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Title: Generation of Swine : Gonzo Papers, Volume 2: Tales of Shame and Degredation in the '80s by Hunter S. Thompson ISBN: 0-679-72237-8 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 17 July, 1989 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.29 (14 reviews)
Rating: 1
Summary: Incoherent Soliloquy
Comment: In this HST compilation we are presented with a collection of over one hundred writings, all dated throughout a short period of the 1980s. Almost all of it is rambling prose and soliloquy. Because there was never any explanation of the context, intent, or setting in these writings, one can not easily understand it nor get any inferred meaning out of it. He could have noted the circumstances of the places and people that he was writing about. Instead this was just slapped together, lumped it into one, and dumped on bookshelves. A lot of his opinions come off as if he is on a self-righteous pedestal. He also liked to frequently note, that this or that famous person he was writing about was "a friend of mine." In writing, once a person's name gets to a certain point he can convince a publisher to put out his work out no matter how awful onto the market, even if it is self-aggrandizing ramblings that no one can relate to nor benefit from. So-called Gonzo journalism is mostly for those who couldn't write their way out of a paper bag. HST lost his touch about thirty years ago. Take him out of the oven, he's done.
Rating: 5
Summary: savagely funny
Comment: I read this book when it first came out and thoroughly enjoyed it. Of course, it helps if you are a political junkie.
The surprising thing, though, is how I think it holds up, even though so many of the anecdotes and columns are topical of the era in which it was written. I picked this up the other day at the book store, on a whim, and sat down to revisit it. I was laughing so uncontrollably, and for such a period of time, that a lady sitting nearby asked me what I was reading, went and got a copy for herself, started perusing it and ended up buying it.
Nobody...NOBODY is as perfectly vicious and insanely funny at the same time. He is like an impressionist political commentator. His portraits of George Bush Sr here aren't quite accurate...but something about the way he exagerates the man's traits captures his essence more clearly than any attempt at objectivity could hope for.
If only he were still covering politics...
Rating: 4
Summary: Not as sharp, but never dull
Comment: I read this book right after "The Great Shark Hunt," and it was a bit of a let down. The articles are all around two to three pages in Generation of Swine, so none of them are as intricate nor as detailed as some of the masterpieces found in Shark Hunt.
The first half of the book is the most relaxed writing I've read of Thompson, lots about gambling, shooting and life around Woody Creek. When the Iran Contra scandal starts to heat up Thompson comes alive. He's back to his acid spitting deconstruction of the American political engine. His attacks become ever more frenzied until Bush Sr. escapes the noose for his involvement in the whole affair. This seems to cool Thompson down he seems resigned to fate; 15 years earlier he would have written 30 page rallying cries, like "The Scum also Rises," but he's an older now and he takes it in stride.
It's an interesting book, and fantastic journalism. The 80's weren't half as dynamic as the 60's or 70's and as such it's not the place to start with Thompson. However, it might very well be the place to end.
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Title: Better Than Sex by Hunter S. Thompson ISBN: 0345396359 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 22 August, 1995 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Songs of the Doomed : More Notes on the Death of the American Dream by Hunter S. Thompson ISBN: 0743240995 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: 03 December, 2002 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: Proud Highway by Hunter S. Thompson ISBN: 0345377966 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 07 April, 1998 List Price(USD): $21.95 |
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Title: Hell's Angels by Hunter S. Thompson ISBN: 0345410084 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 29 September, 1996 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: The Great Shark Hunt : Strange Tales from a Strange Time by Hunter S. Thompson ISBN: 0743250451 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: 01 November, 2003 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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