The greatest book ever made is a remarkable piece of literature that has had a profound impact on countless readers throughout history.

It contains a wealth of knowledge, wisdom, and emotions that can touch the hearts and minds of people from all walks of life.

The story within its pages is captivating, filled with engaging characters, thrilling plot twists, and thought-provoking themes.

Whether it is a classic novel, a work of non-fiction, or a collection of poetry, the greatest book ever made has the power to transport readers to different worlds, expand their perspectives, and inspire them to think deeply about life and its meaning.

It is a timeless masterpiece that will continue to be cherished and passed down from generation to generation, leaving an indelible mark on the literary landscape.

It captures the zeitgeist of the USA during the Vietnam years as vividly as anything I can think of. As Gonzo journalism, I am classifying it as literature rather than non-fiction, which goes against the spirit of the era when it emerged. The quality of the pieces within it is highly uneven. I discovered that "Fear and Loathing at the Kentucky Derby" was truly awful, despite the fact that he employed the same formula with great success in his book about a drug-fueled adventure in Las Vegas. His article about his friend Oscar Zeta Acosta, titled "Strange Rumblings in Aztlan," was extremely touching.

Although not the finest piece in the collection, I especially liked his clear and detailed account of his interview with Jean Claude Killy. In it, Thompson confesses that he completely failed in his attempt to激怒 Killy, who treated him with flawless courtesy throughout. Thompson's explanation was that Killy simply regarded him as an American and, as a guest in America, it was his duty to be respectful, deliberately ignoring his rudeness. Thompson had a profound impact on the liberal arts undergraduates of my era in North America. However, to Europeans, he is completely incomprehensible.

If I were to follow my better instincts at this very moment, I would take this typewriter and place it in the Volvo. Then, I would drive to the residence of the nearest politician, be it any politician. Once there, I would hurl the goddamn machine through his front window. I would flush the bugger out with an act of lunatic violence. After that, I would soak him down with mace and make him run naked down Main Street in Aspen. He would have a bell around his neck and black lumps all over his body from the jolts of a high-powered "Ball Buster" cattle prod.

However, old age has either mellowed me or broken my spirit to such an extent that I will probably not do that. At least not today. This is because that blundering dupe in the White House has just plunged me into a deep and vicious hole.

The Great Shark Hunt, p. 318.

I recently came across a two-star review that stated, "I guess I’ve outgrown Thompson... oh well." Sadly, it seems that the reviewer's mind is too small to fully understand Thompson. I, on the other hand, have always had a soft spot for him. When I was young, I was drawn to his taboo-breaking style. And as an adult, I still enjoy his work, despite his penchant for slaughtering sacred cows and sometimes overcooking his ideas.

Thompson is a complex figure. His defiance is profound, and his sadness and jadedness run even deeper. Yet, there is a strange optimism in his stories, twisted as it may be. What's eerie is how relevant his message seems today. I find it difficult to maintain an optimistic view of the current situation, no matter how hard I try to twist it.

His jarring style makes me want to read his work cover to cover, but also forces me to take long breaks. I ended up binging on his collection of short works for a day, then pausing for a week before binging again. The fact that it's a collection makes this method easy. Here are some of my thoughts on the first part of the book:

"The Great Shark Hunt": "Fear and Loathing in the Bunker" could easily have been written about Trump instead of Nixon.

"The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved" was hysterical. Some of his points, though exaggerated and crude, aren't too far off in describing southern America today.

"Southern city with Northern problems" shows how little progress has been made in race relations.

Hunter Thompson's pessimism and disillusion are palpable. It weighs heavy on him and his readers. I think his bombastic style is a result of his frustration and a way for him to numb the pain. It feels like he was optimistic about the possibilities in the 60s, but the election of Nixon and the return to reactionary conservatism left him with nothing but drugs and organized chaos to cope. He reads like a true believer in something he knows is doomed to failure in the face of overwhelming power. It's incredible how relevant some of his stories are today, even without direct contemporary parallels. "Strange Rumblings in Aztlan" chronicles the murder of a journalist and widespread racial rioting in Los Angeles. With all that's going on today, and the comparisons between Nixon and Trump, we still haven't reached the level of violence that Thompson witnessed. But I wonder if we're not at the point where the true believers in hope and change have realized what Thompson understood by the early 70s: that the power of their convictions and the assurance of triumph through idealism alone is simply untrue. Once that sinks in, we may see something similar to the stories Thompson was a part of. Or, we may be so decadent that any real sacrifice of convenience is too drastic for any cause, no matter how noble. Only time will tell.

It's a long-haul to get through this collection of works.

There is a lot of gonzo content presented in one sitting, which might seem overwhelming at first.

However, quite a few of the pieces truly make it well worth the effort (and that's why it earns 4 stars).

There are some excellent bits that vividly描绘 the city of San Francisco, California, and the counterculture that thrived there.

Alongside this, there is painstaking political trail journalism that provides in-depth insights into the political landscape.

Moreover, the author also includes elements of self-deprecation, adding a touch of humor and self-awareness to the overall narrative.

Overall, despite the challenges of getting through the entire collection, the quality of many of the pieces makes it a rewarding read.

The trouble with Nixon is that he's a serious politics junkie.

He is completely addicted to the world of politics, much like any other junkie is addicted to their vice.

And just as a junkie can be a bummer to have around, Nixon was no different.

His obsession with politics likely led to actions and decisions that were not in the best interest of the country.

Especially when he held the highest office in the land, being the President.

His actions during his presidency had a significant impact on the nation and its people.

Hunter S. Thompson's assessment of Nixon as a politics junkie provides an interesting perspective on the former president and his role in American politics.

It makes one wonder about the consequences of such an intense addiction to power and politics.

Perhaps if Nixon had not been so consumed by his political ambitions, things might have turned out differently for the United States.

Finally, I have completed this extensive collection of HST essays and excerpts. It has been a truly remarkable journey. Each and every story within these pages is funnier than the one before, and the gonzo style of journalism employed by HST simply tickles a particular part of my brain. I find it incredibly easy and highly entertaining to read. Revisiting a couple of chapters from "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" and "The Campaign Trail 72" was a real treat. However, my absolute favorite pieces were those that followed the Chicano lawyer Acosta and the events surrounding the Miami Superbowl.

This book had such an impact on me that I couldn't help but giggle out loud on the train, completely shattering my once mysterious aura. It truly deserves a perfect 5-star rating. I would highly recommend this collection to anyone looking for a unique and hilarious reading experience. HST's writing is like a breath of fresh air, full of wit, charm, and a touch of madness. I can't wait to explore more of his works in the future.

HST is perhaps best known (widely recognized) for his works such as "Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas" and "The Rum Diary", especially the former which brought this gentleman to the attention of a large audience with the cult-famous movie based on it. Unlike these two books, which are more or less fictional works with their plots and surreal scenarios, "The Great Shark Hunt" is a collection of articles and columns written by the man in the 1960s and 1970s, covering almost everything from A to Z. Sometimes the man opens up about the meaning of a horse race to be ridden in Kentucky, while on the other hand he delves into an astonishingly large pool of hatred towards Nixon and his election campaign, and at times enjoys the notoriously famous drugs and has completely random thoughts about any public figure at any time. The scope of the articles and columns is explained by the fact that the man wrote for several newspapers at that time, such as The New York Times, Playboy, and Rolling Stone, to name a few. If the reader expects hilarious descriptions of the messes and adventures made under the influence of mescaline, then he will be disappointed, and although drugs are present in HST's texts, the man is surprisingly accurate in observing, for example, the political scene of the time and other phenomena of the era, not just the seedy, malicious, and fragmented hallucinations that crawl out of the wallpaper.

HST was truly an excellent writer. For me, it's a 100-0 knockout in the ring to HST's extremely perceptive and sometimes extremely humorous way of commenting on this surrounding world, although HST did not strive for actual humor. I claim that the old man's opinions today would go straight to the Public Prosecution Service to be analyzed for slander. It's a pleasure to savor the gentleman's word pictures, which sometimes cause audible snickering and a suppressed uprising of the upper lip. It's pointless to try to find any objective truth, as HST is a writer with extreme opinions. It's refreshing to read how he wrote exactly what he thought about things without any further filters. If the reader is at all a fan of gonzo, then it's hard to recommend a better book, and if the articles in the book strike a chord, then I warmly recommend HST's "Hell's Angels" book, which is considerably shorter but a more narrative whole.

I oppose giving extra stars, but the book is excellent and has withstood several readings over the years. The book is definitely not for everyone, because the length and topics of the articles change more often than the spad in Thompson's hat, so you won't find a single red thread even if you look for it. This can also be considered one of the book's strengths, as it allows the book to be read in clear chunks, so the reader doesn't have to read the same drivel at a continuous pace. For this reason, I can't recommend the book to everyone, but if you want to dive into the deep inner workings of one of the most unique journalists of our time from which you can draw almost anything, then I can't urge you more to put on a couple of rubber boots, go deep down there and see what kind of mess sticks to the soles of your shoes.

4.5 stars out of five, but I'll give four, because why not.

I didn't feel the need to read the entire thing.

I simply read a dozen or so of his essays in it and skimmed around.

The man was truly a genius. His insights and perspectives on American society and culture were remarkable.

Even after all these years, his take on American society and culture has, if anything, only magnified in its accuracy.

It's as if he had a prescient understanding of the complex and ever-evolving nature of American society.

His essays provided a deep and thought-provoking analysis of various aspects of American life, from politics and economy to values and traditions.

Reading his work was like opening a window into a different world, a world that was both familiar and yet full of surprises.

It made me think differently about the society I live in and the forces that shape it.

I am truly grateful to have discovered his work and look forward to reading more of it in the future.

This is an essential collection of Thompson's work, spanning from his prime in the mid-60s to the late 70s.

It uniquely gathers his writings on the Brown Power movement that his friend Oscar Acosta was involved in, his experiences with Richard Nixon (beyond the '72 campaign and including Watergate), and the various elements that构成了Gonzo journalism.

Unlike other volumes like Generation of Swine, Kingdom of Fear, Songs of the Doomed, and Hey Rube, this one focuses on Thompson's work before his style was widely recognized and praised by the popular press. As a result, it feels very fresh, written with a playful awareness that being a writer in America is about creating one's own legend.

You can sense that he knew this was a way to be remembered like Hemingway, Fitzgerald, London, Mencken, or Twain, but also remembered what happened to those writers. The introspective pieces, such as his view of Mohammed Ali's promotional machine, show that he was aware of what he was doing and what it would cost.

The later, less satisfying books may be due to this cost. The Great Shark Hunt, however, is a crucial moment of choice, when we can feel him deciding whether to disrupt the status quo or go along with the system, knowing it could set him for life.

Thompson connects the dots between the American romance with literature and the legend we create when we don't want to admit our own sleazy motives. He shows how different personas, like the drifter, the used car salesman, the firebrand politico, and the mainstream journalist, are all part of the same desperate attempt to avoid a life of hard labor.

He rides this hustle well, even if he makes us believe he's doing it out of disgust rather than personal gain.

However, I can't ignore the racist language in his work. While some of his earlier pieces show his desire for an equal and just society, his casual use of slurs can make readers uncomfortable. Sometimes it's clear he's using the language of white trash to address white trash, with sarcasm indicating he doesn't mean it. But other times...

Thompson's work walks a fine line between absolute virtue mocking degeneracy and actual degenerate behavior. Crossing that line, whether by mistake or on purpose, is part of the territory. This doesn't minimize or defend his choices, but simply acknowledges that it happens. Read it to criticize or pass it by, but don't say you weren't warned.

It's an ugly, brutish, and thorough depiction of white America's cultural id in the latter half of the 20th century. Use it as you see fit.

This is a book filled with HST articles. There isn't a whole lot to simply state about it. However, let me expand.

The articles within are truly remarkable. They are not just good; they are really, really good. It's an absolute delight to witness the origins of the gonzo style.

But here's the thing, I would much rather review each article individually. Some of them deserve a 5-star rating, while others might be a 3-star. There are a few that perhaps aren't overly relevant outside of their specific context. Nevertheless, without fail, all of them are predictably enjoyable to read.

If you have a penchant for his other works, then you don't need me to persuade you to give this book a try. It's a must-read for any HST enthusiast.

Behind the Fear and Loathing mystique, the drug addled, booze soaked, outlaw idolized by millions of stoned wannabe authors was an incredibly funny and gifted writer. He was a unique figure in the literary world, with a style that was both bold and captivating. This is one of those hefty tomes that you can dip into virtually anywhere and find something worthwhile. It contains a wealth of brilliant writing on various topics. There is some brilliant stuff about the 1968 election, which provides a fascinating perspective on that tumultuous time in American politics. The political conventions are also vividly described, giving readers a sense of the excitement and drama that unfolded. Richard Nixon is another subject that is explored in depth, with the author's incisive commentary adding a new dimension to our understanding of the former president. In addition to the political writing, there is some solid international travel writing that takes readers on a journey around the world. The descriptions of different cultures and landscapes are both engaging and informative. And finally, there is a particularly hilarious piece on a world class skier that will have you laughing out loud.

Don’t do drugs kids, but sometimes it's okay to enjoy the work of those who do. This disclaimer is important, as it提醒 us that while we may appreciate the creativity and talent of some drug users, we should not follow in their footsteps. Drugs can have serious consequences for our health and well-being, and it is important to make healthy choices. However, we can still enjoy the art and literature that has been inspired by drug use, as long as we do so with a critical eye and a healthy dose of skepticism.