Can't seem to find a thread on him. Currently reading The Great Shark Hunt (http://www.amazon.com/Great-Shark-Hunt-Gonzo-Papers/dp/0345374827), a great collection of his articles from the 60s and 70s. It includes several articles about his favorite punching bag, Richard Milhouse Nixon. For my money it doesn't get much better than an extended Thompson rant about that rotten waterhead. Here's an excerpt just for you, Gil.
QuoteNixon's entire political career - and in fact his whole life - is a gloomy monument to the notion that not even pure schizophrenia or malignant psychosis can prevent a determined loser from rising to the top of the heap in this strange society we have built for ourselves in the name of "democracy" and "free enterprise." For most of his life, the mainspring of Richard Nixon's energy and ambition seems to have been a deep and unrecognized need to overcome, at all costs, that sense of having been born guilty - not for crimes or transgressions already committed, but for those he somehow sensed he was fated to commit as he grappled his way to the summit.
Looks like there are 3 more volumes of the Gonzo Papers - planning on reading all of them, but any one that's particularly good? Other Thompson favorites I should check out? I'm a moron, so the only other book of his I've read is Fear & Loathing on the Campaign Trail.
Hell's Angels is actually pretty damn good.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas his probably his best known book and definitely worth reading.
My favorite is The Curse of Lono. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Curse_of_Lono)
It's full of great illustrations by Ralph Steadman.
The combination of Thompson and Steadman is very, very twisted.
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51YBMSGQN7L.jpg)
Quote from: R-V on October 12, 2010, 10:14:01 AM
Can't seem to find a thread on him. Currently reading The Great Shark Hunt (http://www.amazon.com/Great-Shark-Hunt-Gonzo-Papers/dp/0345374827), a great collection of his articles from the 60s and 70s. It includes several articles about his favorite punching bag, Richard Milhouse Nixon. For my money it doesn't get much better than an extended Thompson rant about that rotten waterhead. Here's an excerpt just for you, Gil.
QuoteNixon's entire political career - and in fact his whole life - is a gloomy monument to the notion that not even pure schizophrenia or malignant psychosis can prevent a determined loser from rising to the top of the heap in this strange society we have built for ourselves in the name of "democracy" and "free enterprise." For most of his life, the mainspring of Richard Nixon's energy and ambition seems to have been a deep and unrecognized need to overcome, at all costs, that sense of having been born guilty - not for crimes or transgressions already committed, but for those he somehow sensed he was fated to commit as he grappled his way to the summit.
Looks like there are 3 more volumes of the Gonzo Papers - planning on reading all of them, but any one that's particularly good? Other Thompson favorites I should check out? I'm a moron, so the only other book of his I've read is Fear & Loathing on the Campaign Trail.
Meh. I've heard worse.
Also, Nixon's health care plan was more liberal than Obama's.
Quote from: R-V on October 12, 2010, 10:14:01 AM
Can't seem to find a thread on him. Currently reading The Great Shark Hunt (http://www.amazon.com/Great-Shark-Hunt-Gonzo-Papers/dp/0345374827), a great collection of his articles from the 60s and 70s. It includes several articles about his favorite punching bag, Richard Milhouse Nixon. For my money it doesn't get much better than an extended Thompson rant about that rotten waterhead. Here's an excerpt just for you, Gil.
QuoteNixon's entire political career - and in fact his whole life - is a gloomy monument to the notion that not even pure schizophrenia or malignant psychosis can prevent a determined loser from rising to the top of the heap in this strange society we have built for ourselves in the name of "democracy" and "free enterprise." For most of his life, the mainspring of Richard Nixon's energy and ambition seems to have been a deep and unrecognized need to overcome, at all costs, that sense of having been born guilty - not for crimes or transgressions already committed, but for those he somehow sensed he was fated to commit as he grappled his way to the summit.
Looks like there are 3 more volumes of the Gonzo Papers - planning on reading all of them, but any one that's particularly good? Other Thompson favorites I should check out? I'm a moron, so the only other book of his I've read is Fear & Loathing on the Campaign Trail.
Start reading them all. Some of it, as you may suspect, is haphazard and is just weird. But a lot of it is a pretty rivetting look at society during whichever period he's writing in. Generation of Swine, about the '80s, is cool as
shit dick.
Also, check out Kingdom of Fear.
Hell, just read it all.
Quote from: Oleg on October 12, 2010, 10:58:00 AMStart reading them all. Some of it, as you may suspect, is haphazard and is just weird.
Remind me to give you my copy of the December 1961 Rogue magazine (http://beatpatrol.wordpress.com/2009/04/22/hunter-s-thompson-burial-at-sea-1961/).
Intrepid Reader: Paul
Meh.
Great Shark Hunt is my favorite, Campaign Trail of '72 comes second. I think that era was the height of Thompson's power and relevance. I think he will always be important reading for anyone intersted in politcal and/or literary journalism. But at that time he was really out stomping on the terra, getting in where the action was and giving us a dose of his completely unique perspective. This is in sharp contrast to his later work, in which he was holed up in his compound at Woody Creek destroying his mind and body with drugs and drink and stewing in his own bitterness. Anything after 1980 is optional in my opinion, though I read all of it. Every single god damn word I could get my eyes on.
Don't sleep on The Proud Highway, collection of letters... fuck am I talking about? Has anybody reading this thread not read all of Thompson's books yet? Well, get crackin', dipshit.
Quote from: Internet Apex on October 13, 2010, 07:57:47 AM
Great Shark Hunt is my favorite, Campaign Trail of '72 comes second. I think that era was the height of Thompson's power and relevance. I think he has and always will be important. But at that time he was really out stomping on the terra, getting in where the action was and giving us a dose of his completely unique perspective. This is in sharp contrast to his later work, in which he was holed up in his compound at Woody Creek destroying his mind and body with drugs and drink and stewing in his own bitterness. Anything after 1980 is optional in my opinion, though I read all of it. Every single god damn word I could get my eyes on.
Don't sleep on The Proud Highway, collection of letters... fuck am I talking about? Has anybody reading this thread not read all of Thompson's books yet? Well, get crackin', dipshit.
I've never read anything by him.
Quote from: PANK! on October 13, 2010, 08:16:27 AM
Quote from: Internet Apex on October 13, 2010, 07:57:47 AM
Great Shark Hunt is my favorite, Campaign Trail of '72 comes second. I think that era was the height of Thompson's power and relevance. I think he has and always will be important. But at that time he was really out stomping on the terra, getting in where the action was and giving us a dose of his completely unique perspective. This is in sharp contrast to his later work, in which he was holed up in his compound at Woody Creek destroying his mind and body with drugs and drink and stewing in his own bitterness. Anything after 1980 is optional in my opinion, though I read all of it. Every single god damn word I could get my eyes on.
Don't sleep on The Proud Highway, collection of letters... fuck am I talking about? Has anybody reading this thread not read all of Thompson's books yet? Well, get crackin', dipshit.
I've never read anything by him.
That's because all you ever read is that one Royko column about ketchup on hot dogs over and over and over...
Quote from: Bort on October 13, 2010, 08:54:10 AM
Quote from: PANK! on October 13, 2010, 08:16:27 AM
Quote from: Internet Apex on October 13, 2010, 07:57:47 AM
Great Shark Hunt is my favorite, Campaign Trail of '72 comes second. I think that era was the height of Thompson's power and relevance. I think he has and always will be important. But at that time he was really out stomping on the terra, getting in where the action was and giving us a dose of his completely unique perspective. This is in sharp contrast to his later work, in which he was holed up in his compound at Woody Creek destroying his mind and body with drugs and drink and stewing in his own bitterness. Anything after 1980 is optional in my opinion, though I read all of it. Every single god damn word I could get my eyes on.
Don't sleep on The Proud Highway, collection of letters... fuck am I talking about? Has anybody reading this thread not read all of Thompson's books yet? Well, get crackin', dipshit.
I've never read anything by him.
That's because all you ever read is that one Royko column about ketchup on hot dogs over and over and over...
Royko wrote
multiple columns on that, man. Multiple.
Quote from: Internet Apex on October 13, 2010, 07:57:47 AM
Great Shark Hunt is my favorite, Campaign Trail of '72 comes second. I think that era was the height of Thompson's power and relevance. I think he has and always will be important. But at that time he was really out stomping on the terra, getting in where the action was and giving us a dose of his completely unique perspective. This is in sharp contrast to his later work, in which he was holed up in his compound at Woody Creek destroying his mind and body with drugs and drink and stewing in his own bitterness. Anything after 1980 is optional in my opinion, though I read all of it. Every single god damn word I could get my eyes on.
Don't sleep on The Proud Highway, collection of letters... fuck am I talking about? Has anybody reading this thread not read all of Thompson's books yet? Well, get crackin', dipshit.
No mention of his work with OSI or SPHINX?
Quote from: PANK! on October 13, 2010, 08:16:27 AM
Quote from: Internet Apex on October 13, 2010, 07:57:47 AM
Great Shark Hunt is my favorite, Campaign Trail of '72 comes second. I think that era was the height of Thompson's power and relevance. I think he has and always will be important. But at that time he was really out stomping on the terra, getting in where the action was and giving us a dose of his completely unique perspective. This is in sharp contrast to his later work, in which he was holed up in his compound at Woody Creek destroying his mind and body with drugs and drink and stewing in his own bitterness. Anything after 1980 is optional in my opinion, though I read all of it. Every single god damn word I could get my eyes on.
Don't sleep on The Proud Highway, collection of letters... fuck am I talking about? Has anybody reading this thread not read all of Thompson's books yet? Well, get crackin', dipshit.
I've never read anything by him.
This is the worst sentence you've ever written. You are, literally, worse than Hitler.
Quote from: PANK! on October 13, 2010, 08:16:27 AM
Quote from: Internet Apex on October 13, 2010, 07:57:47 AM
Great Shark Hunt is my favorite, Campaign Trail of '72 comes second. I think that era was the height of Thompson's power and relevance. I think he has and always will be important. But at that time he was really out stomping on the terra, getting in where the action was and giving us a dose of his completely unique perspective. This is in sharp contrast to his later work, in which he was holed up in his compound at Woody Creek destroying his mind and body with drugs and drink and stewing in his own bitterness. Anything after 1980 is optional in my opinion, though I read all of it. Every single god damn word I could get my eyes on.
Don't sleep on The Proud Highway, collection of letters... fuck am I talking about? Has anybody reading this thread not read all of Thompson's books yet? Well, get crackin', dipshit.
I've never read anything by him.
That's just not smart. Because I'm pretty sure you'd enjoy the shit out of most of it.
Quote from: Internet Apex on October 13, 2010, 09:41:39 AM
Quote from: PANK! on October 13, 2010, 08:16:27 AM
Quote from: Internet Apex on October 13, 2010, 07:57:47 AM
Great Shark Hunt is my favorite, Campaign Trail of '72 comes second. I think that era was the height of Thompson's power and relevance. I think he has and always will be important. But at that time he was really out stomping on the terra, getting in where the action was and giving us a dose of his completely unique perspective. This is in sharp contrast to his later work, in which he was holed up in his compound at Woody Creek destroying his mind and body with drugs and drink and stewing in his own bitterness. Anything after 1980 is optional in my opinion, though I read all of it. Every single god damn word I could get my eyes on.
Don't sleep on The Proud Highway, collection of letters... fuck am I talking about? Has anybody reading this thread not read all of Thompson's books yet? Well, get crackin', dipshit.
I've never read anything by him.
That's just not smart. Because I'm pretty sure you'd enjoy the shit out of most of it.
I'm not in any danger though, am I?
In answer to RV's original question about the Gonzo Papers, The Proud Highway is truly must-read literature for anybody intersted in HST. That book, and the two subsequent Gonzo Papers are a collection of Thompson's correspondence with friends, family, employers, subjects, publications, utility companies, random famous people... you name it, he saved it and then later published it. The Proud Highway is taken from his writings during the years of 1955-67, so it captures him as he was just breaking onto the national journalistic scene. He's desperate, destitute and stressed out throughout most of these entries and his "Fear and Loathing" is never more visceral. Throughout the next couple of volumes he's already made it and while it's interesting to read about his creative process at times, his personal turmoil seems mostly trivial and self-induced - blah blah blah dealing with fame and still an asshole to boot blah blah blah...
My advice: read The Proud Highway, skim and scan the others. And when you speak of me, speak well.
Quote from: PANK! on October 13, 2010, 09:43:28 AM
Quote from: Internet Apex on October 13, 2010, 09:41:39 AM
Quote from: PANK! on October 13, 2010, 08:16:27 AM
Quote from: Internet Apex on October 13, 2010, 07:57:47 AM
Great Shark Hunt is my favorite, Campaign Trail of '72 comes second. I think that era was the height of Thompson's power and relevance. I think he has and always will be important. But at that time he was really out stomping on the terra, getting in where the action was and giving us a dose of his completely unique perspective. This is in sharp contrast to his later work, in which he was holed up in his compound at Woody Creek destroying his mind and body with drugs and drink and stewing in his own bitterness. Anything after 1980 is optional in my opinion, though I read all of it. Every single god damn word I could get my eyes on.
Don't sleep on The Proud Highway, collection of letters... fuck am I talking about? Has anybody reading this thread not read all of Thompson's books yet? Well, get crackin', dipshit.
I've never read anything by him.
That's just not smart. Because I'm pretty sure you'd enjoy the shit out of most of it.
I'm not in any danger though, am I?
Maybe?
Who is Hunter S Thompson?
Quote from: Oleg on October 13, 2010, 11:03:45 AM
Quote from: Yeti on October 13, 2010, 10:58:20 AM
Who is Hunter S Thompson?
Don't worry about it.
To be honest, I've always thought of Thompson with disdain. He was someone that my artistic-fhaggy-commie-pinko friends loved. I never got it, but I admittedly hadn't seen any of his movies (or more importantly, read any of his books). However, that was also during my younger, much more close-minded years. If I did more reading, I'd probably jump in and read some of his stuff. Instead, I'll probably continue re-reading Friday Night Lights and stroke it to visions of teenage cheerleaders of the 1980s
Quote from: Yeti on October 13, 2010, 11:27:11 AM
I admittedly hadn't seen any of his movies
Nutshell.
Quote from: Yeti on October 13, 2010, 11:27:11 AM
Quote from: Oleg on October 13, 2010, 11:03:45 AM
Quote from: Yeti on October 13, 2010, 10:58:20 AM
Who is Hunter S Thompson?
Don't worry about it.
To be honest, I've always thought of Thompson with disdain. I admittedly hadn't seen any of his movies (or more importantly, read any of his books).
Did I get faced?
Quote from: J. Walter Weatherman on October 13, 2010, 11:28:25 AM
Quote from: Yeti on October 13, 2010, 11:27:11 AM
I admittedly hadn't seen any of his movies
Nutshell.
If someone were to refer to The Firm or The Pelican Brief as "John Grisham's movies" would you react with the same SMUGness?
This thread had such potential.
Quote from: Yeti on October 13, 2010, 11:44:24 AM
Quote from: J. Walter Weatherman on October 13, 2010, 11:28:25 AM
Quote from: Yeti on October 13, 2010, 11:27:11 AM
I admittedly hadn't seen any of his movies
Nutshell.
If someone were to refer to The Firm or The Pelican Brief as "John Grisham's movies" would you react with the same SMUGness?
I'd react with the same SMUGness to anyone who likes John Grisham.
Quote from: SKO on October 13, 2010, 11:51:50 AM
Quote from: Yeti on October 13, 2010, 11:44:24 AM
Quote from: J. Walter Weatherman on October 13, 2010, 11:28:25 AM
Quote from: Yeti on October 13, 2010, 11:27:11 AM
I admittedly hadn't seen any of his movies
Nutshell.
If someone were to refer to The Firm or The Pelican Brief as "John Grisham's movies" would you react with the same SMUGness?
I'd react with the same SMUGness to anyone who likes John Grisham.
Spoken like someone who's never enjoyed the glamour of business travel.
Quote from: Yeti on October 13, 2010, 11:27:11 AM
Quote from: Oleg on October 13, 2010, 11:03:45 AM
Quote from: Yeti on October 13, 2010, 10:58:20 AM
Who is Hunter S Thompson?
Don't worry about it.
To be honest, I've always thought of Thompson with disdain. He was someone that my artistic-fhaggy-commie-pinko friends loved. I never got it, but I admittedly hadn't seen any of his movies (or more importantly, read any of his books). However, that was also during my younger, much more close-minded years. If I did more reading, I'd probably jump in and read some of his stuff. Instead, I'll probably continue re-reading Friday Night Lights and stroke it to visions of teenage cheerleaders of the 1980s I feel the need to comment in every thread even if I don't know diddly shit about the topic.
We don't care'd
Quote from: R-V on October 13, 2010, 12:58:12 PM
Quote from: Yeti on October 13, 2010, 11:27:11 AM
Quote from: Oleg on October 13, 2010, 11:03:45 AM
Quote from: Yeti on October 13, 2010, 10:58:20 AM
Who is Hunter S Thompson?
Don't worry about it.
To be honest, I've always thought of Thompson with disdain. He was someone that my artistic-fhaggy-commie-pinko friends loved. I never got it, but I admittedly hadn't seen any of his movies (or more importantly, read any of his books). However, that was also during my younger, much more close-minded years. If I did more reading, I'd probably jump in and read some of his stuff. Instead, I'll probably continue re-reading Friday Night Lights and stroke it to visions of teenage cheerleaders of the 1980s I feel the need to comment in every thread even if I don't know diddly shit about the topic.
We don't care'd
I'm seeing a lot of these: (http://www.desipio.com/messageboard/Themes/babylon/images/topic/normal_post.gif) not just these: (http://www.desipio.com/messageboard/Themes/babylon/images/topic/my_veryhot_post.gif)
Quote from: Fork on October 13, 2010, 12:22:44 PM
Quote from: SKO on October 13, 2010, 11:51:50 AM
Quote from: Yeti on October 13, 2010, 11:44:24 AM
Quote from: J. Walter Weatherman on October 13, 2010, 11:28:25 AM
Quote from: Yeti on October 13, 2010, 11:27:11 AM
I admittedly hadn't seen any of his movies
Nutshell.
If someone were to refer to The Firm or The Pelican Brief as "John Grisham's movies" would you react with the same SMUGness?
I'd react with the same SMUGness to anyone who likes John Grisham.
Spoken like someone who's never enjoyed the glamour of business travel.
Is that what his books are about or is Grisham what white people read when they travel?
Quote from: Internet Apex on October 13, 2010, 02:16:12 PM
Quote from: Fork on October 13, 2010, 12:22:44 PM
Quote from: SKO on October 13, 2010, 11:51:50 AM
Quote from: Yeti on October 13, 2010, 11:44:24 AM
Quote from: J. Walter Weatherman on October 13, 2010, 11:28:25 AM
Quote from: Yeti on October 13, 2010, 11:27:11 AM
I admittedly hadn't seen any of his movies
Nutshell.
If someone were to refer to The Firm or The Pelican Brief as "John Grisham's movies" would you react with the same SMUGness?
I'd react with the same SMUGness to anyone who likes John Grisham.
Spoken like someone who's never enjoyed the glamour of business travel.
Is that what his books are about or is Grisham what white people read when they travel?
This and Tom Clancy.
Quote from: Fork on October 13, 2010, 03:20:17 PM
Quote from: Internet Apex on October 13, 2010, 02:16:12 PM
Quote from: Fork on October 13, 2010, 12:22:44 PM
Quote from: SKO on October 13, 2010, 11:51:50 AM
Quote from: Yeti on October 13, 2010, 11:44:24 AM
Quote from: J. Walter Weatherman on October 13, 2010, 11:28:25 AM
Quote from: Yeti on October 13, 2010, 11:27:11 AM
I admittedly hadn't seen any of his movies
Nutshell.
If someone were to refer to The Firm or The Pelican Brief as "John Grisham's movies" would you react with the same SMUGness?
I'd react with the same SMUGness to anyone who likes John Grisham.
Spoken like someone who's never enjoyed the glamour of business travel.
Is that what his books are about or is Grisham what white people read when they travel?
This and Tom Clancy.
And Dan Brown?
Quote from: Internet Apex on October 13, 2010, 03:33:42 PM
Quote from: Fork on October 13, 2010, 03:20:17 PM
Quote from: Internet Apex on October 13, 2010, 02:16:12 PM
Quote from: Fork on October 13, 2010, 12:22:44 PM
Quote from: SKO on October 13, 2010, 11:51:50 AM
Quote from: Yeti on October 13, 2010, 11:44:24 AM
Quote from: J. Walter Weatherman on October 13, 2010, 11:28:25 AM
Quote from: Yeti on October 13, 2010, 11:27:11 AM
I admittedly hadn't seen any of his movies
Nutshell.
If someone were to refer to The Firm or The Pelican Brief as "John Grisham's movies" would you react with the same SMUGness?
I'd react with the same SMUGness to anyone who likes John Grisham.
Spoken like someone who's never enjoyed the glamour of business travel.
Is that what his books are about or is Grisham what white people read when they travel?
This and Tom Clancy.
And Dan Brown?
I've been known to read the occassional David Baldacci on a plane.
And Nelson DeMille.
I'm do a lot of Tom Wolfe on planes. (||)
I read the Rum Diary. I liked it. They're making a movie of it. Maybe Yeti can go see it or something.
Quote from: Tony on October 14, 2010, 09:56:48 AM
I read the Rum Diary. I liked it. They're making a movie of it. Maybe Yeti can go see it or something.
This.
Quote from: Tony on October 14, 2010, 09:56:48 AM
I read the Rum Diary. I liked it. They're making a movie of it. Maybe Yeti can go see it or something.
The Rum Diary was written early in his career (pre-LSD), and is a very easy, enjoyable, less "weird" read then his later stuff for those that aren't into the whole drug-induced psychedelia thing- although you should be, because it's damn entertaining.
Other HST recommendations: a lot of his ESPN stuff is still available for free in the espn.com archives. Its not as fun as vintage Thompson, but still worth browsing through. For those with Netflix, there is a great documentary,
Gonzo, available to watch instantly.
Quote from: Capt. Over on October 14, 2010, 01:28:28 PM
Quote from: Tony on October 14, 2010, 09:56:48 AM
I read the Rum Diary. I liked it. They're making a movie of it. Maybe Yeti can go see it or something.
The Rum Diary was written early in his career (pre-LSD), and is a very easy, enjoyable, less "weird" read then his later stuff for those that aren't into the whole drug-induced psychedelia thing- although you should be, because it's damn entertaining.
Other HST recommendations: a lot of his ESPN stuff is still available for free in the espn.com archives. Its not as fun as vintage Thompson, but still worth browsing through. For those with Netflix, there is a great documentary, Gonzo, available to watch instantly.
It's amazing that he couldn't get that book published when it was written. People are dumb.
I only started with the Rum Diary because I found it at a used book store. The plan was to start with Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, because they only make movies of the best books right?
Quote from: Capt. Over on October 14, 2010, 01:28:28 PMFor those with Netflix, there is a great documentary, Gonzo, available to watch instantly.
I have "Breakfast with Hunter." Pretty good, as I recall, with optional English subtitles.
Quote from: Oleg on October 12, 2010, 10:58:00 AM
Quote from: R-V on October 12, 2010, 10:14:01 AM
Can't seem to find a thread on him. Currently reading The Great Shark Hunt (http://www.amazon.com/Great-Shark-Hunt-Gonzo-Papers/dp/0345374827), a great collection of his articles from the 60s and 70s. It includes several articles about his favorite punching bag, Richard Milhouse Nixon. For my money it doesn't get much better than an extended Thompson rant about that rotten waterhead. Here's an excerpt just for you, Gil.
QuoteNixon's entire political career - and in fact his whole life - is a gloomy monument to the notion that not even pure schizophrenia or malignant psychosis can prevent a determined loser from rising to the top of the heap in this strange society we have built for ourselves in the name of "democracy" and "free enterprise." For most of his life, the mainspring of Richard Nixon's energy and ambition seems to have been a deep and unrecognized need to overcome, at all costs, that sense of having been born guilty - not for crimes or transgressions already committed, but for those he somehow sensed he was fated to commit as he grappled his way to the summit.
Looks like there are 3 more volumes of the Gonzo Papers - planning on reading all of them, but any one that's particularly good? Other Thompson favorites I should check out? I'm a moron, so the only other book of his I've read is Fear & Loathing on the Campaign Trail.
Start reading them all. Some of it, as you may suspect, is haphazard and is just weird. But a lot of it is a pretty rivetting look at society during whichever period he's writing in. Generation of Swine, about the '80s, is cool as shit dick.
Also, check out Kingdom of Fear.
Hell, just read it all.
CT's bump reminded me that I need to thank Oleg and the rest of you waterheads for the HST recommendations. Since starting this thread I've gotten through Generation of Swine and Songs of the Doomed. I agree with Apex that neither are on par with Campaign Trail '72 or Great Shark Hunt, but still great reads. I've still got Kingdom of Fear and Hey Rube on the toilet shelf, and Hell's Angels and Proud Highway will be next assuming I'm not killed by a Cardinals pitcher while driving.
Thompson was the man.
Quote from: R-V on May 12, 2011, 11:27:44 AM
Quote from: Oleg on October 12, 2010, 10:58:00 AM
Quote from: R-V on October 12, 2010, 10:14:01 AM
Can't seem to find a thread on him. Currently reading The Great Shark Hunt (http://www.amazon.com/Great-Shark-Hunt-Gonzo-Papers/dp/0345374827), a great collection of his articles from the 60s and 70s. It includes several articles about his favorite punching bag, Richard Milhouse Nixon. For my money it doesn't get much better than an extended Thompson rant about that rotten waterhead. Here's an excerpt just for you, Gil.
QuoteNixon's entire political career - and in fact his whole life - is a gloomy monument to the notion that not even pure schizophrenia or malignant psychosis can prevent a determined loser from rising to the top of the heap in this strange society we have built for ourselves in the name of "democracy" and "free enterprise." For most of his life, the mainspring of Richard Nixon's energy and ambition seems to have been a deep and unrecognized need to overcome, at all costs, that sense of having been born guilty - not for crimes or transgressions already committed, but for those he somehow sensed he was fated to commit as he grappled his way to the summit.
Looks like there are 3 more volumes of the Gonzo Papers - planning on reading all of them, but any one that's particularly good? Other Thompson favorites I should check out? I'm a moron, so the only other book of his I've read is Fear & Loathing on the Campaign Trail.
Start reading them all. Some of it, as you may suspect, is haphazard and is just weird. But a lot of it is a pretty rivetting look at society during whichever period he's writing in. Generation of Swine, about the '80s, is cool as shit dick.
Also, check out Kingdom of Fear.
Hell, just read it all.
CT's bump reminded me that I need to thank Oleg and the rest of you waterheads for the HST recommendations. Since starting this thread I've gotten through Generation of Swine and Songs of the Doomed. I agree with Apex that neither are on par with Campaign Trail '72 or Great Shark Hunt, but still great reads. I've still got Kingdom of Fear and Hey Rube on the toilet shelf, and Hell's Angels and Proud Highway will be next assuming I'm not killed by a Cardinals pitcher while driving.
Thompson was the man.
Hey, god damn it. (http://www.desipio.com/messageboard/index.php?topic=7564.msg228593#msg228593)
Quote from: flannj on May 12, 2011, 12:17:25 PM
Quote from: R-V on May 12, 2011, 11:27:44 AM
Quote from: Oleg on October 12, 2010, 10:58:00 AM
Quote from: R-V on October 12, 2010, 10:14:01 AM
Can't seem to find a thread on him. Currently reading The Great Shark Hunt (http://www.amazon.com/Great-Shark-Hunt-Gonzo-Papers/dp/0345374827), a great collection of his articles from the 60s and 70s. It includes several articles about his favorite punching bag, Richard Milhouse Nixon. For my money it doesn't get much better than an extended Thompson rant about that rotten waterhead. Here's an excerpt just for you, Gil.
QuoteNixon's entire political career - and in fact his whole life - is a gloomy monument to the notion that not even pure schizophrenia or malignant psychosis can prevent a determined loser from rising to the top of the heap in this strange society we have built for ourselves in the name of "democracy" and "free enterprise." For most of his life, the mainspring of Richard Nixon's energy and ambition seems to have been a deep and unrecognized need to overcome, at all costs, that sense of having been born guilty - not for crimes or transgressions already committed, but for those he somehow sensed he was fated to commit as he grappled his way to the summit.
Looks like there are 3 more volumes of the Gonzo Papers - planning on reading all of them, but any one that's particularly good? Other Thompson favorites I should check out? I'm a moron, so the only other book of his I've read is Fear & Loathing on the Campaign Trail.
Start reading them all. Some of it, as you may suspect, is haphazard and is just weird. But a lot of it is a pretty rivetting look at society during whichever period he's writing in. Generation of Swine, about the '80s, is cool as shit dick.
Also, check out Kingdom of Fear.
Hell, just read it all.
CT's bump reminded me that I need to thank Oleg and the rest of you waterheads for the HST recommendations. Since starting this thread I've gotten through Generation of Swine and Songs of the Doomed. I agree with Apex that neither are on par with Campaign Trail '72 or Great Shark Hunt, but still great reads. I've still got Kingdom of Fear and Hey Rube on the toilet shelf, and Hell's Angels and Proud Highway will be next assuming I'm not killed by a Cardinals pitcher while driving.
Thompson was the man.
Hey, god damn it. (http://www.desipio.com/messageboard/index.php?topic=7564.msg228593#msg228593)
Looks like I'm the waterhead. Added to the list.
https://www.playboy.com/magazine/correspondence-with-hunter-s-thompson
I don't know what a 78 year old Hunter Thompson would have done with this election, but I'd sure hell would've liked to find out.
Now I'm just re-reading The Great Shark Hunt and replacing Nixon's name with Trump's to make me feel better.
Quote from: CT III on November 09, 2016, 07:45:37 PM
I don't know what a 78 year old Hunter Thompson would have done with this election, but I'd sure hell would've liked to find out.
Now I'm just re-reading The Great Shark Hunt and replacing Nixon's name with Trump's to make me feel better.
I've thought the exact same thing about Frank Zappa.