Here, for the first time, is the private and most intimate correspondence of one of America's most influential and incisive journalists--Hunter S. Thompson. In letters to a Who's Who of luminaries from Norman Mailer to Charles Kuralt, Tom Wolfe to Lyndon Johnson, William Styron to Joan Baez--not to mention his mother, the NRA, and a chain of newspaper editors--Thompson vividly catches the tenor of the times in 1960s America and channels it all through his own razor-sharp perspective. Passionate in their admiration, merciless in their scorn, and never anything less than fascinating, the dispatches of The Proud Highway offer an unprecedented and penetrating gaze into the evolution of the most outrageous raconteur/provocateur ever to assault a typewriter.
Proud Highway
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This first volume of the correspondence of Hunter S. Thompson begins with a high school essay and runs up through the publication of Thompson's breakout book, Hell's Angels. Thompson apparently never threw a letter away, so the reader has the treat of experiencing the full evolution of his pyrotechnic writing style, rant by rant. The letters--to girlfriends, to bill collectors, to placers of "Help Wanted" ads, to editors and publishers--are usually spiced with political commentary. The style and the political animus always seem to drive each other. For instance, an 11/22/63 letter to novelist and friend William J. Kennedy about the day's cataclysm is apparently the birthplace of the signal phrase "fear and loathing." (Thompson summed up the Kennedy assassination thus: "The savage nuts have shattered the great myth of American decency.") And the willingness to write strangers is stunning: this collection includes Thompson's letter to LBJ seeking appointment to the governorship of American Samoa. You might have thought Garry Trudeau was exaggerating in his Doonesbury characterization of the Thompson-based character Duke. He was not.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
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From Library Journal
"I'm already the new Fitzgerald," Thompson declares gamely at age 19, in 1957, as his cracking lifelong correspondence gets under way. "I just haven't been recognized yet." The original gonzo journalist, who struck the big time with his book on the Hell's Angels ten years later (when this first volume of correspondence terminates), amply displays his talent for bragging?and barking?in these self-consciously irreverent, wordy, and often tender letters he was fond of banging out impulsively to friends like William J. Kennedy (Ironweed); magazine editors from whom he hoped to scare up work; youths who asked for career advice; Lyndon Johnson, when asking for the job of governor of American Samoa; and writers whose work he read with violent pleasure or loathing (Norman Mailer, William Styron, Nelson Algren). Thompson enjoyed messing up wherever he could but he never lost a grip on his desire to become a damn good writer. This is a shot in the liver for struggling writers and a searing testimony to an important moment in American journalism. Highly recommended.
-?Amy Boaz, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
-?Amy Boaz, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Hunter S. Thomson came to the conclusion at a very young age that he was brilliant, and as a result made a point of saving his letters to prove it. Before Gonzo was Gonzo there was Hunter S. Thomason the lover of the written word, and this collection of letters lets you in on the adventure of an author coming of age. Like the readers of Hemmingway and Kerouac, if you are a lover of Hunter S. Thompson's writing you are more than likely a lover of Hunter S. Thompson - This book is for you. Anyone not familiar with HST will find in this book the archetypical American idealist: self reliant, self directed and uncompromising. However what makes Thompson unique is that he is able to write very, very well, and in so doing his journey is told with vibrancy and power that can only be told by a man who has done much, thought a lot, and wrote even more.
Editor Douglas Brinkley has done an outstanding job arranging Thompson's "trunk load of letters" from a mix of miscellaneous correspondences into a brilliant historical look at the history of America over latter half of twentieth century.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By CBock
Format:Paperback
Did you ever secretly read someone's diary? You knew it was wrong but you couldn't help yourself. We do it because it offers a glimpse into a part of someone's personality that we may have not known. That's essentially what these letters are. When Thompson wrote them it's unlikely he ever intended for them to be open to the public. Although at one point he does make a prophetic statement about his suspicion that people like reading his letters better than his fiction. AND he did keep carbons of everything. No matter. This is completely entertaining. It's fascinating to the see the evolution of his writing and depth of his intellect. He really grows fangs and claws along the way and uses them, usually hilariously, to rip people to shreds. He says the things that we would want to but are afraid to. No one is off limits. Unfortunately, his incredible talent as a writer is overshadowed by his reputation for consuming freakish amounts of booze and pills. Everyone loves a freak show, right? But this shows his power--what made him great. If you're a writer, you'll especially love it. One note: If you've never read any Hunter Thompson, start with his breakout book, Hell's Angels, and then move here. Not only does Proud Highway culminate with the release of that book (which erupted Thompson's fame) but it also rumbles with energy and is a heck of a lot of fun.
By Bruce Oksol
Format:Paperback
This is a must for every wannabe author. This is not simply for the diehard HST fan. The author speaks to everybody but for those born before 1964 it is particularly poignant, a real coming-of-age story. If this had been fiction, it would not have been published because it would have simply been too outrageous to accept. I'm sure in this case 90% of it is true, but only HST would know for sure -- and even he probably forgets much of it. (If you can remember the 1960's, you weren't there.)The softback copy has a great feel and look to it, the paper and the font. A great book to keep in your carry-on baggage even if it is a bit heavy.
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4.7 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good book
These are letters of Hunter S. Thompson. They range from letters to publishers to letters to his land lord. Great for the Thompson fanatic.
Published on Aug 16 2003
5.0 out of 5 stars
Important for anyone in their early 20s
First, a disclaimer. Yes I realize that this, the volume that follows and the as of yet unreleased third volume, are all meant for die-hard fans and not introductory reading. Read more
Published on July 25 2003 by M. Hogan
4.0 out of 5 stars
Laugh Out Loud Funny and Thought Provoking
This is a collection of letters written from Hunter's Childhood up to his successful Hell's Angels book. Read more
Published on April 25 2003 by Reviewer X
5.0 out of 5 stars
HST with hair!
I had picked up an interest in the inimitable Doctor of Journalism & his gonzo styling from reading on the filmic "Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas", & then seeing the film, & finally... Read more
Published on Feb 24 2003 by "montythemongoose"
1.0 out of 5 stars
Endless Highway
As much as I love reading the good Dr's. books, and as much as it pains me to write this, it must be said that this book is an ill conceived collection of personal letters meant to... Read more
Published on Feb 18 2002 by J. Thomas
4.0 out of 5 stars
The roots of Gonzo
This is really an interesting way to view someone who has been viewed mostly as a drug abusing maniac by the general public, and as a drug abusing revolutionary journalist by the... Read more
Published on Nov 28 2001
5.0 out of 5 stars
Passionate prose
This is going to be a very bold statement - as well as perhaps the highest compliment one can behold on a book - but here it goes: This book (The Proud Highway... Read more
Published on Oct 29 2001 by MrMusto
5.0 out of 5 stars
Worth the Effort....
If you've never read any of Thompson's works, I recommend you *not* start with this one. Buy a used copy of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (it's a relatively short book), read it... Read more
Published on July 2 2001 by CMOS
4.0 out of 5 stars
high quality gonzo
I just got into Hunter S. Thompson, and after reading this book, I don't think I'll ever get out. This guy is amazing. Read more
Published on Jan 30 2001 by Casey F.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Savage, Vicious Prose
I am a lover of language, an aspiring writer, yet this book has changed me in a way that remains unsurpassed in my personal history. Read more
Published on Nov 16 2000 by Hugh S. Moore
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