Fear and Loathing: The Strange and Terrible Saga of Hunter S. Thompson By Paul Perry

Fear and Loathing creates a sharp and savvy profile of one of the most provocative voices and distinctive personalities of our time. To Hunter S. Thompson, being a Gonzo journalist means doing whatever it takes to get to the truth; everything from dropping acid with Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters in the 60s, to participating in wild orgies and getting his nose broken while chronicling life with the Hell's Angels, to founding the Freak Power Party and running for sheriff of Aspen in 1970. A virtual icon, Thompson has regularly trashed the prime directives of reporting—accuracy and objectivity—yet he nonetheless always produces some of the sharpest political and cultural analysis around. Surrounded by submachine guns, fistfuls of colorful pills, and the ubiquitous Wild Turkey, Thompson careens through his life and career, unfolded in this book in all its decadence. New art by Ralph Steadman and over 20 black-and-white photographs are featured. Fear and Loathing: The Strange and Terrible Saga of Hunter S. Thompson

Paul Perry Ò 8 Read

I've always been a fan of Hunter S. Thompson's counter-culture persona and gonzo journalism writing style, but man, the guy was a complete dick. He beat his wife, threatened homosexuals, skipped out on tabs and bills constantly, prided himself on his racist comments, was completely self-absorbed, and generally treated everyone around him like shit. I went into this book knowing all that, but it seemed like the author had both a personal vendetta against the man and a grudging admiration for Thompson's 'take all experiences to the very edge' mentality, which made for a distracting read.

This biography was originally published in the early 90's so doesn't go into the end of Thompson's life and his health problems from such excessive alcohol use, nor his suicide in 2005 (he shot himself in the head while his son was in the next room and had to find the body, so yeah...selfish to the end). Overall, I was left with a sad feeling at the waste of talent and the continued glorification of what was clearly a serious psychological dysfunction and also at the fact that I wasted a few hours reading this book when I could have just read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas again. English Whatta shithead English A solid view of Hunter’s life from forty thousand feet. At times, the book lacked the depths of life that many of Thompson’s fans want to read about. Overall, a good starting point for those wanting to delve into the life of Gonzo. English Some good info and some good stories but I just felt like it fell short of my expectations. The writing was very bland. I feel like this could have been done a lot better even without the direct assistance of the king of Gonzo. Nonetheless, if you're a Hunter S Thompson fan it is still worth a read. English I’ve read most of the books written by Hunter S. Thompson, so it’s refreshing to read something about him from a different perspective. This book chronicles his life from birth to the early 90s. A lot of the material covered are things Hunter wrote about himself, but told from Paul Perry’s point of view, it feels much more honest. I always suspected a lot of what he wrote was not true, and that was reiterated here a lot. It’s also interesting to hear from others how wrapped up Hunter became in the persona he wrote around himself. I recommend this over the book his son Juan wrote, which I couldn’t finish. I blazed through this one pretty quick. English

more satisfying as a whole than the oral history bio by Wenner et al, although less vivid in some ways... Everyone seems to think it was a tragic waste of talent, the way this guy just spent his time as a burnout, ripping editors off and rarely producing quality work... And there are some very ugly suggestions in one or another of these biographies, as to the truly dangerous psychological make-up of Dr Thompson. But everyone should be given the space and information to form their own conclusions. And mine is about like this: Crazy, dangerous, ugly, or what - he lived like he wanted to live, and he died like he wanted to die. Who says producing quality work was his top priority? I think he wanted to spend his time drunk and high, naked on his porch in the sun... Which sounds wonderful to me. Selah. English I am finished with the book and I didn't want to put it down. I am tried to savor every page. I had seen the movie with Johnny Depp and I must say that both he and Terry Gilliam really nailed this book on the head when adapting it to the movie! It's a fun read for sure! Thompson was one crazy guy! English This book is definitely Awesome. English Perry's profile of Thompson, completed and published more than a decade before the journalist's death in 2005, is a much more likable read than its subject-matter. I have never been much of a Thompson fan and so I read this book in hopes of understanding what all the fuss is about. Perry does an admirable job of research and of mixing wild anecdote and legendary episodes alongside more banal details of the business of being a famous writer from whom much in the way of debauchery and excess is expected. On that front Thompson seldom disappointed his fans and acolytes, but he often disappointed editors and others who waited and hoped for his creativity to flow in the form of good writing. More than anyone else Thompson ends up reminding me of Jim Morrison, another person possessed of talent but whose greater daemon was the love of altered states of consciousness and the next wild scene. Both end up being entertaining side-shows in their respective artistic genres, in my opinion, and not the ground-breaking innovators and creators their most faithful fans regard them as being. Most of all they are emblems of a powerful, seductive, and deadly myth that drugs and alcohol fuel creative consciousness, though both also stand in my view as evidence of the bankruptcy of that myth. English Paul Perry's biography of Hunter gave me basically what I wanted: a relatively intimate look at the man's life. Spanning from his youth in Louisville, KY up through to 1990, it leaves some out (Like his death), but that can hardly be blamed on Perry since it was published in '92.

It reads well, splashed with anecdotes from the 100+ friends and colleagues Perry interviewed. One important part of this book is that it never dissolves into hero worship. Perry, who knew Hunter and was able to convince him to finish an article in the 80s which was a low time for for Hunter's creative output, puts it all in. Talk of drugs and debauchery are a given, but part of what really interested me was that a large portion of the book was devoted to Hunter's inability to produce compelling work when it was needed.

But, enough dwelling on the negative! The Hunter Thompson of the late sixties and the seventies is a force to reckoned with. Without skipping a beat, he combines debauchery and politics. Never one to keep his opinions to himself and never one to not attempt a good plan (no matter how ill-advised, rash, or just downright foolish), we get an account of everything Hunter had going in the seventies.

The book covers all major events Hunter was involved in up to 1990: From Drug addled good times to political reporting and schemes. Although probably not the best book on Hunter out there, it is definitely worth a read. English