This Hardcover Book item from Little, Brown and Company was reviewed on 21-Oct-2008.
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1) Hardcover Book Gonzo: The Life of Hunter S. Thompson by Little, Brown and Company. This biography of the journalist/writer Hunter S. Thompson clearly shows a man who was by turns sociopathic, assaultive, hilarious, obnoxious, incoherent, and brilliant--and this was to his friends! What amazes me is that he had so many friends, ones who stuck with him and still harbored affection for him, long after break-ups, divorces, and betrayals large and small. Somehow, there was enough in this creator of a new brand of journalism--with the author as necessary and intentional part of the events as they unfolded--to engender loyalty and forgiveness among a wide range of people. That he was multiply addicted to drugs (alcohol notable among them) was central to his lifestyle. In itself, this is hardly unique, but I can´t recall another personality who indulged on an everyday basis to the extent that he did...and still be able to function.
Unsurprisingly, over time, he wasn´t--and his real genius imploded in a caricature of himself. At this point, his many friends seem more enablers in his suicidal extremes than anything else. The book is structured as reminscences by people who knew Thompson at various stages of his life. This provides an interesting and quasi-objective view of the man, as enough different perceptions and experiences are brought in, that no one image or "take" predominates over the others. That said, there is remarkable agreement among the various voices recorded in the book, especially with regard to Thompson´s brilliance and his self-destructiveness.
This book strikes me as an honest and clear accounting of Hunter S. Thompson´s life. At many points through the reading of this book, I laughed out loud; whatever else he was, Thompson had unparalleled chutzpah--who else would have gone to a fancy restaurant with an ultra-rich person he´d never met, and bring along his own "dinner"...in the form of a maggot-ridden piece of liver?
¤ 2) Hardcover Book Gonzo: The Life of Hunter S. Thompson by Little, Brown and Company. What happened here? What was seemed to start out as an eloge to Hunter slowly turned into a hatchet job. Sorry I bought this one.¤ 3) Hardcover Book Gonzo: The Life of Hunter S. Thompson by Little, Brown and Company. The following was posted on the Owl Farm (Hunter´s fortified compound in Woody Creek, Colorado) Blog. It was written by Anita Thompson (Hunter´s widow) in regards to this book and it´s author, Jann S. Wenner:
Reading the LA times review of Jann Wenner´s book made me realize I need to communicate in more specific terms. The reviewer was too sloppy to understand that Jann never forgave Hunter for leaving Rolling Stone. Jann convinced nearly all of Hunter´s friends to participate in what would be a "positive" book about Hunter. Then, using a cheap parlor trick, Jann excerpted and paraphrased the negative bits of interviews to weave a tall tale to trash Hunter.
Hunter wrote more in the last 5 years of his life than he had in the previous 15, along with fighting and winning a beautiful legal battle for Lisl Auman. Hunter believed in the triumph of the human spirit. John Nichols from the Nation has said, and I agree, that some of Hunter´s most savage and inspiring political writing, was in his ESPN columns during the last years of his life. Yes, they were short, insightful and funny. He inspired thousands of sports lovers to get involved with politics. Simple.
What the L.A. Times reviewer fails to notice is that in addition to Hunter "using" people around him, the truth is that Hunter was surrounded, much of his life, by leeches (many of those leeches grace the pages of the book). It doesn´t take a rocket scientist to recognize that many people did TAKE, TAKE, TAKE from Hunter and gave very little in return. While sitting at his typewriter, Hunter helped many people, especially Jann, make a lot of money. Today is no exception.
Here is the letter that I wrote to Jann in May, after receiving the manuscript. I had to tell him the book was a FRAUD, and that I would not write a forward or include an interview -- which was SCARY, because I felt very much alone. Despite his withering status, Jann is considered "rich and powerful," and I was warned by friends that he would go after me if I refused to be in the book. Jann offered me a lot of money and ad space in his magazine to include my interview and forward, and implied threats if I didn´t. In the end, however, the best people to defend Hunter are his readers.
Jann:
In my refrigerator I have a jar of mayonnaise, two tangerines, 1/2 carton of soy milk and a few boxes of dried spaghetti. And I also have an overdrawn bank account, $43 in my wallet, and no car. So, I really, REALLY could use that money! But I need to let you know that I´m sticking with my original decision I made many months ago - that I can not be a part of [your book] in any shape or form. I hope you understand. If readers believe that the bits and pieces of interviews you weaved together tell an accurate story, there is nothing I could possibly write in a 500 word forward to sway them. Defending him in a forward would be futile. So, I´m out. And yes, let´s part ways.
Rolling Stone [and especially US Weekly] is such a huge success financially... You have accumulated a mass amount of power and wealth over the last 40 years -- Why do you have to use it against Hunter? It would have been so beautiful if you would have used that power to compile, into a book, a bunch of humiliating personal interviews about someone like Paul Wolfowitz, Cheney, Rice, or Rumsfeld or Armitage or Even Bush. Why Hunter? You walked around at both memorial services in a constant state of tears and made people trust you to sit down and do interviews with Corey. I know you and Hunter had some problems over the years... [but] I don´t understand the level of venom employed here. Why?
You couldn´t deny the fact that yes, as soon as he left Rolling Stone, you portray him as an awful beast of a man. But you also couldn´t deny the fact that all these people loved him dearly "all the way to the end". The reason peopled loved him is because he is one of the rare human beings who is essentially decent, with moments of rotten behavior.
I wish I could appeal to your sense of decency and that you would burn this awful manuscript. It would be the right thing to do. I realize you´re probably laughing at me to even suggest it. Oh Well.
One of my first nights working with Hunter on a project here in the kitchen was in 1999 on the second letters book. I wrote about it in one of the essay portions of my 3 hour Columbia entrance exam. On this night, there were several letters to [and from] you up for consideration...Many people lobbied to include those nasty ones. Hunter humored them for a while. But he wouldn´t run them in the end.
THAT is why "people loved Hunter all the way to the end." Because no matter how vicious he could be, he was essentially decent in a huge way. And when he did attack people, it was only those who were in a position to defend themselves.
Anyway, I know I´ve pissed you off and it´s probably not the best strategy for me to make an enemy of you. But I love Hunter, and hate to see his friend bash him to pieces... and hope to god that you just go with your heart and reconsider this whole project. If you want to publish embarrassing interviews about me, so be it. I´ve learned to deflect cheap shots. Just lay off Hunter, he´s dead. Won´t you???
Regardless, I wish you some peace and forgiveness in your life.
Sincerely,
Anita
(May 23, 2007)
p.s. for those of you worried about Johnny Depp, although I haven´t spoken to him in a long time, we´ll give him the benefit of the doubt that he just trusted Wenner, like everybody else when he allowed the reprint of his "forward."
original link: http://www.owlfarmblog.com/blog/2007/11/defending_hunter.html¤ 4) Hardcover Book Gonzo: The Life of Hunter S. Thompson by Little, Brown and Company. This is a very good book. I recommend it to any people who are inspired by Hunter S. Thompson. Good read.¤ 5) Hardcover Book Gonzo: The Life of Hunter S. Thompson by Little, Brown and Company. You´d think that what is essentially a biography of one of the greatest writers in our time would at least be well written. It´s not.¤ 6) Hardcover Book Gonzo: The Life of Hunter S. Thompson by Little, Brown and Company. Few American lives are stranger, more action-packed, or wilder than that of Hunter S. Thompson. Born a rebel in Louisville, Kentucky, Thompson spent a lifetime channeling his energy and insight into such landmark works as Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - and his singular and provocative style challenged and revolutionized writing.
Now, for the first time ever, Jann Wenner and Corey Seymour have interviewed the Good Doctor´s friends, family, acquaintances and colleagues and woven their memories into a brilliant oral biography. From Hell´s Angels leader Sonny Barger to Ralph Steadman to Jack Nicholson to Jimmy Buffett to Pat Buchanan to Marilyn Manson and Thompson´s two wives, son, and longtime personal assistant, more than 100 members of Thompson´s inner circle bring into vivid focus the life of a man who was even more complicated, tormented, and talented than any previous portrait has shown. It´s all here in its uncensored glory: the creative frenzies, the love affairs, the drugs and booze and guns and explosives and, ultimately, the tragic suicide. As Thompson was fond of saying, "Buy the ticket, take the ride."¤ Page Updated: Robert N. Goolsby, 18-Nov-2008, 03160052749780316005272, 8X0-740-1X0-6X0-281-Y4B-8 
Gonzo: The Life of Hunter S. Thompson, Book, Image © Little, Brown and Company
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