Hardcover-3 page Forward by Jann Wenner, publisher of Rolling Stone Magazine (RS) and Thompson's friend, 8 page Introduction by writer Paul Scanlon, 561 pages of text, and Acknowledgments page. The book contains no photographs or other reproductions, except the cover photo. Interspersed throughout is a very small sampling of correspondence between RS publisher Wenner and Thompson, which tries to tie together the various pieces used in this book. But the various pieces (and I mean pieces) of writing lose most, if not all, their effectiveness used the way Wenner has done here. He should be ashamed of himself for exploiting Thompson's name and writing in this manner.
Depending on how you view this book, it may simply be a money generating effort (which I believe), or as a kind of (very) loose, alternative biography (?) of Hunter Thompson and his (early) years at RS, as seen through heavily edited excerpts of his writing. If (like me) you've read all of Thompson's writing over the years-including his books and articles published in RS-you won't glean anything in the way of information about Thompson's life and/or writing. But for some new readers, they will find Thompson's take on America and the legal/political machine-and the people involved-during some intense years interesting. But purchase the original books as written by Thompson. The "star" rating is used as a loose guide for people who've read nothing of Thompson's writings.
This is a look, using Thompson's writing and some "correspondence" between Wenner and Thompson, at the "Hunter Thompson era" at RS. Is it interesting? Yes-maybe if you're new to Thompson and the many articles published in RS over a number of years. But to most readers this will read as a travesty. It's no accident that Thompson's name is listed at the bottom of the masthead of RS (along with Ralph J. Gleason), because in the early years of the magazine, Thompson helped define a new style of writing, in a new type of magazine, for a new generation-primarily those who came of age in the late 1960's/early 70's. During his years at RS (especially), his articles were looked forward to by many people. I still remember pouring over his pieces (like many others) as they appeared in the magazine, all these years later. And (perhaps) the best thing this book does, with this "overview" of his writing is bring back those uncertain, exciting times. If you weren't there during that era, this book will give you a small, confusing glimmer of what things were like "back then". But-the original pieces are the true test and proof of HT's writing style.
This overview "begins" in 1970, and Thompson's slightly weird run for sheriff of Aspen, where he lived in his "fortified compound". From there we read part of a piece on the murder of Ruben Salazar by a Los Angeles sheriff's deputy, who shot a tear gas bomb into a bar where Salazar was sitting, killing him. Thompson's crazed trip to Las Vegas, to a law and order convention is also here-with some of that long articles best writing-but again, read the original. Of course no book of Thompson's writing would be complete without his twisted look at politics in the early 1970's. His writing on politics is really the meat of this book-if you can call it that. From McGovern to Nixon to Clinton-politics, as seen through Thompson's strained, slightly delirious eyes-is laid out as political writing had never been done before. But the pieces are so cut up that the real depth of Thompson's style is lost. The book effectively ends with a piece on George Bush, who Thompson despised about as much as he did Richard Nixon. In between is a lot of demented, twisted writing-writing that nonetheless seemed to open up and shine a light on "the American dream" as never before. But this has been pieced together in such a way that it's effectiveness is questionable.
But this book can also be seen as a "biography" (as such) on Rolling Stone Magazine, and the generation who were fast becoming aware of the political scene in America. Thompson was given the title, head of the "National Affairs Desk" at RS, and he used that title (and quite possibly some weird substances) to go wherever the story might take him-and to some places only in his mind's eye. But that's what made Thompson's writing so electric, so alive, so pertinent, and sometimes so unalterably twisted. There's a reason that Thompson was included in the recent (well worth reading) book "Deadline Artists-America's Greatest Newspaper Columns". His writing speaks to people about something important-and his inclusion in that collection, along with many other of our greatest columnists, is certainly secure and proper. But reading this "collection" by Wenner and his minions would make one wonder if his inclusion was a mistake.
If you've only read his book on the Hell's Angels, this collection of writing will not be an eye-opener. This is a book for anyone who isn't truly interested in knowing more about Thompson's writing, and about those years (1970-2004) of great change in America covered in the book. And while it took a new kind of magazine (with Ralph Gleason's help and encouragement) like Rolling Stone, who steadily published Thompson's work, to the delight of a new generation, this isn't any place to start. If you come across something appealing-then investigate the entire piece in the pertinent book-you'll find more of the same, and then some-but with the true Hunter Thompson feel. Thompson was unique-from his early boyhood to his days in the Armed Forces, to the era this book covers. The book "Gonzo: The Life of Hunter S. Thompson", is a biography worth reading, if you want to know what made him tick. He had a way of distilling things down to their basic components, and then shining a clear light on what he found. This book is not a good example of that. America could use a writer of Thompson's caliber today, but this book won't enlighten you as to why.
