Fear and Loathing : Strange and Terrible Saga of Hunter S. Thompson

by Paul Perry

The first biography of the renegade journalist, a popular sixties antihero, charts his career, from his adventures with the Hell's Angels, to his falling out with Rolling Stone magazine, to his unrelenting drug use. 50,000 first printing. Tour.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Biography Memoir, Memoir, Classics, Journalism, Literature

Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Paul Perry is an author of a wide variety of subjects from near-death experiences to biographies of authors including Hunter S. Thompson. He is also a documentary film maker. Perry's writing and film making earned him a knighthood in the Royal Family of Portugal.

There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Katie2225 · Rating 3 out of 5]

While reading this book, I awoke to a ferret walking around on my bed.

I was not on drugs.

I was not dreaming.

I did not own a ferret.

[Country Aplomb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paul Perry's biography of Hunter gave me basically what I wanted: a relatively intimate look at the man's life. Spanning from his youth in Louisville, KY up through to 1990, it leaves some out (Like his death), but that can hardly be blamed on Perry since it was published in '92.

It reads well, splashed with anecdotes from the 100+ friends and colleagues Perry interviewed. One important part of this book is that it never dissolves into hero worship. Perry, who knew Hunter and was able to convince him to finish an article in the 80s which was a low time for for Hunter's creative output, puts it all in. Talk of drugs and debauchery are a given, but part of what really interested me was that a large portion of the book was devoted to Hunter's inability to produce compelling work when it was needed.

But, enough dwelling on the negative! The Hunter Thompson of the late sixties and the seventies is a force to reckoned with. Without skipping a beat, he combines debauchery and politics. Never one to keep his opinions to himself and never one to not attempt a good plan (no matter how ill-advised, rash, or just downright foolish), we get an account of everything Hunter had going in the seventies.

The book covers all major events Hunter was involved in up to 1990: From Drug addled good times to political reporting and schemes. Although probably not the best book on Hunter out there, it is definitely worth a read.

[Andoni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas


How many of us had dreamed with leaving everything and running away to live a life full of excess, cutting with your normal and ordinary life? Wouldn’t you like to stop the monotony of your every day life? Then “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” is a book that you should read. The book can be the reflection of the life of more than one that left everything in search of the so called “American Dream”.
The uncertainty and locomotion that Hunter S. Thompson gives to this story is unique. The story of a magazine writer and his attorney in the search of new life style is the main idea of the story. A life full of excess in a time that would give all that you need to adopt this life style.

[Glen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perry's profile of Thompson, completed and published more than a decade before the journalist's death in 2005, is a much more likable read than its subject-matter. I have never been much of a Thompson fan and so I read this book in hopes of understanding what all the fuss is about. Perry does an admirable job of research and of mixing wild anecdote and legendary episodes alongside more banal details of the business of being a famous writer from whom much in the way of debauchery and excess is expected. On that front Thompson seldom disappointed his fans and acolytes, but he often disappointed editors and others who waited and hoped for his creativity to flow in the form of good writing. More than anyone else Thompson ends up reminding me of Jim Morrison, another person possessed of talent but whose greater daemon was the love of altered states of consciousness and the next wild scene. Both end up being entertaining side-shows in their respective artistic genres, in my opinion, and not the ground-breaking innovators and creators their most faithful fans regard them as being. Most of all they are emblems of a powerful, seductive, and deadly myth that drugs and alcohol fuel creative consciousness, though both also stand in my view as evidence of the bankruptcy of that myth.

[Gahermi class 5-12 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is definitely Awesome.

[Noah Jeffrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This fucking book is simultaneously depressing as hell and divinely inspiring. HST was a madman that lived by his own crazy rules, but doing so came at the cost of constant fear and raging paranoia. A real page-turner that gets the adrenaline flowing! The only thing I regret is that the book ends over a decade short of the subject’s life (it was published in 1992 while HST was still alive), and I had to find out how he finally flamed out by reading his Wikipedia entry. But I won’t spoil that for you. 💀

[Joie Mikitson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've always been a fan of Hunter S. Thompson's counter-culture persona and gonzo journalism writing style, but man, the guy was a complete dick. He beat his wife, threatened homosexuals, skipped out on tabs and bills constantly, prided himself on his racist comments, was completely self-absorbed, and generally treated everyone around him like shit. I went into this book knowing all that, but it seemed like the author had both a personal vendetta against the man and a grudging admiration for Thompson's 'take all experiences to the very edge' mentality, which made for a distracting read.

This biography was originally published in the early 90's so doesn't go into the end of Thompson's life and his health problems from such excessive alcohol use, nor his suicide in 2005 (he shot himself in the head while his son was in the next room and had to find the body, so yeah...selfish to the end). Overall, I was left with a sad feeling at the waste of talent and the continued glorification of what was clearly a serious psychological dysfunction and also at the fact that I wasted a few hours reading this book when I could have just read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas again.

[Amy M · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am finished with the book and I didn't want to put it down. I am tried to savor every page. I had seen the movie with Johnny Depp and I must say that both he and Terry Gilliam really nailed this book on the head when adapting it to the movie! It's a fun read for sure! Thompson was one crazy guy!

[Matthew K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short, snappy, and to the point, this biography traces the arc of Hunter's life from his wayward youth to his meteoric rise as a pioneer of Gonzo journalism, to his descent into mediocrity as years of sleepless nights, drug and alcohol abuse, and the crushing expectation to continually upstage his antics finally take their toll.

Since it was published in the 90s, it doesn't include Hunter's later years, though there is what I read as both a foreboding and incredibly sad reference to Hunter's parallels with Ernest Hemingway (who eventually also killed himself).

I've long been a fan of Hunter's early incisive journalism—basically everything he wrote before he published Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas—and I've always wondered why everything he wrote after that was such crap; form without substance. A simple biography has the answer: the drugs did him in.

He had so much potential as a writer and it was terrible to read how he just wasted it all getting wasted.

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve read most of the books written by Hunter S. Thompson, so it’s refreshing to read something about him from a different perspective. This book chronicles his life from birth to the early 90s. A lot of the material covered are things Hunter wrote about himself, but told from Paul Perry’s point of view, it feels much more honest. I always suspected a lot of what he wrote was not true, and that was reiterated here a lot. It’s also interesting to hear from others how wrapped up Hunter became in the persona he wrote around himself. I recommend this over the book his son Juan wrote, which I couldn’t finish. I blazed through this one pretty quick.

[Jeremy Silver · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good info and some good stories but I just felt like it fell short of my expectations. The writing was very bland. I feel like this could have been done a lot better even without the direct assistance of the king of Gonzo. Nonetheless, if you're a Hunter S Thompson fan it is still worth a read.

[Moriesen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just looking at the other things that Paul Perry has written. This is definitely one of the best things he has written. Though I don't agree with other people, saying how it was some kind of weird psychotic trip. It still was a very insightful and interesting look into the life of Hunter S. Thompson. All the books mentioned here made me want to read them.

[Jeremy Hessman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid view of Hunter’s life from forty thousand feet. At times, the book lacked the depths of life that many of Thompson’s fans want to read about. Overall, a good starting point for those wanting to delve into the life of Gonzo.

[Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book written unflinchingly about a difficult subject. A bit choppy at times, ends very abruptly, though it was published a decade before HST's death, so perhaps the abrupt ending makes sense. Kept me interested and had some pretty gritty details that I wasn't before aware of.

[Edmund Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thompson is a favorite and this provides some very intesting insight.

[CJ Wood · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good anecdotes but not fun enough.

[Matt Tyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

haha Hunter you gonzo MF, thanks for setting an example.

[oooog oooog · Rating 5 out of 5]

No words needed. Read it. That's all I will say.

[Ethan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fear and Loathing is one of the best literary works ever created. Few capture absurd realism with such hyperbolic candor as Hunter S., and this is a must-read for all.

[Maristela · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

no frills depiction of HT

[Lorenzo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastica biografia di una persona fantastica.

[Jeandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.2

[Margo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thoroughly researched, yet "highly" readable, bio.

[Issy Tex · Rating 4 out of 5]

very interesting 🙌🙌🙌

[Rachael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hunter S. Thompson's life was definitely strange but I don't think it was terrible. Interesting but not terrible. Pretty cool read about the life of one of the true Gonzo journalist. I am utterly fascinated with this man.

Happy Reading....

[Diletta Anselmi · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Hugh Ashton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disappointing in some ways - it gives the story behind the story and de-Gonzos some of the best anecdotes, while attempting to explain some of the motivations that made HST what he was (a prisoner of his own legend). It was published in 1992, which means that the infamous Bill Clinton and french fry incident isn't mentioned, nor does it deal with HST's outrage against the Generation of Swine.

It does, however, (and this is natural, given the sources) spend a lot of time on the relationships between HST and his editors, who had the unfortunate job of sitting by the Mojo Wire, or carting crates of gin and chemicals to the Seal Rock Inn, waiting for the words of demented genius to flow forth.

The book also sheds light on HST's domestic life, such as it was, but I felt I hardly knew the grown man any better having read this, though I knew a little more about the youth that was HST, and about the writer.

[Karen-Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fear and Loathing creates a sharp and savvy profile of one of the most provocative voices and distinctive personalities of our time. To Hunter S. Thompson, being a Gonzo journalist means doing whatever it takes to get to the truth; everything from dropping acid with Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters in the 60s, to participating in wild orgies and getting his nose broken while chronicling life with the Hell's Angels, to founding the Freak Power Party and running for sheriff of Aspen in 1970. A virtual icon, Thompson has regularly trashed the prime directives of reporting—accuracy and objectivity—yet he nonetheless always produces some of the sharpest political and cultural analysis around. Surrounded by submachine guns, fistfuls of colorful pills, and the ubiquitous Wild Turkey, Thompson careens through his life and career, unfolded in this book in all its decadence. New art by Ralph Steadman and over 20 black-and-white photographs are featured.

[John]

This book must have the most exciting, hilarious and appalling opening of almost any story. I thought that the Johnny Depp movie didn't live up to the book, when I saw the movie the first time. However, upon a second watch, I think it held up pretty well in comparison. The movie also reminded me of a cool line that Thompson says about how sitting his hotel room in Las Vegas after this drug filled weekend from hell in a hotel full of police, he almost thought he could see the highwater mark left by the 1960s. Some people with a less benign view of the decade may have called it a bathtub ring. However, I was reminded of this when reading an essay that mentioned another book about the 1960s and this other write used the French phrase apres le deluge (after the flood) to describe a similar idea. So, at any rate, hats off to a very crazy but also perceptive writer.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paul Perry shows as much of HST's true nature as anyone may ever see. The reader can appreciate the genius of HST's writing gift, and see deep into the man's flaws. HST was the right man for his times, and those times were not always sunny and pretty. In fact HST, took us into the very dark and ugly places of American culture, and this book shows us what made him the right man for that journey. I don't know if I would have liked Mr. Thompson if I ever met him, but this book reveals how he made himself into the man that showed us the fear and loathing within the soul of our culture. It also shows you the fierce spirit of a person who created the image they wanted others to see.