Fear and Loathing

By Dr .Thomas Hopkin IV O.B.E (not really)

“I dig my own graves,” he said. “Green water and the White Rabbit . . . put it on; don’t make me use this.” His arm lashed out of the water, the hunting knife gripped in his fist.

“Jesus,” I muttered. And at that point I figured he was beyond help - lying there in the tub with a head full of acid and the sharpest knife I’ve ever seen, totally incapable of reason, demanding the white rabbit. This is it I thought, I’ve gone as far as I can with this waterhead. This time it’s a suicide trip. This time he wants it. He’s ready . . .

This is an extract from the account of a chemically induced journey into the sleaze capital of the world, in search of the darker side of the ‘American Dream’. The article (which was published as a novel) sparked a new genre of journalism, with its author uncompromisingly igniting the fuse. Thirty-one years on, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is considered a cult classic, and the benchmark for ‘Gonzo journalism’. Its author, Hunter S. Thompson (or the self proclaimed Dr. Gonzo) inadvertently became the flag-bearer for a style of writing whose roots lay in rebelling against the ‘bogus objectivity’ of conventional journalism.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas was born as a 1,500-word article commissioned by Sports Illustrated to cover the Mint 400 race on the outskirts of Las Vegas. However, Thompson’s surreal tour of the city itself became the epicentre of the hallucinatory story, and the Mint 400 was a minor occurrence in the now 15,000 word long tale of twisted semi-poetic prose. Sports Illustrated rejected the piece, but after sending it to Rolling Stone magazine, it received approval for publication. A further piece was scheduled, with Thompson and his associate (referred to in the article as his ‘attorney’, though he is portrayed as little more than a convivial drug fiend) attending the district attorney’s drug conference; with this done, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas was complete.

The finished article rambled from picking up terrified hitchhikers, to drinking on revolving bars in a casino full of flesh eating lizard-people, which was apparently essential for Thompson’s search for the American Dream. With Thompson impersonating many imaginary figures and using his press pass to maximum effect, there are frequent confrontations with casino owners, police and assorted Middle Americans. The wavering journey is dark, hysterical and provides an outrageous account of the drug-induced limbo between imagination and reality.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas was also adapted into a film, directed by Terry Gilliam. It starred Johnny Depp and Bencio Del Toro and was an almost perfectly absurd portrayal of the book itself. Released in 1998, it was a relatively unsuccessful box office hit, but like the book a cult following soon emerged to embrace the cinematic Gonzo experience.

Earlier this year, another momentous chapter was added to the story of Thompson and Gonzo journalism, with the doctor shooting himself in the study of his Colorado home. He was 72 years old. However, in true Gonzo style, the ‘funeral’ was anything but conventional; Thompson was cremated, then later had his remains fired from a giant cannon over his Colorado estate. Johnny Depp attended the ceremony, along with the winners of a ‘Willy Wonka’ style competition, organised by a beer company founded by Fear and Loathing’s illustrator, Ralph Steadman. With Dr. Gonzo’s exploits immortalised both on screen and on paper, it’s time to pick up his writing and experience Gonzo in its original form. After all, how many of you can you say that you’ve found the American dream? If not, then read on...

Books by Hunter S. Thompson

Hell’s Angels: A strange and Terrible Saga

The Great Shark Hunt

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign train ‘72

Fear and Loathing in America: The Brutal Odyssey of an Outlaw Journalist

Kingdom of Fear: Loathsome Fears of a Star-crossed Child in the Final Days of the American Century