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

I could find absolutely nothing of "redemptive value" to this story. I thought there might be a some kind of "lesson" to be learned at the end, but that wasn't the case. No consequence for illegal, immoral choices and actions. A tale of debachery, disrepect, drug use promotion, vandalism and total hedonism. I'm not a right-wing, Bible-thumping, ultra-conservative, but I could not, would not recommend this book to anyone!

I know, it's THE Hunter S. Thompson book. It would be like having the gall to write a review for the Grapes of Wrath or Slaughterhouse Five and think you'd be doing anything other than blabbing just to see your own words on a computer screen.

That said, read this book this instant. Whatever good anyone's ever said about this book, it's twenty times better. I read it in two sittings and only stopped myself from reading it again because it was a library book and had to be returned.

The late HST's gift for gonzo, that strange mix of fiction and nonfiction, is ultimately realized in this book. Reality is seamlessly mixed with a bizarre fantasy world of sentient reptiles and split personality through the medium of hard drugs that serve to clarify (and sometimes amplify) a violent and twisted town in a strange time.

This book will have you laughing hysterically at parts, so don't read it around other people unless you're okay with passing it to them. This book will have you cringing at the brutality of human nature at points, so have your wits about you.

I really can't say anything else, other than that this book must be purchased and read this very instant if you haven't already done so.

Thompson's book helps create a vivid picture of the drug fueled 60's and early 70's a way no one else has before.

¨Fear and Loathing¨ is a great ride for sure. A drug-addled, hilarious, disturbing romp through Las Vegas in search of the American Dream. Thompson is definitely a skilled writer and an outlaw and this stuff comes through in this book. I don't want to shrug this work off by any means, but I definately prefer his other work, such as ¨The Great Shark Hunt,¨ because it truly brings out Thompson's outlook on the world, his hatred of wealth, power and greed, etc. This book is fun, but Thompson is definitely capable of more depth and thought. While this work might be what gave him his big break, he definitely went on to better things.

A bizzare journey to the heart of the American Dream, funny, witty and full of memorable episodes. The illustrations by Ralph Steadman are also superb. Raul Duke says it clearly : "buy the ticket...take the ride"