Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72 - Hunter S. Thompson

The strangest thing about his rambling, angry, often incoherent collection of a year's worth of political writing is that there are actually moments of genuine, clear insight. Somehow, the late Dr. Thompson's unorthodox journalism manages to capture - or reflect - the true nature of the American political process - maddening, gruesome, something akin to a meat grinder that threatens to destroy the sanity and stability of everyone involved, so long as they have a sliver of humanity in them. Indeed, by the final pages, Thompson himself is unwell, and unable even to write - at times bare transcripts are given in place of his trademark narration. Through his suffering he appears to have gained something of an inside understanding of how our country works, and as a self-labeled power junkie, Thompson seems to intuit (and still deplore) what motivates the maneuvers of many politicians. Alternatively hilarious (as in his account of crashing a pro-Nixon youth rally), tedious (he throws out a lot of numbers), and incomprehensible, this is ultimately an entertaining and enlightening account of a bizarre aspect of America; and readers may notice some uncanny resemblances between the events of the '72 election and many of our recent ones.

Worth Reading
3 out of 5
Buy this book: Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72