The letters are longer in this one; I'm assuming they get better as time goes on, but so far I'm not as impressed as I was with the first volume. I want more looney letters to strangers/celebrities/politicos.

Cazart

In the movie words of Johnny Depp: "There he goes, one of God's own prototypes, a high-powered mutant of some kind, never even considered for mass production, too weird to live but too rare to die." Yes, this could have described HST, and as he has said, "Remember that they laughed at Thomas Edison too."

Simply amazing, hilarious, wonderful, joy to read, again and again.

More HST rants.

The multi-volume collection of letters is an unexpected gift for those who love HST. Perhaps not every single letter in the set is attention grabbing, but take the stop and shop method and read what you want. His correspondence with childhood friends, autors, enemies, and politicians among others is exciting, insightful, hilarious and sometimes just depressing.

I count the fear and loathing books among the best I have ever read but these hold a very high place on the totem pole for me, not just among HST books but amongst all that I have read.

Only the Hunter aficionado could appreciate his rants to local and national government officials and a surprisingly humble letter of appreciation to Larry Turman - where he also tries to sell him a screenplay!

Hunter S. Thompson works through his thoughts on the typewriter writing letters. There is a stream-of-consciousness feeling to the writing. Ideas falling into place, observations, opinions, an over-abundance of words, comments, confessions: everything is here.

Thompson was a great observer of his time. He has more than keen insight into the world we live in and pulls no punches in the telling of how it is. There is brute strength in the writing, of someone who knows his subjects intimately, passionately, resolutely.

That Thompson was called an "outlaw" (see title) and "gonzo" journalist, is how people who step out of the mainstream to observe it are summarily categorized. It is another easy box to put someone into who defies boxes.

One of my favorite passages is the beautifully written Democratic Convention Notes - 2 Hrs before leaving WC for NYC on July 10, 1976. It is more ruminative and contemplative - swimming in an outdoor pool in the middle of the night, easing from the language of physics into the language of law.

Hilarious!!!

one of America's greatest writers

Seminal. Scary. Hillarious!

I've recently been given a copy of the audiobook for review. Here it is.

I’ve recently listened to Fear and Loathing in America, by Hunter S Thompson, read by Malcom Hillgartner, ISBN 9781482998337. This is a single voice production, no sound effects. Very subtle voice changes are detected depending on the writer.

What a monster of a book - a great listen, and highly recommended for any HST fan.

The voice is just edgy enough to keep the book listenable but deliver that believability that you are listening to Hunter S Thompson’s words.

Hunter S Thompson is a master letter writer - this book should be standard reading for anyone interested in correspondence.

One of the gems into this book is that is offers new insight into the writing of, methodology, and general commentary of Hells Angels (HSTs first published book).

I really enjoy the crisp and short introductions to new players in the letter game. They are just long enough to get the point across without wasting too much time and space.

In the first third or so of the book, Acosta really steals the show and fleshes out into a more real person - the intricacies of their relationship are very interesting to see, and there are some shocking moments as well.

This collection of letters really gives a sense of what it was actually like to be Hunter S Thompson after Hells Angels but before his other works. The brutal honesty of being well known but broke at the same time is a great tidbit. The inner struggles of working for money and selling things as opposed to artistic integrity is pretty clear here - and is worth a listen to if only to learn a bit more about that aspect. It is also fascinating to see how long it takes Thompson to find his groove with money and handling it.

The birth of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is certainly interesting - and leaves one wondering if the originals ideas it stemmed from could still be done, or if HSTs thoughts on it are in fact true.

As the letters progress, we gain inside information into the methods used to write his classic FLLV, as well as some unexpected points (his lack of drug use during the actual writing).

This collection will teach you something new about HST, no matter who you may be - from his relationships with people unexpected, to his travels less documented, to books unpublished and the histories of those that were published, you will walk away with a clearer understanding of who HST was, independent of what the popular meme of him is.

I give it 4 out of 5, and recommend it to anyone with a passing interest in Hunter S Thompson.