Customer Reviews

The Proud Highway: Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman (Fear and Loathing Letters/Hunter S. Thompson, Vol 1)

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I read this book a few years ago, but never felt motivated to write a review until this sad day. HST killed himself last night--a tragic end to a savage, but noble, life. Over the years, I have read several of HSTs books and articles. They are all wildly original, fearless, brilliant, and (above all) LOL funny. Proud Highway is a fascinating read because it shows the evolution of HST's genius, from teenager through his maturation as a writer. You can see from the razor sharp, revealing letters the trials, tribulations, sacrifice, and hard work that transformed Thompson into the legendary, "gonzo" journalist he was. Despite his talent and humor, years of fear and loathing must have finally gotten to him. Rest in peace, Raoul Duke. You were a true American original and the world will be a poorer place without you.

I first picked up this volume when it was brand new and I was a freshman at USC, just entertaining the notion of becoming a writer. Now, some seven years later, I finally got around to getting my own copy and finishing it recently, I can say it was worth the wait.

Hunter S. Thompson may have only been thirty when the book comes to a close, but he does so much living in the 12 years detailed that one can't help but feel envious. From his stint in the Air Force to his various travels cross-country and to South America, Thompson remains a fiercely independent creature throughout his letters, heaping scorn and praise upon those he corresponds with as he sees fit. The bulk of the first part concerns Thompson's unfruitful look for a steady writing assignment early on, and one feels the sense of desperation and (dare I say) fear and loathing he builds up for the workaday world. Thompson's muse carries him far and wide, to outposts both remote (the heart of deepest South America) and wellknown (New York, San Francisco). Through it all, Thompson never loses sight of his original passion for the written word.

Some of the letters are to family or friends, with some fiery dispatches to entities Thompson felt had hurt him or America in some way (imagine writing a letter to Dubya like the ones Thompson wrote to LBJ without getting the Secret Service breathing down your neck). The friends that Thompson collects range from obvious (Hells Angels, other struggling literati), to the baffling (I had no idea Charles Kuralt and Thompson knew one another). Throughout, Thompson's savage wit and fiery temper burn through even the most customary notes to landlords or editors.

In some ways, Thompson's constant refrain of the "n-word" is disturbing to more modern readers, but like the great writers of the past he is a product of his times. To omit the phrase or other derogatory terms Thompson used in the original letters would be to deny the authenticity of his feelings, and once any initial shock wears off it becomes apparent that Thompson may not even be using the term to refer specifically to African-Americans. That was my only qualm with the content, and it's a credit to his maturity over the course of the years contained that Thompson seems to be far more liberal than his peers from Kentucky.

The first volume made me want to go out and buy the second right away, if only to see what predicaments the Great Gonzo finds himself in. No one wrote letters quite like HST, letters that could stand in their own right as bizarre snapshots of an America in transition. I've even found my own e-mail length increasing mightily since I began the book (for which I apologize to anyone from here on out who I send an unusally long e-mail to). You'll come away from this book with a deeper appreciation for the work Thompson has done to document the death of the American Dream. Captured within these pages are his first inklings that such a thing has come to pass.

From fellow journalists like William Kennedy and Tom Wolfe to LBJ and the NRA, Thompson's letters reflect the wide spectrum of Sixties personalities. Perhaps the most engaging character throughout is Thompson himself. For all his egotism, he is a great writer. The proof is in this book.

If you've never read any of Thompson's works, I recommend you *not* start with this one. Buy a used copy of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (it's a relatively short book), read it and see what you think. You'll probably draw one of two conclusions: 1.Thompson is some kind of psychotic who should be put under surveillance, or 2. You'll find his stories hilarious and unlike any you've read before.

If you end up in the latter category, then buy this book. It will immediately give you a sense of how this man grew into his profession and how he became the person he is. However, that is not to say it's necessarily an easy read. Like any treasure hunt, you'll have to do some digging to find the gems in this collection -- some passages are a bit dreary if not downright depressing. But every chapter contains stories or commentaries which are truly priceless. I started reading this book on a long flight across country; I laughed out loud so many times my fellow passengers probably wanted to strangle me. Hell, I wanted to strangle me ... but I couldn't help it. Thompson's commentaries on the powers that be, relationships, and a host of other subjects are so brutally funny it's impossible not to laugh aloud at times. Not if you have a pulse....

William J. Kennedy writes that odd things happen when you intersect with Hunter Thompson. Kennedy's introduction describes him as a masterful prose sylist. Douglas Brinkley, the editor, notes that Hunter Thompson took over Kierkegaard's phrase 'fear and loathing'. Thompson, Brinkely reports, had a ritual of typing letters at night. Brinkley believes that Orwell was a supreme influence of Thompson's style.

The letters written during Thompson's service in the Air Force evidence a young person literary to his finger tips. The editor uses notes to orient the reader by saying, for instance, now he is reading F. Scott FitzGerald, or John Dos Passos. Like many young people suffering from maladjustment, he was also reading with great interest THE OUTSIDER and THE FOUNTAINHEAD. Thompson worked as a copy boy at TIME. Henry Luce set up a free bar for the employees on Sunday evenings. Hunter details in one of the letters how he took some of Henry Luce's things.

After being fired by TIME for insubordination, Thompson went to work at the MIDDLETOWN DAILY RECORD. He lost that job when he abused the candy machine. He thought LIE DOWN IN DARKNESS was great and wrote a letter to William Styron. (Actually, by reading this collection I learned to take a more charitable view of the journalistic posturing and strutting engaged in by Ernest Hemingway as his way of overcoming the terrible resistance of the blank white page to literary production.)

Thompson moved to San Juan to write for a bowling newspaper. Photographs show Thompson the Outlaw of Big Sur and Joan Baez, his neighbor. It was 1961 and he was 33. Thompson had a piece on Big Sur accepted by ROGUE. When his piece was published he was evicted for spreading gossip in a smutty magazine. Thompson sold a short story to ROGUE.

In 1962 he was in Bogata, Colombia. He went on to Peru, Equador, Bolivia, and Brazil doing pieces for THE NATIONAL OBSERVER. Carey McWilliams of THE NATION had Hunter Thompson cover the Free Speech Movement. By 1966 Thompson had his book on the Hell's Angels ready for publication by Random House. In a letter to Tom Wolfe Thompson described Colorado as one of those squalid-shaped states.

The writing is very lively and energetic. The editor's presentation of Hunter Thompson is fair and sharp.

Hunter S. Thomson came to the conclusion at a very young age that he was brilliant, and as a result made a point of saving his letters to prove it. Before Gonzo was Gonzo there was Hunter S. Thomason the lover of the written word, and this collection of letters lets you in on the adventure of an author coming of age. Like the readers of Hemmingway and Kerouac, if you are a lover of Hunter S. Thompson's writing you are more than likely a lover of Hunter S. Thompson - This book is for you. Anyone not familiar with HST will find in this book the archetypical American idealist: self reliant, self directed and uncompromising. However what makes Thompson unique is that he is able to write very, very well, and in so doing his journey is told with vibrancy and power that can only be told by a man who has done much, thought a lot, and wrote even more.

Editor Douglas Brinkley has done an outstanding job arranging Thompson's "trunk load of letters" from a mix of miscellaneous correspondences into a brilliant historical look at the history of America over latter half of twentieth century.

Raise this book high and salute the will of a man to lay his life out in unsanitized words for all to see. This is a book that proves that the pen is not only mightier than the sword but leaves scars that cut deeper and last much longer. Not since Jack London's "Martin Eden" have I read such a terrifying account of a writer struggling against the forces in society that sneer and wag their self-righteous fingers at honesty, and even more so the will of the messenger to reveal it. Part anarchist and full iconoclast, Thompson takes on all comers from Hell's Angels to Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon and especially the low-life agents and editors that would steal thier mother's walking stick to fend off a writer coming after his (or her) due. If you enjoy Thompson's work this is a must read.

Did you ever secretly read someone's diary? You knew it was wrong but you couldn't help yourself. We do it because it offers a glimpse into a part of someone's personality that we may have not known. That's essentially what these letters are. When Thompson wrote them it's unlikely he ever intended for them to be open to the public. Although at one point he does make a prophetic statement about his suspicion that people like reading his letters better than his fiction. AND he did keep carbons of everything. No matter. This is completely entertaining. It's fascinating to the see the evolution of his writing and depth of his intellect. He really grows fangs and claws along the way and uses them, usually hilariously, to rip people to shreds. He says the things that we would want to but are afraid to. No one is off limits. Unfortunately, his incredible talent as a writer is overshadowed by his reputation for consuming freakish amounts of booze and pills. Everyone loves a freak show, right? But this shows his power--what made him great. If you're a writer, you'll especially love it. One note: If you've never read any Hunter Thompson, start with his breakout book, Hell's Angels, and then move here. Not only does Proud Highway culminate with the release of that book (which erupted Thompson's fame) but it also rumbles with energy and is a heck of a lot of fun.

First, a disclaimer. Yes I realize that this, the volume that follows and the as of yet unreleased third volume, are all meant for die-hard fans and not introductory reading. Some would go so far as to claim that HST is now simply pandering and stoking his own personality cult.
That being said, despite whatever suspected intentions this book came out under, it has become one of my favorite "autobiography/memior collections" (shudder) ever. Any person interested in writing, travelling or living the unorthodox lifestyles we all really want to live, should read this while they're doing it.
The collection follows Thompson from his Louisville days editing the school newspaper and getting chased around by the local cops, to up-state NY, California and Colorado, all while trying to sell his first pieces of writing to magazines and newspapers and maintaining a life halfways on the road, halfways in the strangest of circles in the 1960s. Readers get to see the frustration (and hunger) of trying to make a living on words alone, then later the joy (and drinks) that success on one's own terms can bring.
In order to put the critics' claims to rest, I would say that even if this book were someone else's letters it would still be fantastic. That is to say, HST's "image" doesn't really play any role in making this a better read, but then again if that's what you're looking for, you might do better with "Fear and Loathing".

I have just got through reading this collection of Letters and found it to be worthwhile reading. I received the book as a gift and was not aware of a Fear and Loathing Letters Volume. I found this to be a highway of following (if anyone possibly could) and watching Thompson grow as a writer. While at the Air Force Base working as an editor of the Sports Section, he wrote to his family and friends as well as ex-girlfriends. Probably because he was away from home for the first time.

As the years go on the more this book became more interesting. Between following all over this country we follow him to South America were some of his best articles came from. I have read Hell's Angels and The Great Shark Hunt and found this to tie in with those books. Through his consumption of Old Crow and god only knows what else, we see letters to LBJ, various magazine editors, and Mr. Semonin and start to see the Hunter we all know and love to come out. The thing that makes him "likeable" is his blunt honesty, since he calls them as he sees them. He is intelligent and knows a lot about everything. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to read Thompson!

If anything this book offers a chance to see what makes this amazing mind tick!

This book, more than anything, collapses under its own weight. I genuinely enjoyed the read, but in retrospect there were too many times when I skipped to the end to see how much longer the book would go. With exhaustive editing it would be a formidable volume, but certain personal and business letters do no benefit to the collection as a whole.

It almost functions as an autobiography... almost. I have a much better understanding of the late Mr. Thompson now, and admire his unhinged style of correspondence, but could have gotten the same point from less letters covering the same period of time. Like any good punk rock band, the shorter the song the better.

The highest points are his moments of prophecy, which I will not ruin for those who plan to read this book. Hunter's ability to identify patterns and apply them to the political arena is astounding, and his observations on such are the best parts of the book.

This is a good read for a patient reader who is rabid about the godfather of gonzo.