Savage journey : Hunter S. Thompson and the weird road to Gonzo / Peter Richardson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Richardson, Peter, 1959- author.

Contributor:

Anne and Joseph Trachtman Memorial Book Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Thompson, Hunter S--Criticism and interpretation.

Thompson, Hunter S.

Thompson, Hunter S--Influence.

Journalists--United States--Biography.

Journalists.

Criticism and interpretation.

United States.

Journalism--United States--History--20th century.

Journalism.

History.

American literature--20th century--History and criticism.

American literature.

Influence (Literary, artistic, etc.).

Genre:

Biographies.

Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Physical Description:

271 pages, 12 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 24 cm

Other Title:

Hunter S. Thompson and the weird road to Gonzo

Place of Publication:

Oakland, California : University of California Press, [2022]

Summary:

"A superbly crafted study of Hunter S. Thompson's literary formation, achievement, and continuing relevance. Savage Journey is a "supremely crafted" study of Hunter S. Thompson's literary formation and achievement. Focusing on Thompson's influences, development, and unique model of authorship, Savage Journey argues that his literary formation was largely a San Francisco story. During the 1960s, Thompson rode with the Hell's Angels, explored the San Francisco counterculture, and met talented editors who shared his dissatisfaction with mainstream journalism. Author Peter Richardson traces Thompson's transition during this time from New Journalist to cofounder of Gonzo journalism. He also endorses Thompson's later claim that he was one of the best writers using the English language as both a musical instrument and a political weapon. Although Thompson's political commentary was often hyperbolic, Richardson shows that much of it was also prophetic. Fifty years after the publication of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and more than a decade after his death, Thompson's celebrity continues to obscure his literary achievement. This book refocuses our understanding of that achievement by mapping Thompson's influences, probing the development of his signature style, and tracing the reception of his major works. It concludes that Thompson was not only a gifted journalist, satirist, and media critic, but also the most distinctive American voice in the second half of the twentieth century. "-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: 1. Brooding

2. The Storm Of Life

3. Roughing It

4. Observer

5. New Journalist

6. Hashbury

7. Totally Gonzo

8. Rolling Stone

9. Las Vegas

10. Campaign Trail

11. After Nixon

12. Legacy.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (page 239-249) and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Anne and Joseph Trachtman Memorial Book Fund.

Other Format:

Online version: Richardson, Peter, 1959- Savage journey

ISBN:

9780520304925

0520304926

OCLC:

1243351452