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# Read
The Rum Diary
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
The Gonzo Papers 1-4
The Great Shark Hunt (it's a bit drier than the others, you may like it, you may not.)

also, more recently
Hey Rube: Blood Sport, the Bush Doctrine, and the Downward Spiral of Dumbness: Modern History from the Sports Desk

All written for Rolling Stone, and most, if not all, were published in the magazine at some point.
(, Thu 28 Aug 2008, 0:51, archived)
# Wait
that's why I know the name! Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Someone was talking about that once...
(, Thu 28 Aug 2008, 0:51, archived)
# The book is great, I highly recommend it
but slightly better if you read the Rum Diary first. If you like those two, then the rest should be enjoyable too.
(, Thu 28 Aug 2008, 0:53, archived)
# I don't understand what the books are actually about.
I vaguely gather that he wrote them whilst attempting to write something else and they ended up being the product, but are they actually in the gonzo journalism style and about politics or what?
(, Thu 28 Aug 2008, 1:00, archived)
# yes, well that is one attraction of them
Rum Diary is less political, it mentions some of the politics of South America a bit, as well as documenting an odd period of time he spent there, but is largely to do with his earlier experiences with lefties.

Fear and Loathing is mostly debauchery, chunk of politics and nonsense, but mostly sadness as America moves away from the "love" generation.


The rest of the books, the essays on Aspen etc are heavily political in places, especially the Great Shark Hunt, but to my knowledge, the way they are written is certainly in the gonzo style.

Edit: When I said "it is one attraction of them" I meant that the books are sometimes open to speculation on the meaning of his writing, sometimes he makes sense, and sometimes he doesn't at all. Things don't have to make sense to be entertaining and interesting, after all.
(, Thu 28 Aug 2008, 1:09, archived)
# Although if it's journalism it is generally supposed to make sense, even if it's all lies.
As I said I know very little of him above the obvious. And that Spider in Transmetropolitan was based on him, except a mad version who seems to blow everything up.
(, Thu 28 Aug 2008, 1:25, archived)