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Powell's Staff: New Literature in Translation: December 2022 and January 2023 (0 comment)
It may be a new year, this may be a list of new books, but our love for literature in translation hasn’t changed at all, and we are so pleased to be enthusiastically recommending these recent releases. On this list, you’ll find a Spanish novel where controversy swirls around a Coca-Cola billboard...
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  • Kelsey Ford: Five Book Friday: Year of the Rabbit (1 comment)

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

by Hunter S Thompson
Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream

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  • Synopses & Reviews

ISBN13: 9780679785897
ISBN10: 0679785892
Condition: Standard


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Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is the best chronicle of drug-soaked, addle-brained, rollicking good times ever committed to the printed page. It is also the tale of a long weekend road trip that has gone down in the annals of American pop culture as one of the strangest journeys ever undertaken.

Now this cult classic of gonzo journalism is a major motion picture from Universal, directed by Terry Gilliam and starring Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro.

Review

"[A] kind of mad, corrosive prose poetry that picks up where Norman Mailer's An American Dream left off and explores what Tom Wolfe left out." Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, The New York Times

Review

"Among journalists I have but one hero, and that is Dr. Hunter S. Thompson. I honor him because he reports the simple facts, in plain language, of what he sees around him. His style is mistaken for fantastic, drug-crazed exaggeration, but that was to be expected. As always in this country, they only laugh at you when you tell the truth. Dr. Thompson's problem is how to equal, without merely imitating, the scholarly precision of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. He is really much more than a journalist. Not a journalist at all, but one who sees — a seer." Edward Abbey

Synopsis

50th Anniversary Edition - With an introduction by Caity Weaver, acclaimed New York Times journalist

This cult classic of gonzo journalism is the best chronicle of drug-soaked, addle-brained, rollicking good times ever committed to the printed page. It is also the tale of a long weekend road trip that has gone down in the annals of American pop culture as one of the strangest journeys ever undertaken.

Also a major motion picture directed by Terry Gilliam, starring Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro.


About the Author

Hunter S. Thompson (July 18, 1937 – February 20, 2005) was an American journalist and author. He was known for his flamboyant writing style, most notably deployed in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, which blurred the distinctions between writer and subject, fiction and nonfiction.

The best source on Thompson's writing style and personality is Thompson himself. His books include Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga (1966), Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream (1972), Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 (1973); The Great Shark Hunt: Strange Tales from a Strange Time (1979); The Curse of Lono (1983); Generation of Swine, Gonzo Papers Vol. 2: Tales of Shame and Degradation in the 80's (1988); and Songs of the Doomed (1990).


4.5 8

What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating 4.5 (8 comments)

`
AliceMays , September 05, 2016
Nice book, I was reading that on my way to Vegas last year where I went with o-vegas.com

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serena van vranken , January 01, 2013
This was my favorite book I read in 2012! It was an amazing crazy journey to accompany me along my travels in Costa Rica! :)

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nrlymrtl , July 30, 2012 (view all comments by nrlymrtl)
The book started off interesting, with a catalog of drugs in a car with two guys heading from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. Thompson is hallucinating about bats, very large bats. Then they pick up a hitchhiker and freak him out with their paranoid talk �" or were they talking out loud? Once at Las Vegas they go from hotel to hotel abusing people, staff, customers, inanimate objects, themselves. It goes on in this vein the entire book. In honesty, I never got into the drug scene, though I did more than my fair share of alcohol in college. Some of the things in this book, I understood (such as the lack of interest in things and people going on around you except in relation to your addiction of choice) while other things I just did not get (like the range and depth of mental alteration brought on by the drugs). With that said, I did not particularly enjoy this book though I do believe it captured the essence of drug addiction taken to the edge. In particular, there is reference to the lawyer picking up a young woman, taking her back to his room, inviting her to enjoy a mix of drugs and alcohol, and then using her for sex. While the scene itself is never covered in depth, the reaction by the lawyer and Thompson �" dodging any kind of responsibility for harming another being, on purpose, for pleasure alone �" pretty much got the point across. The only thing you care about are the drugs/personal pleasure �" and it is the same for anyone else hanging out with you.

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evybee93 , January 03, 2012
Hunter S. Thompson's memoir Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, pivots around Thompson, a magazine writer, and his attorney on a quest to Las Vegas to cover a massive motorcycle race as well as a Law Enforcement convention. He is given $300 intended for travel costs, however he spends it on a suitcase full of body and mind altering drugs. Through Thompson’s unique writing style, adventures and crazy quests are beautifully illustrated, and the reader is immediately sucked into his very bizarre experiences. Threading through a series of wild experiences on this journey comes Thompson’s insights on America in the 1970’s, the Vietnam War in progress, the peak and soon after, decline of war counter-culture, and the reign of Nixon. All three of these events, among others of this decade, are highlighted throughout the memoir, as sort of an overriding plot line. Along with this plot comes Thompson’s quest for the American dream, which he seems to think is within the mayhem of Las Vegas. Though sometimes it can be difficult to differentiate Thompson’s reality from his drug-induced visions, the defining themes of Las Vegas such as superficiality and magnificence, hope and despair, etcetera, are prevalent throughout the book. As for Thompson’s hallucinations, well they just give the reader a bit of a twist. Personally, my absolute favorite aspect of this book was having the ability to see through Thompson’s perspective, giving me a whole new look at the nation in a crossroad. Judging by the cover, this book looks to be just another 1960’s psychedelic rebellion novel, but the emphasized political aspect go far beyond expectations, making it a must read for any American history enthusiast who loves a good twist.

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Annelle , January 02, 2012 (view all comments by Annelle)
my all time favorite book! an excellent read and adventure! as he says,"buy the ticket, take the ride' the reader truly does 'take the ride'.

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sflanders514 , August 14, 2010
Excellent book, but this page needs updating...unfortunately for the rest of the world, the author no longer lives in Colorado...

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AciDTrip , September 10, 2006 (view all comments by AciDTrip)
Seriously, if there was a higher number than 5, id rate this book higher. This story is basically about 2 guys in the early 70's who take a trip through Death Valley to Las Vegas, where they spend most of their time committing capitol fraud by checking into hotel rooms with fake names and trashing them, tripping out on a number of different drugs such as mescaline, acid, cocaine and ether, and suffering from severe paranoia. There really is no story to it, but thats what makes it my favourite book. I highly recommend this book and the movie as well. The movie was made in 1998 and stars Johnny Depp as Raoul Duke, Benicio Del Toro as Dr. Gonzo, and camoes include, Gary Busey, Christina Ricci, and Cameron Diaz.....Trippy movie and kick ass soundtrack!

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AciDTrip , September 10, 2006 (view all comments by AciDTrip)
Seriously, if there was a higher number than 5 to rate this book, id rate it higher. Basically this story is about 2 guys in the early 70's who take a trip to Las Vegas. Their time in Vegas is spent tripping out on a number of different drugs, and committing capitol fraud by checking into hotels with fake names. Theres not much of a story like your everyday novel, but its definetly my favourite book. If you read this book, be sure to check out the movie. It was made in 1998 and stars Johnny Depp as Raoul Duke and Benicio Del Toro as Dr.Gonzo...camoes include Gary Busey, Christina Ricci, and Cameron Diaz. Trippy movie and awesome soundtrack!

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Product Details

ISBN:
9780679785897
Binding:
Trade Paperback
Publication date:
05/12/1998
Publisher:
PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE
Pages:
224
Height:
.61IN
Width:
5.24IN
Thickness:
.75
Number of Units:
1
Copyright Year:
1971
Series Volume:
FS-081-98
UPC Code:
2800679785899
Author:
Hunter S Thompson
Author:
Hunter S. Thompson
Subject:
Biography
Subject:
Journalists -- United States -- Biography.
Subject:
Thompson, Hunter S
Subject:
US History - 20th Century
Subject:
Journalists
Subject:
Thompson, hunter s., 1937-

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