The Book is Better Than the Movie!
By Eggy on
"Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" has been called by some critics the most important book of the twentieth century.
It is a story about the pursuit of truth and enlightenment in the aftermath of the tumultuous 60s.
Written in 1971, Dr. Thompson takes the reader on a wild ride from Los Angeles to Las Vegas to cover a motorcycle race and then a police convention for a popular magazine.The protagonist, Raoul Duke and his 300 pound Samoan Attorney fight their way through a number of challenges presented by the constraints of the civilized world.
Hunter Thompson, in reality a long time writer for Rolling Stone Magazine, created the whole genre of "Gonzo Journalism" - where the writer and the story become helplessly entwined.Thompson died by his own hand in 2005 and his remains were subsequently shot from a cannon in Woody Creek, Colorado.
The book is tastefully illustrated by Ralph Steadman, a famous Welsh caricaturist.
This book is not for everybody; The sensitive reader might be put off by some of the extreme behavior and language.
