Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream

A 60's style drug trip in the 70's. Only a decade a part in time, but an age apart in form. Lawlessness vs. law-and-order, by a true life breather. A final cry from the peace and love generation; a time when Americans weren't afraid. Don't be fooled by the movie adaptation: you're looking at one of the finest pieces of literature of our time.

That so many people have tried to justify, make sense of and interpret Thompson's pseudo-fiction in literal terms only indicates how many asinine, clueless people have read this magnificently absurd book. All that's required when reading HST's drug-addled interpretation of his misadventures with Acosta is to simply ingest, and to set your inhibitive sense of reality aside while doing so.

In his correspondence, literature and journalism, HST ably explains how he rode the crest, slope and break of the most exciting, disheveled period in the history of American culture. His written discourse is invaluable for obtaining a clear understanding of a muddled and dynamic era, where dysfunction of many varieties constituted the norm and both the freedom afforded by a permissive society and its' technological advances were exploited for enormous personal gain. In a time when America is descending into a sanitized quagmire of mediocrity and sedation, we could only hope for so much.

I read this book years ago. Like everything else from the 60's that seemed hip and inspirational back then....it now seems dated and ridiculous. Reading it is kinda like watching a black and white movie that is suppose to be a classic but just seems old.

So this book is just a 200 page hallucinogenic drug fueled anecdote about going to Vegas to write about the Mint 400. Big deal. There's nothing more to it. If you are vaguely curious about what goes on in the mind of a hallucinogenic drug user, this is for you. It's NOT funny nor is it deeply introspective. It's just two old hippie burnouts getting "freaked out" all over Vegas, irritating everyone around them, the reader included. It got old really fast.

A fine introduction to the life and times of Hunter S. Thompson. In addition to the obvious theme of drug abuse, Hunter S. Thompson also channels the counterculture in its search for the 'authentic', complete with the typical anti-authoritarian outlook. With unexpected poise, he pushed the boundaries of deviance and dissent to the point that one might think this guy was a hero for cruising the highway whilst intoxicated on a myriad of substances.