Customer Reviews

Songs of the Doomed: More Notes on the Death of the American Dream Gonzo Papers

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This is an excellent introduction to the range of Thompson's writings though the early 1990's. It includes samples of his two early novels (Prince Jellyfish, The Rum Diary) and articles and excerpts from his later journalism and fiction ("Let The Trials Begin" is worth the price of the book).No duplication of material fromThe Great Shark Hunt, his earlier collection. An excellent audio version was realeased when the book was first published.
This book gives you some idea of what he was up to during the time covered by the two volumes of letters he's published and shows that his humor and sense of outrage have matured better than, say, Mark Twain's during a comparable stretch of his writing career.

HST never ceases to amaze me - since being introduced to the man's work by Warren Ellis' TRANSMETROPOLITAN I have eagerly devoured the good doctor's many works. Yet none of them can hold a candle to "Songs of the Doomed". If HST were a musician (and he is, on occasion, but I digress) then this book would be his greatest hits: an easily accessible compliation of the greatest "bits" of Gonzo from the past thirty years. Excerpts from "The Rum Diary", all the Fear and Loathing books, his short stories, his journalistic pieces from South America... even Hunter's fourth amendment battle with the sherrif of Pitkin County (which delayed "Better than Sex" for some time) is mentioned, showing that the Doctor has no shame, nothing to hide but a hell of a lot to tell anyone intelligent enough to listen.

Follow Dr. Hunter S. Thompson on his manic trail of drugs, degeneracy, and discovery through the sixties, seventies, and into the eighties, a decade he has labeled the "Generation of Swine." The good Doctor is at it once again, and no one is safe from his hilarious yet amazingly accurate social commentary. Relax and let Thompson fill your body and soul with horrible tales from the death of the American Dream and other demoralizing corners of modern life.

Songs of the Doomed contains Thompson's famous article about the Pulitzer divorce trial, "Bad Craziness in Palm Beach: I Told Her it Was Wrong," which is the summit of ths poignant book. Dr. Thompson delves into a life reserved for the seriously rich. A place where "price tags mean nothing and pampered animals are worshiped openly in churches...the rules are different here, and the people seem to like it that way...there are bizarre trials over money occasionally and hideous scandals like a half-mad 80 year-old heiress trying to marry her teenage Cuban butler."

So relax, enjoy and "Let the good times roll!"

The Grateful Dead coined the phrase, "what a long strange trip it's been." This has been oh so true for Dr. Thompson throughout his writing career, so his book Songs of the Damned, goes to show. A collection of writings done by Thompson giving glimpses, grim memories and bad flash backs, into an eventful and often intoxicated career.
This book stands as a time line for Thompson's literary career. With excerpts from almost all of his books, there is a little bit of something for all of his many different fans. From the Rum Diary, to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, which are two of my personal favorites, to Washington politics from the 70's to the 90's. With this book you get little parts of all his books, as well as his letters to editors, and others of numerous magazines. There are a few letters to Colonel Giang of the North Vietnamese PRG, in 1975, in which Dr. Thompson wanted to meet with the Col. I would suggest this book for the die-hard Thompson fan as well as someone who has never read a book by him before, It's full of Thompson's ravings, and the Gonzo journalism that he is known for.

I've been digging the audiobooks version of this book for several years now.Dr.T. is a man who knows his limitations, and so most of the readings are done by people who by standards of technique might be considered better.His own sections are thereby thrown into relief. Repeated listenings of the "Cherokee Park" segment of "Prince Jellyfish" continue to be a revelation of fictional technique. Makes you want to read the whole book."Let The Trials Begin" is primo Thompson.

I guess I had too high of hopes reading hunter thompson. The short stories are ok, but nothing compared to his other works. Move on to the next hunter book if you are getting into his work.

We miss you Hunter, great book in affordable collection. I highly recommend this and all other HST books! GONZO RULES!

There are some unforgettable pieces in here. Anyone interested in the good doctor won't want to miss his account of the trials that beset him in the late 1980s and how he dodged that bullet,rightly and humorously so. Also, many other interwoven HST "specials." Highly recommended. He gave me a hand-signed copy, and so it couldn't be more significant to me. It reads like the fast-speed, highly illustrated Hunter we love.Keep This Quiet! My Relationship with Hunter S. Thompson, Milton Klonsky, and Jan Mensaert

Rating - 7/10

Summary -Thompson shows his readers that he still hasn't lost his fastball. This collection is uneven - and not Thompson's best - but fans will still enjoy it.

Review - After Hunter S. Thompson's dreadful Generation of Swine (1988), I was tempted to write him off as a total has-been. Swine was so bad that I thought that HST might finally have gone "one toke over the line" and lost his muse, forever. Songs of the Doomed, then, is a nice surprise - a modest success that will appeal to HST's devoted fans.

The best stuff in Songs is fantastic. In a section on the 1960s, Thompson gives some history on some of his famous works. In an excellent, short 1976 piece titled "High-Water Mark" (pp. 140-142), Thompson recounts what it was like to participate in the 1960s; he realized - even then - that the experience would not come again. Another favorite is "I Told Her It Was Wrong" (pp. 191-206) - a pure-Gonzo, Rolling Stone article on the Roxanne Pulitzer divorce trial in Palm Beach. There are several other great pieces in Songs.

As much as I enjoyed the short articles, Song's real treats were excerpts from two unpublished novels. The first is Prince Jellyfish, a coming-of-age tale set in 1950s Manhattan. The excerpts of Jellyfish - while only pretty good - are interesting, as Thompson's first (known) attempt at a novel. Even better is The Silk Road, a novel set in the Florida Keys during the Mariel boat lift (1980). The tale concerns drug and immigrant smuggling, a sexual triangle, and lots of Gonzo behavior. Chances are that both novels remain unfinished, or finished only in draft form. So, Thompson's fans will pine over "what might have been" after reading the excerpts.

Though I am a Songs fan, it has drawbacks - which are also apparent in Thompson's other late-career writing. The material is uneven and the reader has to wade through the failures to get to the gems. (Am I mixing my metaphors?). Apparently, Thompson was - as usual - short on material and filled in by reprinting old material; unfortunately, Thompson repeated the same material in multiple books. (For instance, "Midnight on the Coast Highway" is here and in at least two other books).

Perhaps the most-disappointing aspect of doomed is Thompson's coverage of his "lifestyle bust" in 1990 when he was hit with eight felony charges after a hot-tub party at his home went very wrong. (Thompson was exonerated). Songs concludes with HST's coverage of the case, but the section relies - not on HST's writing - but on notes from attorneys, newspaper stories, etc. I can understand why Thompson spent his time fighting the charges, but the reader wants of his take on the case.

Songs of the Doomed is a qualified success. Thompson would have his renaissance in the 1990s and 2000s, though, he never matched the groundbreaking Hell's Angels (1966), Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1971), and Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail (1973). Still, Songs of the Doomed is well worth a look for Thompson's loyal followers.

OK, it's been a while since I read this, but remember it being essential Hunter S. Thompson writing. It's a broad mix of stuff, I guess from his early career to 1990. I think this is the third installment of the Gonzo Papers, including Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail 72'. I think it is a collection of essays which span all the above years, and they have been very carefully selected. I think this is Hunter in prime form and would recommend it to any Thompson reader. I know this doesn't tell anyone anything specifically, but trust in my "gestalted" memory, this is a keeper or I wouldn't have bothered to re-purchase it many years later(I bought it in the 90's...) So we will all have to dig in to some kickin' Thompson. It's on my stack. This is one of his best efforts, I believe. Happy reading! Songs of the Doomed: More Notes on the Death of the American Dream