Fear and Loathing: The Strange and Terrible Saga of Hunter S. Thompson [Paperback]

Paul Perry (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 18, 1992

SPECIAL: Autographed by the author! 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.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This unauthorized biography takes off only when Perry, a former editor of Running magazine, describes the wacky/scary experience of engaging legendary gonzo journalist Thompson to report on the Honolulu Marathon in 1980, and when Thompson's illustrator sidekick Ralph Steadman tells of Thompson's paranoid trip to cover a heavyweight title bout in Zaire. Otherwise, Perry ( On the Bus ) interweaves insights from Thompson's associates with excerpts from Thompson's writings to produce a straightforward portrait far less manic than its subject is purported to be. The author describes the young Hunter as a wild drinker and voracious reader like his mother, and a poor kid who was an outsider among the Louisville elite. He traces Thompson's career from military sportswriter to gonzo glory in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas to his covering of the 1972 presidential campaign. Thompson acknowledged that only 75% of what he wrote was accurate. Nor does Perry ignore Thompson's prodigious use of drugs and alcohol, violence toward women, attempts at writing fiction and his bizarre race for sheriff of Aspen in 1970. By the 1970s, the author writes, Thompson became a prisoner of his image, and perhaps because of this Perry's account of Thompson's last decade is thin. Photos not seen by PW. 50,000 first printing; author tour.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

Oh! That sleazy brain-damaged cretinous BASTARD! Don't ask me about him again. --Ralph Steadman

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Product Details

• Paperback: 274 pages
• Publisher: Thunder's Mouth Press; 2nd edition (March 18, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560256052
• ISBN-13: 978-1560256052
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,819,491 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

About Paul (Contact: [e-mail])
Paul Perry (www.paulperryproductions.com)is the co-author of several New York Times bestsellers, including Closer to the Light, Transformed by the Light and Saved by the Light, which was made into a popular movie by Fox-TV. His work has appeared in National Geographic Adventure, Outside Magazine, Reader's Digest, and several other popular periodicals. His books have been published in more than 30 languages around the world.

In 1986 Paul's interest in the effects and meaning of near-death experiences led him to a professional involvement with Dr. Raymond Moody, considered to be the founder of near-death studies. The two have written five books together (Paranormal, Glimpses of Eternity, The Light Beyond, Coming Back and Reunions). All tolled he has written or co-written 10 books on the subject of near-death experiences, four of which have become New York Times bestsellers.

Paul is also a documentary filmmaker whose work has appeared on worldwide television. His best known film, Jesus, the Lost Years was first the subject of a book he wrote for Random House, Jesus in Egypt, which follows the trail believed to be used by the Holy Family as they fled into Egypt to escape the murderous soldiers of King Herod. He returned to Egypt to produce and direct Visions and Miracles: Out of the Land of Egypt, a documentary film that chronicles modern visions that are confirmed by film or video or with scientific evidence, as with miraculous healings (www.visionsandmiracles.com). His most recent documentary, AFTERLIFE, tackles the fascinating subject of near-death experiences and interviews scientists who have researched proof of a life after death. It also features a number of people who have died and returned to tell their astounding stories (www.paulperryproductions.com).

Paul is a graduate of Arizona State University and a former fellow at the prestigious Gannett Center for Media Studies at Columbia University in New York City. He taught magazine writing at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon, and was Executive Editor at American Health magazine, a winner of the National Magazine Awards for General Excellence. Since becoming a full-time writer, Paul has written or co-written more than books on a variety of subjects, from the paranormal to piracy.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Gonzo exposed, October 2, 2000

By 

George Schaefer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fear and Loathing: The Strange and Terrible Saga of Hunter S. Thompson (Paperback)

I became a Hunter S Thompson fan early on. It was high school when I was in my more radical, experimental phase. Reading Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas was a whirlwind event. I had never encountered anything like it before. It was a bit more than my teenage mind could handle. HST immediately shot up the ranks of my favorite authors. He was explosive and also more accessible than the beats. There was always a sense of awe whenever the name of Hunter Thompson was invoked. The blend of journalism with fiction was a unique blend. It also seemed at times to hit on the truth more accurately than a lot of serious journalism. But before I go off about HST, let me get back to the bio at hand. This is not an authorized biography but I feel that it does shed some light on Thompson. It would seem that perhaps Thompson is receiving a bit of his own medicine here. Perry does give us some information on Thompson's childhood. He also gets into the early years of Thompson's career before the legend of Gonzo was born. This does help explain the development of this hick from Kentucky into a world renown icon of gonzo journalism. I would grant that a more definitive bio of HST could be written. There are others that I have yet to read. I was happy to get the info this book offers. I should tide me over until I read those books. HST is a fascinating figure in 20th Century America. This book is one piece to help solve the puzzle.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars For Hunter Fans Only, June 18, 1999

By 

Lukas Jackson (Los Angeles, California United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fear and Loathing: The Strange and Terrible Saga of Hunter S. Thompson (Paperback)

If you're expecting the blazing intensity of "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," it is definitely not here. Perry is not Thompson. His writing is just barely adequate. I would recommend this book only to those who, like myself, are fascinated by Hunter S. Thompson and want to know more about the man. This book is overly long and drags at points. Some of the funniest and most exciting stories are marred by a writing style that borders on the drab. But we do get insights into the real Hunter S. Thompson, even if these insights do mar the illusion of perfect madness that is presented in "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas."

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars a 2-way tie for last, April 23, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Fear and Loathing: The Strange and Terrible Saga of Hunter S. Thompson (Paperback)

Like too many would-be Thompson fans, Perry is one of those waterheads who've helped wreck much of the Doctor's inisght and talent by praising the wrong tendencies. Yes, Thompson is a maverick. Yes, he has the guts to say things others would not dare breathe, and to do so with poetic incision. The fact he enjoys hoovering cocaine and sucking back Chivas Regal sno-cones may be intriguing. But the insight, the intelligence, the wit and the writing are why we read Thompson. Perry's "book" spends most of its worthless time working bad variations on the hackneyed theme of "that Hunter -- he's ka-ray-zee." Gee, really, Paul? If the book's inane superficiality weren't criminal enough, Perry compounds it by delivering his fake insights in jarring, scrambled syntax and a stinky combination of mangled metaphor and clumsy clichŽ. The final insult is a copy-editing job that leaves the wretched tome rife with glaring spelling, grammatical and factual errors. (They misspelled "Scottsdale AZ" in the "About The Author" note.) This book bites just as badly as E. Jean Carroll's execrable fiasco, but for different reasons. Avoid at all costs. Of the three bigraphies of Thompson printed in 1993, the only one worth reading is Peter Whitmer's. I know. I slogged through all three while reviewing them for The Globe & Mail, Canada's national newspaper.