Rating: 
Summary: Insanely Perfect
Review: When my friend reccomended the book to me, the movie had alreaady come out. I told him I would just watch the movie and not waste my time. He urged me to just read it. So I did. I found myself picking up the book and reading, only to look up and find that 3 hours had passed. I then read it twice more. It was that good. I would highly reccomend this book to anyone that is bored of the same old stuff. This is it's own wonderful thing.
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Summary: a look in to he sixtys drug cultre
Review: a book that is a classic the best book I have ever read
Rating:
Summary: Twisted and Sick, But I Like That In A Book
Review: This book is clearly twisted and sick. It is an expose on a drug-riddled reporter's view of that wonderfully americana creation of Las Vegas. As Thompson travels under the pseudonym of Raoul Duke with his Samoan lawyer we get a great view of Las Vegas and the drug decade all rolled up into one. There are events in here that will make you just sit back and wonder how anyone could get away with what is going on, but at the same time some of them are things we've always wanted to do.This book, which is subtitled "A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream" is very poignant at times, commenting on everything from the drug war (the early drug war) to consumerism in American society. Las Vegas is the perfect locale for such an exploration. After all it is one of the mostly clearly american creations ever. I read this book on the flight down to Las Vegas and it probably did color my view of my trip there quite a bit, but it was fun. I made a point out of going to several of the scenes in the book especially the revolving bar at Circus Circus and as a result the trip there was made a lot more fun, as I could look out and imagine Raoul and his lawyer stumbling through this landscape that is already very surreal. Adding a layer of drug-soaked imagery on top of the surreal Las Vegas just makes for one of the most interesting views on reality I have ever read. Thompson's stream of conciousness type writing style is extremely easy to read, and this book is hard to put down. You'll find yourself picking it up and reading almost the whole book at one sitting. An extremely fascinating book, I've really read nothing else like it. I highly reccomend this book to anyone interested in America, Las Vegas, Drugs, or just a good time.
Rating: 
Summary: -
Review: Concise and entertaining, but the best parts are too small and often ignored because of how they're pushed around by the drugs & debauchery angle (like the search for the american dream chapter).
Rating:
Summary: Truly Gonzo
Review: Hunter S. Thompson's "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" is so far out it alomost defies criticism. Needless to say, if you are a square or a raging conservative, you will HATE Thompson's warped vision of modern America. If however, you appreciate the Thompson style of "Gonzo Jornalism," then this classic of the style, while fictional, is a must read. The plot ceneters on Thompson's alter ego, Raul Duke, and his Samoan "attorney" driving to Las Vegas to ingest as many drugs and party as hard as they can. What happens there is...well let's just say you've got to read it for yourself. Funny, outrageous and compellingly readable, this is a book that simply cannot be ignored.
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Summary: "We were somewhere around Barstow..."
Review: So starts this epic tale, in the middle of a roaring cadillac speeding down a desert highway, occupied by two men filled to the brim with all manner of exotic narcotics. Of all Thompson's pieces of Gonzo Journalism this perhaps serves as the greatest. Not only does it perfectly display exactly what Gonzo journalism is, but it is also just a great masterpiece. The basic and loose story of this book is hard to describe, because it focusses on many different levels. Basically, it concerns two men who go to Las Vegas to cover a motorcycle race. But, it infact centres more around the fact that these two men take with them, an entire suitcase full of drugs. And, furthermore, there is their subconscious search for the American Dream. All in all, this book is incredibly funny, the first page will have you rolling around the floor in hysterics. I remember that I first picked this book up at a library because I was forbidden from purchasing it, and sat down to read it there. But, I was soon laughing so loud that I was asked to leave the library. All manner of a halucinogenic LSD trips go wild, ending up in a chaotic muddle of entire insanity. If you wish to be serious for a minute, this book also holds a sociological value, because it serves as a great description of the 1960's drug scene. But who cares about that? When you're in the hands of someone who can be as amusing and brilliant as Hunter S. Thompson, there is little you can do, but sit back and enjoy the ride...
Rating:
Summary: Excess, the American Dream and a Vincent Black Shadow
Review: This is HS Thompson's search for the American Dream in Las Vegas. Sent to cover a bike/Dune Buggy Race - he and his attourney check into the Mint with their case of recreational personality modifiers and several small arms and hand weapons whilst in an altered state of reality. This sets the tone for the entire book. Thompson chronicles his trip of looking for the American Dream in Las Vegas. He is looking for the quintessential Horatio Alger character. He eventually realizes he has found it, but not until he has worked his way through the entire sixties movement to the present in his altered states and come to the conclusion that Excess is the American Way at least in Vegas. One of the most humorous moments is when he checks into the Flamingo hotel across town to cover the District Attourney's conference for Law Enforcement agents on the Drug Culture. He feels the "other side" should be represented, but quickly realizes that he won't be doing any recruiting or mind changing in this atmosphere. I would recommend this as a must read for anyone with the reminder that one is never certain when Hunter is writing of what is real, what is pure fiction. On the other hand the man can WRITE and while I may not always agree with his conclusions, he can put together a coherent line of thought that leaves the reader at least pondering.
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Summary: Viva Las Vagas
Review: The book is dangerous and terrifying one moment and blisteringly funny at the next. As a doctor of Gonzo journalism, Thompson has brought his brand of dug addled craziness to Vegas, where him and his attorney attempt to find the American Dream. Monsterous bats, bloodthirsty reptiles, demented cops, a God/Streisand freak on acid, and a homicidal ape is what they find instead. This classic of a dream gone wrong on drugs and booze has kept me thrilled and laughing since I was 13. Read this if you believe the American Dream exists because Thompson has come close to finding it.
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Summary: Quest for the "American Dream"
Review: This novel is a tale of two business men who are searching for the American Dream in Las Vegas. On their journey they bring "two bags of grass, seventy five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high-powered blotter acid, a salt shaker full of cocaine and a whole galaxy of multicolored uppers, downers, screamers, laughers....Also a quart of tequila, a quart of rum, a case of Budweiser, a pint of raw ether, and two dozen amyls." The men fill themselves with as much drugs as possible in order to escape the reality that the world was changing and the drug scene was over. This book is a great view of how people act under the influence of drugs. I recommend that you read this book. Hunter Thompson gives a visual image of what he was going through at this time and all the obstacles that were taken on his quest for the American Dream. "Fair and Loathing in Las Vegas" is a twisted journey that will make you laugh out loud.
Rating:
Summary: Read this book
Review: Its definately a good idea to read the book before you see the movie. You can get a much better understanding of whats happening through reading the book. Most of the people who saw the movie said that it wasn't a good story, but they never read the book. I think that the best part about this story was his inability to show any kind of fear to explore anything. He is very descriptive of the experiences Mr. Duke or his attorney have with the drugs they use. I gave it five stars, one for every time I've read it.
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