Fear and Loathing in America Gonzo Letters Vol II 1968-1976 SC Hunter S Thompson

Description

Fear and Loathing in America : The Brutal Odyssey of an Outlaw Journalist Paperback
by Hunter S. Thompson (Author)

This is a collection of hundreds of letters Hunter S. Thompson wrote (as well as a handful he received) after his rise to fame with his 1966 hit Hell’s Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs. These letters deal primarily with Thompson and his editor at Random House, Jim Silberman, his correspondence with Oscar Zeta Acosta, and his perpetually fluctuating relationship with Jann Wenner, the founder of Rolling Stone.

Through this time period, Thompson discusses Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’72, and his unending desire to see The Rum Diary made into a film.

Fans of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas will especially be interested in this volume as it chronicles Hunter’s and his dear attorney Oscar’s feud and battle over what really transpired during that legendary weekend!

From the king of “Gonzo” journalism and bestselling author who brought you Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas comes another astonishing volume of letters by Hunter S. Thompson.

Brazen, incisive, and outrageous as ever, this second volume of Thompson’s private correspondence is the highly anticipated follow-up to The Proud Highway. When that first book of letters appeared in 1997, Time pronounced it “deliriously entertaining”; Rolling Stone called it “brilliant beyond description”; and The New York Times celebrated its “wicked humor and bracing political conviction.”

Spanning the years between 1968 and 1976, these never-before-published letters show Thompson building his legend: running for sheriff in Aspen, Colorado; creating the seminal road book Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas; twisting political reporting to new heights for Rolling Stone; and making sense of it all in the landmark Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’72. To read Thompson’s dispatches from these years—addressed to the author’s friends, enemies, editors, and creditors, and such notables as Jimmy Carter, Tom Wolfe, and Kurt Vonnegut—is to read a raw, revolutionary eyewitness account of one of the most exciting and pivotal eras in American history.

Publisher ? : ? Simon & Schuster
Language ? : ? English
Paperback ? : ? 784 pages

You sometimes get the feeling from his published works that HST lived a carefree life of hedonism and financial success.These two volumes of correspondence counter that myth and paint a picture of a man in the throes of impending poverty,furiously burning the midnight oil in an attempt to extract fees and expense accounts to fend off the bailiff, and get credit at the local store.Its a hefty book and there’s a few superfluous letters in there but on the whole its all compelling stuff if you want to know the truth behind the legend.Some will feel cheated and their perceptions shattered but I feel he doesn’t come off that badly considering the pressures he puts himself under,trying to earn a crust freelancing and retaining his creative integrity as well as feeding his family at the same time.I’d rank this as a far better portrait of the man than any of the biographies that have been published and hope that a third volume will come around sometime in the future.

Being a disciple of all Hunter’s works (even the less popular e.g.better than sex, Hey Rube…) I wasn’t sure what to expect from another collection of private letters & papers, yet I considered this an essential purchase rather than not!

Well I hadn’t expected such a weight of paperback for the price (doorstop sized & attractively bound) so I dived in & was in Gonzo heaven straight from Hunter’s introductory thoughts on speed, the vile Nixon & good ole Bob Dylan…

The letters range from personal, playful, desperate to damn right hilarious & smattered with customary bile stains where the recipitent required it! If you’re not used to Hunter’s style of writing & familiar with his compilations, eclectic as they are bizarre & adventurous then you may find Fear & Loathing in America a little daunting but if you can empathise with what was after all in Hunter’s own words ‘A brutal age of Nixon & Tet fuelled by speed & bad debt!’, then it might all seem a little confusing or irrelevant. The sense of social & historic detail that is under discussion is nicely explained in a brief keynote at the start of every letter which is most helpful indeed.

978-0684873169

Book is in near mint condition. Black line drawn down the bottom edge of book.