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quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
High priest of hedonism and godfather of gonzo journalism, Hunter S. Thompson was renowned for his counterculture masterpiece Fear and Loathing in Law Vegas, which described his chemical-addled adventures in 1970s America. Taken from Thompson’s brilliantly entertaining autobiography, Kingdom of Fear - the last book published before his death earlier this year – these pieces provide a hilarious but now also painful insight into the life and mind of a true literary outlaw.
Released by Penguin as part of a ‘taster’ book series given away with The Times and Starbucks in 2007, this is a selection of extracts from Thompson’s autobiography KINGDOM OF FEAR, which includes articles, interviews and reminiscences.
I hadn’t read any of Thompson’s work before and this seems to me to be a good primer to his style and his opinions. For me the most effective pieces are the two articles he wrote in the aftermath of 9/11, which mourn the loss of America’s innocence and warn at the impact on freedom. The title piece, about a trip Thompson takes to his friend Jack Nicholson’s house to deliver a bizarre birthday present, thereby sparking a police hunt for a madman is one of those stories where I suspect you really needed to be there at the time.
It won’t be for everyone’s tastes but although I don’t subscribe to Thompson’s political and cultural beliefs, it’s a book that’s well worth checking out if you’re curious about his work.
The Verdict:
If you’re unfamiliar with Hunter S. Thompson’s work and are looking to get an idea of what it was about, I think that this is a decent primer. I don’t subscribe to his political and cultural beliefs, but you can see why he holds a place in America’s cultural pantheon and his articles following 9/11 seem particularly prescient today.
High priest of hedonism and godfather of gonzo journalism, Hunter S. Thompson was renowned for his counterculture masterpiece Fear and Loathing in Law Vegas, which described his chemical-addled adventures in 1970s America. Taken from Thompson’s brilliantly entertaining autobiography, Kingdom of Fear - the last book published before his death earlier this year – these pieces provide a hilarious but now also painful insight into the life and mind of a true literary outlaw.
Released by Penguin as part of a ‘taster’ book series given away with The Times and Starbucks in 2007, this is a selection of extracts from Thompson’s autobiography KINGDOM OF FEAR, which includes articles, interviews and reminiscences.
I hadn’t read any of Thompson’s work before and this seems to me to be a good primer to his style and his opinions. For me the most effective pieces are the two articles he wrote in the aftermath of 9/11, which mourn the loss of America’s innocence and warn at the impact on freedom. The title piece, about a trip Thompson takes to his friend Jack Nicholson’s house to deliver a bizarre birthday present, thereby sparking a police hunt for a madman is one of those stories where I suspect you really needed to be there at the time.
It won’t be for everyone’s tastes but although I don’t subscribe to Thompson’s political and cultural beliefs, it’s a book that’s well worth checking out if you’re curious about his work.
The Verdict:
If you’re unfamiliar with Hunter S. Thompson’s work and are looking to get an idea of what it was about, I think that this is a decent primer. I don’t subscribe to his political and cultural beliefs, but you can see why he holds a place in America’s cultural pantheon and his articles following 9/11 seem particularly prescient today.
