Conversations with Hunter S. Thompson

by Beef Torrey (Editor), Kevin Simonson (Editor)

Overview

In 1971, the outlandish originator of gonzo journalism, Hunter S. Thompson (1937-2005) commandeered the international literary limelight with his best-selling, comic masterpiece Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Following his 1966 debut Hell's Angels, Thompson displayed an uncanny flair for inserting himself into the epicenter of major sociopolitical events of our generation. His audacious, satirical, ranting screeds on American culture have been widely read and admired. Whether in books, essays, or collections of his correspondence, his raging and incisive voice and writing style are unmistakable.

Conversations with Hunter S. Thompson is the first compilation of selected personal interviews that traces the trajectory of his prolific and much-publicized career. These engaging exchanges reveal Thompson's determination, self-indulgence, energy, outrageous wit, ire, and passions as he discusses his life and work.

Beef Torrey is the editor of Conversations with Thomas McGuane and co-editor of the forthcoming Jim Harrison: A Comprehensive Bibliography. Kevin Simonson has been published in SPIN, Rolling Stone, Village Voice, and Hustler.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781934110775
Publisher:	University Press of Mississippi
Publication date:	06/01/2008
Series:	Literary Conversations Series
Pages:	234
Sales rank:	940,917
Product dimensions:	6.04(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.69(d)

About the Author

Beef Torrey is the editor of Conversations with Thomas McGuane and coeditor of Jim Harrison: A Comprehensive Bibliography.


Kevin Simonson has been published in SPIN, Rolling Stone, Village Voice, and Hustler.

Table of Contents

Introduction     ix
Chronology     xvii
Playboy Interview: Hunter Thompson   Craig Vetter     3
Hunter Thompson: The Good Doctor Tells All ... about Carter, Cocaine, Adrenaline, and the Birth of Gonzo Journalism   Ron Rosenbaum     32
Hunter Thompson: Still Crazy after All These Years?   Peter O. Whitmer     48
Fear and Loathing in Hunter Thompson   Harold Conrad     57
The Doctor Is In   Curtis Wilkie     68
Gonzo's Last Stand? The New Aspen Takes Aim at Hunter S. Thompson   Geoffrey Stokes   Kevin Simonson     80
Interview with Hunter S. Thompson   William McKeen     92
Exclusive Interview with Hunter S. Thompson   Kevin Simonson     98
Still Gonzo after All These Years   Richard Keil     108
Writing on the Wall: An Interview with Hunter S. Thompson   Matthew Hahn     118
Fear and Loathing in Hollywood: A Strange and Terrible Saga of Guns, Drugs, and Hunter S. Thompson   Kevin Simonson     133
The Art of Journalism: An Interview with Hunter S. Thompson   Douglas Brinkley     140
Still Gonzo after All These Years   Jeff Kass     161
Fear and Writing   Seth Mnookin     167
Bedtime for Gonzo   J. Rentilly     176
Hunter S. Thompson   John Glassie     187
Man of Action: Hunter S. Thompson Keeps Moving   Jesse Jarnow     195
Index     205

Editorial Reviews

"You don’t want to miss Richard Keil’s white-knuckle account of sitting in the passenger seat with Thompson at the wheel, or the self-styled Doctor’s judicious diagnosis (from Ron Rosenbaum’s 1977 High Times interview) of Jimmy Carter’s mix of Puritanism and libertarianism: 'He’d put me in jail in an instant if he saw me snorting coke in front of him. He would not, however, follow me into the bathroom and try to catch me snorting it.'

Columbia Journalism Review

"What author would you like to have over to your house? Vonnegut, Hemingway, Angelou? Thanks to the University Press of Mississippi’s Literary Conversations Series, the question is no longer moot, and you don’t even have to make dinner.

Chances are, the contributors whose articles make up these publications have already asked the same questions that you might and have provided the insights that you would relish. Fortunately, Conversations with Hunter S. Thompson (University Press of Mississippi, 2008, $22) is especially rewarding, primarily due to the flamboyant personality of Thompson himself."

Jackson Free Press

"You don't want to miss Richard Keil's white-knuckle account of sitting in the passenger seat with Thompson at the wheel, or the self-styled Doctor's judicious diagnosis (from Ron Rosenbaum's 1977 High Times interview) of Jimmy Carter's mix of Puritanism and libertarianism: 'He'd put me in jail in an instant if he saw me snorting coke in front of him. He would not, however, follow me into the bathroom and try to catch me snorting it.'
Columbia Journalism Review


"What author would you like to have over to your house? Vonnegut, Hemingway, Angelou? Thanks to the University Press of Mississippi's Literary Conversations Series, the question is no longer moot, and you don't even have to make dinner.


Chances are, the contributors whose articles make up these publications have already asked the same questions that you might and have provided the insights that you would relish. Fortunately, Conversations with Hunter S. Thompson (University Press of Mississippi, 2008, $22) is especially rewarding, primarily due to the flamboyant personality of Thompson himself."
Jackson Free Press

From the Publisher