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Summary: Thompson turned me into a ether whore.
Review: I havn't actually finished reading this book for one really simple reason. Every page I read makes me take another shot of weird and freaky drinks of firewater. Every chapter is call for an ether soaked t-shirt I can wear around the house to get maximally twisted. The reason -which should be oh so clear- is that Thompson has turned me into an ether whore.The book -what I've read of it- is amazing. It is like a little look into the life of any given hardcore drug addict. None of this "I smoke marajuana to ease my pain" or something of that nature. This is pure "it is time to get weird and twisted". And by no means is the book without depth, or plot. It has these things. I recall through some gin-laden fog, that Thompson found some burnt down structure across from a gas station that was the manifestation of the American Dream? Sure. I'm sure it goes something like that. Amazing. I think there is also a movie. I also think I've seen some of it.
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Summary: Pure Gonzo Journalism
Review: The good doctor writes another brilliant work of 20th century prose. Hunters literary wit mixed with Steadmans bizarre illustrations makes this book an entertaining and intelligent book. But take my word for it, look beyond the drugs, beyond the craziness, and take it for its themes, the death of the american dream, and the end of the 60's generations and what the future holds in store for them. This is one of Hunters best works. I would also recomend Better than Sex, and Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72. Enjoy
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Summary: This book screams for you to love it!
Review: It is impossible to be depressed when reading this book. It is my Literary Wellbutrin. It is so good I can't even believe it exists. The first three pages make me laugh out loud no matter how many times I read them. I try to read this book once a year because it really is a riot. It makes me want to pound the table with my fist, it is so damn great. I want to marry Hunter S. Thompson. I want him to take me to the Kentucky Derby. I want to drink mint juleps. I want to watch him scribble his next masterpiece on bar napkins. I love this book.
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Summary: History Lesson for the Weird at Heart
Review: Without trying to be precise, there is a saying that goes something like you are doomed to repeat your past if you don't know your history. Whatever. The point is that Mr. Thompson drills deep into our collective gray matter with this potent account of the clash of the perception of what consensus American culture should be and the reality of that culture as seen through a drug-induced prism. The superb opening to this books has become a twisted Lord's Prayer for many of my generation, and the book serves as a crude psalmody for those on a crusade to ferret out the weirdness lurking just below the surface. Sure some of this stuff is dated. It's 30 years old, for crying out loud. But it resonants because it is the real deal, a thrill ride that rivets you to the page as you fumble around for your next beer unwilling to break your gaze from the account of mayhem unleashed on Las Vegas. Get the original cover if you can. This cover, meant to tie in with the movie, is not worthy.
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Summary: A little dated but still a fun read.
Review: I first read this story in Rolling Stone back in November, 1971. I've read it at least 4 times over the years (including a couple weeks ago). I have two copies since I wore the first one out by loaning it to friends. The story is dated and the movie could have been better but it's still a great read for the plane on your way to Vegas.
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Summary: Six stars
Review: This book is the bible. It should be placed in bedside tables at hotels. HST has such a great way of writing, if you are just getting into his writing this is a great place to start.
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Summary: Off the Cuff in Edge City
Review: For those that have been "there", this book is a grand ride of non-stop belly laughs and teary laughter. Written in a clipped, lean style, Thompson decribes the indulgence of trying to maintain. I can start reading at any point in the narrative and become transfixed. A must read for those that can.
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Summary: Like a Drug
Review: The book starts out like a rush frenzy just as if a person is shooting up. You're taken into a world that can never be described in words. Hunter S. Thompson weaves a classic of his time, where drugs, booze and sex are everyday norms. With the the first narrator style, the story sucks you in a realm you only thought lived on-screen. To start things off. This story is like a drug. It's bizarrely incoherent, but makes sense. It's short. It hits you right on the spot. It sends you in bouts of laughter that you cannot grasp the reason for. And let's not forget the fact that you can't get enough of it when you finish it. You wanna do it again. A reread is assured, just to grasp the hidden meanings behind some of the text mentioned. Set in the 1970s with all its war and Nixon-related angst, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, takes you through a journey of the underground drug-based life of gonzo journalist, Raoul Dukes and his Samoan attorney, who goes on nameless throughout the story, and advises Dukes on things that just can't be advisable. Most of the story takes place in Vegas and though with its notorious background, the city is displayed as not as welcoming as one might think when it comes to matters of substance. 20 years for marijuana possession. Life for dealing. Goes to show you how harsh the city can be and how our two heroes have to keep the pace evading the police, though ironically they are surrounded by them in a Dangerous Drug Convention they are members of. The pace is quick and the content, smart. Thompson succeeds in building an atmosphere where if you're not a druggie, you don't belong in this "real" world. Through it all, you have to appreciate the difference between that and a junkie. No junkies allowed in the book and our heroes abhor them. You a junkie? You have LA to contend with, let's not see you in Vegas, bub. You're a dead man if you even stand on the street just acting curious. Is this the American Dream? Moving from one place to another, scaring the townsfolk, living in a bizarre psychedelic life where reality is twisted that it's scary? Where you can get away with everything with the right words and the right contacts? Thompson takes the concept of the Dream and cruelly dissects it for what it is. Layer by layer, step by step. The reality that comes out from everything hidden after reading this story is the truth. The Dream does exist, but is it what we all thought it is and expected? As your attorney, I advise you to read this book to truly figure out what this review is all about.
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Summary: Hunter S. Thompson - brilliant, or utterly insane?
Review: I bought this book for a class, and had no intention of enjoying it half as much as I do. Hunter S. Thomson (writing as "Raoul Duke"), entertains and enlightens the audience as he travels with his "attorney" to Las Vegas to cover a story. Readers are transfixed into "Duke's" world of intense drug use, hilarious (and sometimes dangerous) encounters with hitchhikers, police and other assorted supporting characters. This is a book you will either love or hate, but in either case, you will not want to put it down, if just to see what crazy events take place.
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Summary: What a ride...
Review: Hunter S Thompson's journey to find the American dream and consume as many ilicit substances as possible on the way is a fantastic, exciting and classic read through the drug hazed mind of Thompson. He is heading to Las Vegas to cover the "Mint 400", a motorbike race where there is more desert dust than media story. Armed with a boot-full of drugs and his aggressive, slightly crazed Samoan lawyer Dr Gonzo, they rocket across the highway in their "great red shark" convertible in search of the fabled American Dream. Thompson's graphically acurate descriptions of their drug binge across the buzzing lights and sounds of Vegas are truly remarkable and funny. He pokes fun at what is deemed the dream as they fraud their way through two 5* hotels and encounter many other fun and perilous adventures on the way. My favourite parts (the whole book is full of them) are when they pick up the hitchhiker, the bath scene with "White Rabbit" (a Jefferson Airplane song), the police anti-drug rally and the scene before entering and inside the Circus Circus casino. A truly wacked out and crazy adventure story through the eyes of an original hippie tripper, whose analysis and derision of things around him is delivered in a fun and insightful manner. A thoroughly enjoyable read; laugh along at this audacious adventure. If you have seen the movie, you will enjoy the book; if you have read the book you will enjoy the movie. A mirror of each other...a total classic!
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