Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas : A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream

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Summary: A Modern Classic
Review: I became aware of this book from press about the movie. It was what I was looking for. Something different and new, yet written 25 years ago. This book is so hilarious and disturbing at the same time that I didn't want it to end. When I put it down I had to mentally thank Dr. Thompson for putting on paper something that could be enjoyed so much. If you've seen the movie, do yourself a favor and pick up the book. It both compliments and enhances the movie experience. A book you can easily read more than once and find new things each time - a masterpiece.

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Summary: Fear and Loathing is the best book that I have ever read.
Review: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas captures the art of tripping perfectly. Not only will that book be a classic for those who enjoy the drug scene, but also for those who just want to laugh. This book must be one of the most enlightening books ever!

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Summary: OP-ED -LIKE ILLUSTRATIONS IMPROVE AND ENLIGHTEN
Review: I can't help but wonder if this masterpiece of humor was actually the product of "Room Service" at the "Holiday Inn", as in, "Room Service, bring me twelve more drinks". It smacks of alcohol-induced wishful thinking and pre-demential hallucinatoria. I bet he never left his room. Still, very much fun. "...the tires were so tight, if you ran over a dime you could tell if it was heads or tails..." You bet!

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Summary: The Literary Acid Trip
Review: Thompson's psychadelic masterpiece has survived the test of time to be recognized as one of the greatest novels of the past 25 years. It is incredible to see that a book which caught it's period so exactly as this has not dated one bit and remains as daring and riveting as any literary experience can be. The comic treatment of the two main protagonists and the other characters in the book is brilliantly contrasted with the growing sense of despair and dissapointment that the 70's brought to so many of the acid freaks Thompson writes of. Try putting this book down while you read it. A profound masterpiece.

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Summary: Funny, fast and freaky
Review: Having not read a book in some time I was dubious to say the least when this was thrust into my sweaty palms. However, once I began reading I could not put it down, it went everywhere with me and once i'd finished it I had to read it again. I've read it around 15 times now and will no doubt read it 15 times more. It's simply unbelievable.

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Summary: It's a prologue to the death of the American Dream.
Review: Hunter S. Thompson, however deranged and crazed he may be, had a point to pen and a message for all of America - that the American post rural dream of the white picket fence, 2.5 children and a dog, was comming to an end. He hit it dead on. Irrationalism and lunacy captured a sense of desperatness to excemplify this too obviouse fact - which, to some (even this mid-westerner) has been elusive until the break through movie. Incredible.

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Summary: A book with a True point
Review: This book is, in itself, a modern classic that should be required reading for anybody interested in the 60's and early 70's. Many people see this book as one gigantic drug trip with no meaning, though they are wrong. By the end of this book I realised that Thompson's goal (having been achieved successfully) was one not unlike Arthur Miller's in "Death of A Salesman". Thompson shows the death of the American dream by the hands of Nixon, and the death of the hippie counterculture. It is sad and tragic that Raul Duke and his lawyer must fill themselves with as much drugs as possible in order to escape the reality that the once cool underground acid scene, which Thompson believed to be "good and beautiful", had withered away, and died unsuccessfull in its attempts to change the world. It belongs on the shelf next to "On The Road " and "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test"

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Summary: TWISTED, SCARY AND SURREALISTIC FUN!
Review: This book delves us all into the wacky world of a drug-addicted news reporter who, more than covering the 'Mint 400', goes on an irresponsible rampage throughout Las Vegas. It is funny, scary, but- in a word- fun! The crisp black and white drawings are appropriate and kooky- but one warning to parents out there- this book may very well glorify drugs by detailing their effects with such consummate accuracy! If you have a serious, down-to-earth teen (like me *Grin*) then you have nothing to worry about, but if you have a curious kid who likes to take risks, perhaps science fiction would be a better route.

Rating:
Summary: A brilliant satire/expose of American culture
Review: This is a book that needs to be read several times. The first time you read it, you will be shocked, and probably amused by the author's drug-crazed antics. The core of the book, though, is a thought-provoking investigation of many aspects of modern American life. There are so many layers of metaphor and irony at work it's almost scary. One of the most often overlooked (and additionally, the most ominous) truths conveyed is this: If you act like you know what you're doing, you can get away with almost anything.

Rating:
Summary: Disgustingly Funny
Review: An incredibly wonderful book... I could not put it down, and have read it at least 6 times. if you've seen the movie, don't let it ruin your opinion of the book. The book is actually FUNNY, unlike the movie, which in my opinion, simply mocked Hunter Thompson's ingenious. plus, you have to read the WHOLE thing to enjoy, reading the first 2 chapters and realizing it's about drugs is not a reason to discredit the book.