The original version includes the article about the Kentucky Derby, his first gonzo journalism piece. For some reason, the Spanish edition decided to remove it from the edition.

This was very frustrating as it is a brilliant piece and I find it quite insolent and deceiving to call the book the same and take away one of its most important texts.

The Kentucky Derby article holds great significance in the overall body of work. It represents a unique style and approach of journalism that was pioneered by the author.

By removing it, the Spanish edition fails to present a complete and accurate picture of the author's work. It is as if they are cherry-picking certain elements while discarding others that are equally, if not more, important.

This not only does a disservice to the author but also to the readers who are deprived of the opportunity to experience the full range of his journalistic talent.

It is essential that publishers respect the integrity of the original work and ensure that all significant pieces are included in the different editions.

Okay okay, to my dear wife, not my mi wife as you might have thought. I solemnly promise that there will be no more swearing words in my game review. However, this gonzo legendary, may God bless you all the way. It is truly a sad thing to know that you have passed away, far beyond your sacred ambition. That ambition was to be eaten by the shark until the end of the day. It's a rather strange and perhaps even a bit macabre thought, but it shows the unique nature of your dreams. I will always remember you and your aspirations, and I hope that wherever you are now, you are at peace.

The style of that misfit Thompson, so infused with sarcasm, acrimony and, as it would be defined today, politically incorrect, makes his pieces a unique one in the contemporary American literary landscape.

This collection of articles, however, in my opinion, is uneven: there are extremely funny and spicy pieces, but there are also countless invectives against the politician that Thompson hated the most: Richard Nixon.

That Nixon was not a saint is a given (just remember that his government supported the 1973 coup in Chile and favored the rise to power of the Chilean dictator Pinochet), however, comparing him to Adolf Hitler seems excessive to me. The wickedness and cruelty of the Nazi dictator were of a different nature than that of Nixon.

In short, "The Great Shark Hunt" is a more enjoyable book for a native audience very interested in the politics of the 1970s of the last century. For those who do not have a particular interest in these topics, the book can be boring at times.

Hunter Thompson is truly, truly cool. He has donned so many different personas and engaged in a plethora of wild adventures.

He lived among the Hell’s Angels, shared a smoky hotel room dance with Muhammad Ali while wearing a devil mask, ran for sheriff in Aspen, got fired from Time Magazine, and had a near-fatal scuba diving experience that led to a terrible case of the bends, all the while fretting about the 50 units of MDA he had stashed in an aquarium in Cozumel.

His stories are not only entertaining but also negligently funny. His unwavering determination to make the “Enemies of the White House” list and his fascination and liberal use of mace are among the most captivating aspects. His palpable and hilarious hatred of Nixon, comparing him to Hitler and describing him as “a drooling red-eyed beast with the legs of a man and a head of a giant hyena crawling out of its bedroom in the south wing of the White House and leaping fifty feet down to the lawn” is truly remarkable.

Moreover, his pioneering of Gonzo Journalism is highly admirable. His writing has an unedited feel, lacking formality but successfully making the reader feel like an integral part of the experience. It has been an absolute wild ride.

Dr. Hunter S. Thompson's collection of gonzo style articles offers a unique and captivating look at various aspects of American life in the 1970s. From the excitement of the Kentucky derby to the drama of presidential elections, the Watergate scandal, the virtues of Jimmy Carter, police brutality, the killing of Mexican journalist Ruben Salazar, Muhammad Ali's last fights, his attempt to stand for sheriff in Colorado, a bit of the Hells Angels, and a fishing competition in Cozumel, Mexico.

While Thompson's ranting can be episodically entertaining, at 624 pages, it does repeat itself at times, which can make it a bit tiresome. However, in the same vein, it provides a great, albeit subjective, overview of the ongoing and general vibe of the USA during that decade. Surprisingly, many of the issues and patterns that Thompson wrote about then still persist today, showing that not much has changed.

The best quote from the book, "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro," encapsulates Thompson's unique perspective and approach to journalism. It's a line that has become iconic and is often quoted by fans of his work. Overall, this collection of articles is a must-read for anyone interested in American history, journalism, or just a good, wild ride.

Oh, where is Thompson when you need him most?

Would he ever have a field day with Trump's narcissism, Russian erosion of the Democratic process, people's publishing EVERY aspect of their lives on social media and THEN claiming intrusion, and the collective assault on "killing the messenger" when anyone tries to take stock of the situation in any meaningful manner. Seig Heil.

With all of that in mind, I was recommending to my two sons (21 and 18) that they get their heads around Thompson's insights (for the first time). And so what's good for the goslings is always good for the gander.

I decided to revisit a cross-section of some of Thompson's earliest (and often best) work including excerpts from "Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail" ('72), the Fall of Nixon ('74), ascent of Carter ('76) and pre-Reagan years.

What I found is that history, like all else, is cyclical. People tend to make the same mistakes by offering their devotion to the too-often seductive connivers who arrogantly laugh as they get over on all the "rubes". They seek their personal restitution with a wild swing back toward the opposite end of the moral (and political) spectrum and then get suckered in yet again to begin the cycle anew.

And so it is. I only wish the good Doctor were here today to open the National Affairs Desk one more time....

Hunter S. Thompson's "Suuri hainmetsästys" (Frog, 2010) contains a selection of the writings of the father of gonzo journalism from the 1960s and 1970s. Thompson's personal texts were published, for example, in Rolling Stone and Playboy, and their topics deal with, among other things, professional sports, the political unrest in the United States, the hippie movement, and various drugs. President Richard Nixon especially falls into Dr. Gonzo's teeth, and the treatment of the Watergate scandal covers a significant part of the seven-hundred pages of "Suuri hainmetsästys".

The background to Thompson's current reputation is largely due to the movie "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" starring Johnny Depp. In contrast to this movie, the texts selected for the collection seem, in places, very much like straightforward mainstream journalism. Of course, there is also plenty of drug-fueled ranting in the collection, and excellent examples of this are the parts dealing with Nixon and the texts dealing with the stages of Thompson's friend and "150-kilogram Samoan lawyer" Oscar Zeta Acosta.

Hunter S Thompson was truly one of a kind.

There he goes! He was some sort of high-powered mutant, not the kind meant for mass production. He was too strange to simply fade away and too rare to die easily. The life and times of Hunter S Thompson were a force that transcended class, structure, logic, reality, sense, and even senselessness.

This compilation of his works is vast and diverse in both content and the structure of writing and thinking. As you read through these articles, you really feel like you're part of his thought process, following every statement and every obscure tangent. He coined the term gonzo journalism, making the words on paper come alive.

The titled piece "The Great Shark Hunt" will stay with me for many years. His incredible ability to bring the reader into the world he was experiencing was remarkable. It was as if those events had happened in my own life, like a true life memory or a vivid dream.

Not all of it was easy or a pleasure to read. But that's the reality of life. You can definitely sense when things got overwhelming for him. Some articles seem to be ripped right out of the darkest depths of his psyche. Yet, he always powered through with boundless determination, doing whatever it took to get full coverage. He was a high-functioning searcher of life's mysteries, with a hunger and lust for life that few will ever know. Superb indeed!

Probably the book (collection of essays) that made me want to write was a profound and inspiring work.

It was filled with beautiful prose, thought-provoking ideas, and vivid descriptions that seemed to transport me into another world.

As I read each page, I was captivated by the author's ability to express complex emotions and experiences with such clarity and elegance.

The book made me realize the power of words and how they could be used to touch people's hearts and minds.

It激发了 my own creativity and made me long to share my own thoughts and stories with the world.

From that moment on, I knew that I wanted to become a writer and use my words to make a difference.

That book will always hold a special place in my heart and will continue to be a source of inspiration for me as I pursue my writing dreams.

This is a good book.

However, I'm not going to pretend that it's anything truly special.

In fact, I think it's more like someone is trying to take full advantage of it and squeeze every bit of value out of it.

But that's okay with me.

Still, if you really want to make the most of your time, going back to reading about Hell's Angels might be a better option.

It could offer a more in-depth and perhaps more engaging exploration of a particular subculture or topic.

Although this book is good, it might not have the same level of uniqueness or significance as some other works.

Nonetheless, it can still provide some entertainment or insights, depending on your perspective.

So, while it's not a must-read, it's not a bad choice either.

THE GREAT SHARK HUNT: Gonzo Papers, Volume 1, Strange Tales from a Strange Time by Hunter S. Thompson is truly one of the best works. It is an absolute must-read not only for every American but also for Thompson fans and journalists alike. The following is a list of the articles from it that I have read, along with commentary and favorite quotes.

ARTICLES

The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved

A Southern City with Northern Problems

Fear and Loathing at the Super Bowl

Jacket Copy for Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream

Freak Power in the Rockies

Thompson's writing is filled with vivid descriptions and unique perspectives. For example, he writes, “Most of us are living here because we like the idea of being able to walk out our front doors and smile at what we see. On my own front porch I have a palm tree growing in a blue toilet bowl... and on occasion I like to wander outside, stark naked, and fire my.44 magnum at various gongs I’ve mounted on the nearby hillside. I like to load up on mescaline and turn my amplifier up to 110 decibels for a taste of “White Rabbit” while the sun comes up on the snow-speaks along the Continental Divide.” His words paint a wild and unconventional picture of his lifestyle.

He also makes thought-provoking statements such as, “This sense of “reality” is a hallmark of the Drug Culture, which values the Instant Reward – a pleasant four-hour high – over anything involving a time lag between the Effort and the End.” This shows his understanding and analysis of the drug culture during that time.

In addition, his experiences in Chicago led him to say, “For me, that week in Chicago was for worse than the worst bad acid trip I’ve even heard rumors about. It permanently altered my brain chemistry, and my first new idea – when I finally calmed down – was an absolute conviction there was no possibility for any personal truce, for me, in a nation that could hatch and be proud of a malignant monster like Chicago.” This gives us a glimpse into his intense emotions and views.

Traveler Hearts Mountain Music Where It's Sung

The \\"Hashbury\\" Is the Capital of the Hippies

Thompson's description of the cost and effects of drugs is both interesting and somewhat shocking. He writes, “A cap of good acid costs $5, and for that you can hear the Universal Symphony, with God singing solo and the Holy Ghost on drums.” He also comments on the dilemma faced by journalists when dealing with the topic of drugs, stating, “In normal circumstances, the mushrooming popularity of psychedelics would be a main factor in any article on hippies. But the vicious excesses of our drug laws make it impossible, or at least inhuman, to document the larger story. A journalist dealing with heads is caught in a strange dilemma. The only way to write honestly about the scene is to be part of it. If there is one quick truism about psychedelic drugs, it is that anyone who tries to write about them without firsthand experience is a fool and a fraud.”

When the Beatniks Were Social Lions

The Banshee Screams for Buffalo Meat

His statement, “When you get into bear baiting on that level, paranoia is just another word for ignorance... They really are out to get you,” adds an element of mystery and danger to his writing.

2.5 rounded up on reputation.

I may have outgrown HST. For me, the essays, articles, and other works he produced have started to seem repetitive and tedious. His pomposity can sometimes be overbearing. There's no doubt that he is an extremely gifted writer and journalist. I particularly like his piece 'Strange Rumblings in Aztlan'. However, as time goes by, reading his works eventually turns into a slog. It's not that his writing is bad; it's just that after a while, the same styles and themes start to wear on me. I still respect his talent and contributions to the field, but I find myself less and less interested in his new works.

Perhaps this is a sign that I'm evolving as a reader and looking for something different. Or maybe it's just that HST's style has run its course for me. Either way, I'll always remember the impact his writing had on me in the past, and I'll continue to explore other writers and works to see what new perspectives and ideas they can offer.