The Gang That Wouldn't Write Straight: Wolfe, Thompson, Didion, Capote, and the New Journalism Revolution

by Marc Weingarten

Within a seven-year period, a group of writers emerged, seemingly out of nowhere — Tom Wolfe, Jimmy Breslin, Gay Talese, Hunter S. Thompson, Joan Didion, John Sack, Michael Herr — to impose some order on all of this American mayhem, each in his or her own distinctive manner (a few old hands, like Truman Capote and Norman Mailer, chipped in as well). They came to tell us stories about ourselves in ways that we couldn’t, stories about the way life was being lived in the ‘60s and ‘70s and what it all meant to us. The stakes were high; deep fissures were rending the social fabric, and the world was out of order. So they became our master explainers, our town criers, even our moral conscience — they were the New Journalists.

Genres: Journalism, Nonfiction, History, Writing, Biography, Literary Fiction, Autobiography

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Marc Weingarten is an author, journalist, editor and filmmaker. He lives in Los Angeles.

Reviews

[Kim Fay · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an incredibly interesting book, especially the beginning, which explains how writers such as Jonathan Swift and Charles Dickens were precursors to the "new journalists" who came of age in the 1960s. I would highly recommend this book, even though I had many issues with it. The first is that it summarizes (for the most part) rather than explores the evolution of new journalism. I would have liked more insights into the implications and ethics of this movement. For example, regarding the latter, numerous ethically dubious situations are described, such as the reportage of a Hell's Angel's gang rape; this scene was given a great deal of attention in this book, but nothing was said about the reporter's responsibility, and the irresponsibility of participatory reporting (and the overall irresponsibility of new journalism compared to its many merits). I was also disappointed that Joan Didion's name appears in the subtitle, but she was given only 9 cursory pages, and these completely out of context with the rest of the book. The story mainly focuses on Norman Mailer, Tom Wolfe and Thompson, all of whom I admire for various reasons, but who wrote from their own great hubris first (in my opinion, though not as much in Wolfe's case), and then from a sense of justice (or whatever each chose to call it). All of this said, I learned a great deal from this book, and I feel satisfied by what I learned about the development of 20th century reporting/non-fiction. It definitely served as a springboard for me to delve deeper into the works of numerous journalists I was not familiar with.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

too much hunter s. thomspon, not enough didion. still a great history of the type of writing i like best.

[Elena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un entretenido y didáctico repaso a las principales figuras del denominado Nuevo Periodismo en la Norteamérica de los años sesenta del siglo pasado. En un período de siete años emergieron una serie de escritores que dinamitaron las formas tradicionales del reportaje, adecuándose a las nuevas exigencias culturales y sociales del momento. El primer e interesante primer capítulo está dedicado a antecedentes como London y Orwell hasta Capote y su "A sangre fría". El periodismo incluyó elementos propios de la novela y novelistas, como Norman Mailer, comenzaron a escribir reportajes en clave literaria. A lo largo de estas quinientas y pico páginas que se leen como se bebe agua asistiremos a la revolución que supuso Tom Wolfe, las crónicas de Gay Talese y Jimmy Breslin, la salvaje locura de Hunter S. Thompson, los reportajes de Joan Didion, los despachos de guerra de Michael Herr y la creación o remodelación de varias influyentes revistas. Una gozada.

[Adrián · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gran repaso sobre las principales figuras del Nuevo Periodismo, su desarrollo editorial, su espíritu y estilo. A lo largo de sus páginas podemos encontrarnos la revolución que supuso Tom Wolfe, como Breslin y Talese cambiaron el modo de escribir crónicas, el poder editorial de Clay Felker y Harold Hayes, la locura de Hunther S. Thompson, los reportajes de Joan Didion, la lucha feminista de Gloria Steinem o los despachos de guerra de Michael Herr.

Todo un repaso a la contracultura, que se muestra como fue un cambio lógico y en consonancia de la sociedad estadounidense con el periodismo que quería "derribar el New York Times", además de otros aspectos como la manera en la que el periodismo cambió adquiriendo elementos propios de la novela (el novelista Norman Mailer también tiene un gran protagonismo), los antecedentes (desde Dickens y Orwell hasta a Truman Capote) y por supuesto un repaso a la obra de los protagonistas. El libro busca que el lector no se limite a él, sino que buceé en busca de los grandes clásicos como Miedo y Asco en Las Vegas o Ponche de ácido lisérgico. Quizá tratados de forma demasiado lisonjera, el libro es un gran punto de partida para introducirse en una corriente que cambio el periodismo.

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly a pleasure to read, as the many adventures in the writing trenches of war correspondence and American turmoil at home give birth to a lot of information. Regardless of one's attitude toward New Journalism, author Weingarten details his contrasting histories with lots of writing samples. We get the personalized, independent nonfiction from the 50s through the ground-breaking voices of the Vietnam era, authors who made their coverage and style as provocative as rock n' roll. Free of a lot of pretentious gush, the book's examination gives equal time to New Journalism's missteps and indulgences. Presenting the personalities of the writers, from Breslin to Didion to the downfallen victims of Clay Felker's New York magazine in the 80s, the remarkable cast of characters is brought to life. Some--but not all-- writers here were celebrated too much for their antics rather than their words, and the book covers these identity politics just as objectively.

[Darren Beck · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was born in 1964, just weeks after the Beatles successful “invasion” of America. My aunt and a couple of uncles were uniquely joined to the counterculture. Through them I discovered the gateway journalism of Rolling Stone magazine and Dr. Hunter S. Thompson. Gratefully, my life has been all the better, though as a wannabe writer, I feel the loss of so many of these giants of print in this age of fake news and outright lies taken as fact. Loved the time I spent in these pages.

[Debbie Jacob · Rating 5 out of 5]

A light-hearted offbeat look at the journalists who made up the New Journalism movement -- all characters in themselves. This is history, journalism and biography all rolled up in a pleasing, readable, literary package.

[Eugenio Fouz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nicely written. Interesting book on New Journalism

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good intro to New York magazine & the New Journalism movement of the 1960s and 1970s.

[Sebastián · Rating 5 out of 5]

Se lee como un thriller cuyo sujetos son todos los estadounidenses detrás del Nuevo Periodismo de allá.

[Lea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh. Good in theory but a) drags out, b) does not consider the implications of new journalism, c) spends too little time in didion for how much time it spends on the boys.

[Andrés Felipe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buena descripción de una generación e periodistas que redefinieron el género. Muy poco desarrollo de la obra de Didion.
La traducción pudo ser más cercana a Latinoamérica.

[Charlie Butler · Rating 3 out of 5]

First few chapters were really very dull, was great to gain new insights into Wolfe, Thompson and Herr and then a pleasant surprise to read about Murdochs rise to power as a power freak.

[Ronnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Later

[Marta]

"Wolfe y muchos de sus contemporáneos reconocieron -algunos antes que la gran mayoría- un hecho destacado en el acontecer de los años sesenta: las herramientas tradicionales con las que se realizaban los reportajes resultaban inadecuadas a la hora de cubrir los tremendos cambios culturales y sociales de aquella época. En un periodo de siete años había emergido, aparentemente de la nada, un grupo de escritores -Tom Wolfe, Jimmy Breslin, Gay Talese, Hunter S. Thompson, Joan Didion, John Sack, Michael Herr- para imponer un orden a todo aquel tumulto estadounidense. Cada uno a su manera. También se sumaron un par de plumas veteranas, como Truman Capote y Normal Mailer. Estaban allí para contarnos historias sobre nosotros mismos de un modo hasta entonces inaudito. Había mucho en juego. El tejido social se estaba desgarrando en fisuras, el mundo estaba patas arriba... Así que se convirtieron en nuestros sabios orientadores, nuestros heraldos, incluso en nuestra conciencia moral: en los nuevos periodistas". (Marc Weingarten)

"Además de ser un libro indispensable, indiscreto, didáctico, un tanto hagiográfico y envidiable como material de consulta. La banda que escribía torcido se lee como una de aquellas películas corales de Robert Altman o, mejor, como una serie creada por Aaron Sorkin. Y, además, nos informa". (Rodrigo Fresán, Vanity Fair)

[Mrnotarides notarides · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reading about writers always seems to be a good idea until you start reading and your are reminded of that quote,"Writing About Music is Like Dancing About Architecture." Why listen to the cover band when you can listen to the actual band. In other words, I didn't finish this book. I read the parts I wanted to read and left the rest. The most interesting parts of the book and what I wish there was more of were the parts about the techniques different writers used to create their style such as Mailer using himself as a third person narrator or Tom Wolfe using Hunter Thompson's material about the Hell's Angel in his book. Another interesting aspect of the book were the criticism of techniques used in New Journalism. For example, in In Cold Blood, Truman Capote often writes about what is going on inside his people's minds when he has no way of knowing that. The book spends too much time on gossip and insider stuff about editors and magazine. Overall the book is ok, but like always the real thing is better. If a writer is worth reading always read the writer and now what is written about the writer.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun read. It shows that the political volatility (and the drugs) of the 60s helped nurture a "new" journalism (that really wasn't new), mostly at the New York magazine and Esquire. Marc Weingarten tells us about the editors who gave writers the latitude to make this happen. It ends on a bittersweet note when you realize this editorial freedom and platform is now mostly gone. Added lots of stuff to my reading list as a result such as Slouching Towards Bethlehem, The Right Stuff, and The Armies of the Night: History as a Novel, the Novel as History. Also can't wait to read Radical Chic [http://nymag.com/news/features/46170/], which was hilarious to read about.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I became interested in New Journalism in the 1970s through the work of writers like Hunter S Thompson, Tom Wolfe and Norman Mailer. I admired their writing because it was original, colourful and seemed to me to capture the spirit of an extraordinary period.

I enjoyed Marc Weingarten's book because it reawakened the enjoyment I gained when I first read books like 'Fear and loathing in Las Vegas', 'Fear and loathing on the campaign trail', 'Dispatches' and 'Miami and the siege of Chicago'. it provides context to these works and others and highlights the role played by magazine publishers like Clay Felker and Jann Wenner.

I would recommend the book to anyone interest in the subject and picked up some interesting ideas for follow up reading, including 'The New New Journalism'.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

My friend with the movie star eyebrows checked this book out from the library and just thumbed through it for some of her "New Journalism" sources back in high school. From the moment I saw it on her desk with a stack of other books good for bibliography space, I was lured in. Even the title struck my fancy! Good work on her part choosing a book that explains everything from the original printing press shock coverage of Hiroshima to the mysteries behind Tom Wolfe and his ice cream suit.

Anyone who knows a little bit about journalism and the insight behind Gonzo should give this one a chance.

[Craven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great overall history of New Journalism. Well-written, not dry and academic. Lots of research and interviews went into this. I liked all of it, but if your not a huge fan of the subject, you might some parts to be dull, because it tells you absolutely everything. It's extremely detailed. I was really interested so this wasn't a problem for me.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book about the New Journalism, and those who wrote it. The author lost me at the end when going into great detail about the fight between Clay Felker and Rupert Murdoch over ownership of New York magazine.

But I was fascinated for most of the book, though I'm not so sure I agree that "New Journalism" is dead now. interesting book for those interest in writing and journalism.

[Dan Lalande · Rating 3 out of 5]

A light look at the impact of the New Journalism school, from Mailer, Capote and Didion to Breslin, Wolfe and Thompson. It's mostly a series of chapter-length biographies, alive with envy of stylistic panache and of the times in which these pioneers of the pen found popularity. Weingarten, unlike his subjects, is no wunderkind, but the eccentric upstarts he writes about are great company.

[Sanjay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating little profiles of the people who changed journalism and the art of non-fiction, including wonderful vignettes of how they came to write the stories they're known for.

[Elanita · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing!

[Vicki]

For Nonfiction Techniques

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice overview of the rise and fall of literary journalism, though the fall part gets super reductive. still, a nice read.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short history of New Journalism with profiles of the key writers and works associated with it.

[Louis Dirigible · Rating 3 out of 5]

overall pretty good. does the book mention the title is taken from a breslin book? i just learned that searching for it.

[Ramesh Prabhu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here's a book about journalists and journalism that reads like a thriller: http://goo.gl/UrJwK (The Reading Room)

[Tim Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant book capturing a fantastic time featuring the likes of Didion, Capote, Thompson, Wolfe and the New Yorker.