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Or if you really enjoyed this, skip right to Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga[1]. Bonus if you currently live in the Bay area, because that's where mu
by derwiki 13y ago
Or if you really enjoyed this, skip right to Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga[1]. Bonus if you currently live in the Bay area, because that's where much of the story is set. It was Thompson's first "breakthru" book and (in my opinion) one of his much more coherent writings.
[1] http://www.amazon.com/Hells-Angels-Strange-Terrible-Saga/dp/0345410084 http://www.amazon.com/Hells-Angels-Strange-Terrible-Saga/dp/...
- dmix 13y agoHST's fiction and even most non-fiction journalism was never as good as his letters to his friends (his friends included famous Beat writers and 1960s literary legends). His writing quality follow this hierarchy: Letters -> Journalism -> Fiction Largely due to his inability to focus on long works due to his (hilariously) reckless lifestyle. He was brilliant in small short pieces. I learned this having read nearly all of his work over the last 5 years. I recommend his collection of letters, published across a 3 book series, which he preserved over the years from being teenager in the 1950s to becoming a famous journalist in the late 60s. http://www.amazon.com/The-Proud-Highway-Desperate-Gentleman/dp/0345377966/ http://www.amazon.com/The-Proud-Highway-Desperate-Gentleman/... For example one of his letters that went viral recently, written while he was 20: http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/11/04/hunter-s-thomspon-letters-of-note-advice/ http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/11/04/hunter-s-t...
- hv23 13y agoI’ll have to check this one out! Also highly recommended — "The Great Shark Hunt", a collection of his pieces through the 60s and 70s. "Hell's Angels" is marvelous, "Fear and Loathing” is probably his best-known, but nothing quite covers the range of HST's work like this book. http://www.amazon.com/The-Great-Shark-Hunt-Strange/dp/0743250451 http://www.amazon.com/The-Great-Shark-Hunt-Strange/dp/074325...
- benihana 13y agoYep! The Kentucky Derby piece as well as the Strange Rumblings essay are both in The Great Shark Hunt as well as some really interesting political commentary and hilarious stories about the NFL.
- the_watcher 13y agoGreat recommendation! I've always had trouble with his book-length works, but have loved almost every piece I've read for him that was published as journalism.
- singingfish 13y agoAnd his best book by far was Hells Angels. Followed by a tie between Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and the one about the McGovern Campaign.
- splatcollision 13y agoAgree that the letters are excellent - have they published the third volume yet?