You mean the guy that lives in Woody Creek with a shitload of firearms? The guy that ran for Sheriff of Pitkin County (Aspen) on the "Freak Power Ticket"? The guy that wrote "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas"? The guy that covered Nixon's '68 campaign in a psychedelic haze? The guy that was the subject of the Movie with Bill Murray playing him called "Where the Buffalo Roam"? And also played by Johnny Depp in "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas"? The guy that had his address in the phone book as the "Hotel Jerome Bar"? The guy that wrote "Fear and Loathing at the Watergate" for Rolling Stone Magazine (when people still read it)? That guy? NOPE....NEVER HEARD OF HIM! Peace, rs7
I just read "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" three weeks ago... It was thouroughly amusing, but not much more... I do however look foward to reading some of his non-fiction... any suggestions Rs or Surf?
Find Fear and Loathing at the Watergate (not sure how...check out amazon....it was a series in Rolling Stone). What makes you think that Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas was not "non-fiction"....it was his reality. His coverage of a motorcycle race if I recall (read it almost 30 years ago). The Hells Angels book is supposed to be very good. I have not read it. Just heard good things about it. I did sit next to the Good Dr. HST on a flight......an amazing experience. Just beyond belief. It was a very short flight....Denver to Aspen. He drank a 6 pack of beer (early morning) before we left the tarmac. He couldn't smoke until we were in the air. He had a salt shaker full of cocaine which he half emptied before we landed, and he smoked about 10 cigarettes in the 45 minutes we were in the air (with his trademark cigarette holder). And he made me laugh. But I made him laugh too...one of my claims to fame. BTW, he did not offer to share any of his stuff. I did on another occasion knock back a few shots of tequila with him.....he liked my dog. Peace, Rs7
OK Publias, I had another thought. If you thought that "Fear and Loathing in LV" was just amusing, and you thought it was "fictionalized" (at least), here is a suggestion. Read what I consider one of the great History books of the times that created the good Dr. Thompson. "The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test" by Tom Wolf. Non fiction account of Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters. Completely accurate, and if you have read Wolf, you know the standard of his writing. This book should be required in all college's American History courses. I think Hunter Thompson may even be one of the characters. (read this one MORE than 30 years ago...it was almost current then Better now for sure! Then, after reading the book, rent the Woodstock Movie. It will make a bit more sense. Wavy Gravy. The Hog Farm. Timothy Leary. Neal Cassidy, and of course Ken (One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest) Kesey. Oh yeah, the Hells Angels connection to the "counterculture" is brought to light too. Money back guarantee from yours truly if you don't come away enlightened. Peace, my friend of many Pseudonymes, rs7
Just another doped up drunk refusing to take responsibility for moronic antics and getting way too much attention for it. Mediocre writer at best. Bill O'Reilly keeps looking better and better.
Tom Wolfe is "just another doped up drunk"? A "mediocre writer at best"? Glad you told me that. I did not know this until I read your post. Thanks, Rs7
Don't get me wrong Rs - the man had much to say in the book, but it was obviously a fictionalized account (no one that hopped up on mescaline and amphetamines could ever verbalize and then transfer his actual experiences in the desert, unless of course he is Aldous Huxley locked in a room and constantly blabbering into a tape recorder)... I think I could have taken his rants on America and the 'end of the dope age' just a little more seriously if I was not laughing my ass off about Gonzo the lawyer, the poor hitchiker, flaying bats, etc.. throughout the entire book Which is what I meant by saying that I am looking foward to his 'less fictionalized' works... Tom Wolfe's 'Electric Koolaid' was lovely, although I'd be hard pressed to say I came away from it 'enlightened' Also checkout Kesey's Demon Box if you liked Koolaid Have you read 'Bonfires'? I own it, but have not read it yet... PEACE my friend, Commisso