure.
Rating:
Summary: Bloody marvellous
Review: This really is the bees knees. Full of wit wisdom spite and poverty-ridden angst. A gorgeous slug of literary whisky.
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