Savage Journey

Hunter S. Thompson and the Weird Road to Gonzo

Peter Richardson

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English

California Uni Pr Trade
20 July 2023

Biography: general; Biography: literary; Literature, Poetry & Criticism; History of the Americas; Media, information & communication industries; Local history

"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. 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. "

By: Peter Richardson
Imprint: California Uni Pr Trade
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 23mm
Weight: 454g
ISBN: 9780520395633
ISBN 10: 0520395638
Pages: 296
Publication Date: 20 July 2023
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Introduction 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 Acknowledgments Notes Bibliography Index

Peter Richardson has written critically acclaimed books about the Grateful Dead, the iconic rock band; Ramparts magazine, the legendary San Francisco muckraker; and Carey McWilliams, the radical author, journalist, and editor of The Nation magazine.

Reviews for Savage Journey: Hunter S. Thompson and the Weird Road to Gonzo

Richardson has a superb grasp of 1960s Bay Area culture. . . . This valuable study suggests that San Francisco, where Thompson took an assignment to write about a motorcycle gang, would prove his greatest touchstone. * Wall Street Journal * A lively, loping study of Hunter S. Thompson as litterateur. * Kirkus Reviews * Richardson successfully captures Thompson's lasting impact, positing him as the intellectual face of Rolling Stone and a thinker who anticipated Donald Trump's politics. Literature lovers will find much to consider, as will readers interested in an artist's struggle to develop a voice. * Publishers Weekly * Richardson presents a thoughtful examination of Thompson's best work, his impact on journalism, and the price that he paid for those years when he burned the candle at both ends and in the middle. * Houston Press * Well documented and smoothly written, the book is a pleasure. . . . Highly recommended. * CHOICE * Richardson makes an unassailable case for Thompson as one of the great media critics of his time. * Alta: Journal of California * Richardson's decision to look at Thompson through a literary lens not only works, it truly succeeds in adding a new level of comprehension and context to Thompson's writing. * CounterPunch * Some call Thompson the founder of 'gonzo,' a subset of New Journalism that shed objectivity and thrust the writer to the center of the story. As Richardson explains, the truth is more complex. * Washington Independent Review of Books *