Customer Reviews

Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Hunter Thompson would despise me. I am a conservative Reaganite. I thought Dick Nixon a brilliant President. I think the Lord Jesus Christ saves my soul. Whereas I despise Michael Moore and do not think he speaks the truth, I admire Hunter Thompson, who is probably a lot closer to Moore's politics than mine. It is not just the passage of time that heals divisions, it is more than that. If I were to analyze Hunter's political nostrums, I would probably find much that I know to be wrong, and that Hunter had enough education and knowledge available to him to know it was wrong but he wrote it anyway. Still, whatever visceral reaction I have to Moore I do not have for Hunter.

I guess humnor must be why. Hunter is absolutely inconoclastic. He is side-splitting. He never smiles, and his writing has no funniness in it. I picture him writing out of dread and hate, yet it magically transforms itself into laughs when my eyes meet his words and transfer to my brain. Forgive my bad attempt to get into his head and "explain" Hunter. It's all I can do to try.

This book is phenomenal. It contains events that are different from any descriptions ever. Others have novelized reality, but nobody splits the difference like Hunter. Hunter's supposed on-scene reportage of Edmund Muskie coming unglued in the New Hampshire snow, Frank Mankiewiczs' furious (drug induced?) ramblings, the one-on-one with Nixon himelf, leaves the reader exhausted in an effort to separate reality from fantasy. Hunter is like the great con man who uses Truth to augment his lies. This is not calling Hunter a liar, it is just an example. The fact that I don't see this as lies is telling, and separates Hunter and his times from the current political climate, in which his spawn, if you will, the likes of Moore and Al Franken, try to make Hunteresque points but leave themselves exposed as obfuscators instead. The answer is that Thompson is just so much better than almost all other writers that he cannot be duplicated or even imitated. To try is pointless. Many, inclduing myself, have tried to be the "next Jim Murray," but like Murray nobody can be Hunter, either.

STEVEN TRAVERS(...)

Although not as thrilling as Hell's Angels and not as profound as Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, F+L: on the campaign trail '72 does offer a brilliant analysis of the frenzied, unpredictable nature of American politics. With the McGovern/Nixon presidential race as its focus, this book gives the reader an insider's unflinching view of a year out with the candidates as they crisscrossed the USA. Unfortunately, Thompson takes some of the transcribed dialogue sections a bit too far and the inclusion of many irrelevant details was not necessary. The book should have been properly edited and cut down by about 100-150 pages. But having said that, the word for word transcription of an interview with George McGovern near the end of the book is priceless! What insight! The last 20 pages or so - the "Editor's conversation" - is also very good. If any foreigners want an understanding of the American campaign process, THIS IS THE BOOK TO READ. From no one but Thompson will you get such a realistic account. Gonzo journalism at its twisted peak, perhaps. Excessive at times, but worth the time and effort. Thompson's writing is more penetrating and entertaining than that of any tradional political journalist, period. Hell, you've got to give this guy credit. He's an original! The "football conversation" with Richard Nixon in New Hampshire and the "Sheridan"/Jerry Rubin incident on Muskie's Florida train are both hilarious!

The item was shipped off twice due to the negligence of the postal service, and it STILL arrived faster than most books I had ordered.

THANKS!

This is probably my favorite example of political journalism, in that it is informative, insightful, but never dull. I'm not one for long reviews, and I think all that I could say about this book has already been said by the other Amazon.com people. I just wanted to tack five stars onto this book. Thompson's work here and in Hell's Angels probably inspired hundreds of people to become journalists, and I am one of them.

For all his gonzo journalism, Thompson has a very keen eye for politics, even if he backed McGovern in '72. This is a very engaging and very insightful study of the McGovern campaign and how, in Thompson's mind, it was the only hope in the miasma of politics at the time. He is unsparing on McGovern's opponents, particularly Humphrey, but saved his scorn for Nixon, whom the Democrats were desperately hoping to unseat. One of the most memorable scenes in the book (whether real or imagined) is when Thompson was called up to talk sports with the President himself on Air Force One. For a moment, Thompson puts down his guard, to engage in Nixon's favorite pastime, football. What you get is a heady mix of politics and humor as only the Grandmaster of Gonzo Journalism can give. The book remains unsurpassed in its candid view of a presidential political campaign.

This book is so interesting. It was really detailed which made it nearly impossible to stop reading. I like how weird and satirical this book was. It would be good to see the movie after reading this book. would make it awesome. its a trip.

Does history repeat its self? All I can say is that Hunter wrote this book coming out of the liberal 60's which rounded out in a big bummer with Richard Nixon winning. The election in'72 was in a sense for all the marbles as it was a pivotal point to see if the country was going to be able to retain it's liberal ideals carved out by all of the revolutionary politics or if it would swing towards what the time was a radically conservative approach offered by Nixon. In this book Hunter follows the democratic party on the campaign trail and shows how their efforts unravel and ends up in a big victory for Nixon. If you want to read a campaign book that draws an innumerable amount of parralles between what's at stake for this up-coming election and what was at stake in '72 I highly recommend this one. Hunter delivers again with hard hitting style and bite.

This is a must read! The comparisons this book draws to the current political climate of the USA and the upcoming 2004 presidential elections to the 1972 campaign and election is startling. History most definitely appears to be repeating itself. Have a read and draw you own conclusions.

Hunter s. Thompson defies all normal journalism precedents and presents the campaigning process in the most straightforward style possible. HST only planned on covering the '72 presidential race and no others so he had no incentive to be polite or write positive articles about anybody. This bridge-burning rationale leads to some vulgar yet refreshingly honest evaluations of the candidates and the mistakes they made in their campaigns.
HST's style of writing makes the book, like all his others, very enjoyable to read. He digresses often into subjects not at all related to politics, but this only gives us a breather from endless political talk. He sugarcoats nothing and is able to provide a interesting outsider viewpoint.

Hunter S. Thompson has always been a great writer, with his breathless prose and over-the-top commentary he could never be accused of pulling his punches or shying away from speaking his mind - but a book on the 1972 presidential campaign? How could anyone make that even vaguely interesting?
Thompson not only makes it interesting, he makes it gripping, despite the fact the end result is given in the foreword! The book is a compelling look at the presidential year the saw Nixon's re-election, viewed by a drug-crazed loon with no respect for the incumbent candidate ("the dingbat"), or the rules of being a Washington reporter. HST tears them down and clearly loves every minute of it.
While the book isn't as flat-out entertaining as "...Las Vegas", it can also be read in much the same way as "1984" and "Animal Farm" by Orwell. Basically the story takes on another level of meaning and another sense of urgency when viewed an an allegory for today. It's sad, but we're in the same situation today as we were 31 years ago:
A Republican incumbent who doesn't care about ordinary people.
American soldiers dying every day for no good reason.
An apathetic public.
A huge number of Democratic hopefuls that are more content on tearing each other apart than in actually appearing electable.
A Democratic Party Leadership that wants to be centrist, "Republican Lite".
A Democratic rank-and-file that wants a huge swing to the left.

For George McGovern read Howard Dean - the parallels are uncanny. Both have a huge intensely committed (or devoted) grassroots activist following, both are shunned by the mainstream Democratic party, both are politely ignored by a press who thinks they're "perfect, but won't win because everyone says they can't win".

Well, McGovern did win the party nomination and went on to get thoroughly trounced by Nixon by an electorate that had taken a huge swing to the right. Read this book and tremble, and then go out and get involved in politics!*

*As a sidenote, Nixon was eventually done in 2 years later when Watergate (which is mentioned in passing in the book as a brewing scandal) eventually explodes and leads the attempt to impeach Nixon. Is there a similar scandal waiting in the wings today? The missing WMD perhaps? The leak that exposed the CIA operative? The Enron collapse?