book data
2294 ratings, 4.05 average rating, 208 reviews
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published
April 22nd 1992
(first published 1972)
by Warner Books
binding
Mass Market Paperback, 512 pages
isbn
0446313645
(isbn13: 9780446313643)
description
With the same drug-addled alacrity and jaundiced wit that made Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas a hilarious hit, Hunter S. Thompson turns his savage eye...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 2891)
Read in July, 2008
recommends it for:
the political horse-race set
The most striking aspect of Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail ’72 to a reader in the summer of 2008 (me) is the parallel between 1972 and 2008. As an unpopular war rages, the anointed establishment candidate, replete with a massive lead in endorsements from the major players, loses the inevitable Democratic nomination to an insurgent change candidate, in part because the former has to explain away earlier support for the war the latter opposed from the start. And the Democrati...more
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Read in February, 2008
Every time I read Hunter Thompson, I wonder what people who aren't into drugs of any kind think of this dude.
Still, I can't think of another book (that I'd actually feel like reading) that takes so much care -- to the extent that one can apply that word to Thompson's work -- with the Thomas Eagleton "affair," as its referred to in the text.
(Tangentially, I find myself contemplating how difficult it would be to use the word "affair" today to describe something other t...more
Still, I can't think of another book (that I'd actually feel like reading) that takes so much care -- to the extent that one can apply that word to Thompson's work -- with the Thomas Eagleton "affair," as its referred to in the text.
(Tangentially, I find myself contemplating how difficult it would be to use the word "affair" today to describe something other t...more
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Read in April, 2008
recommends it for:
junkies of all types; historians
I have a longstanding affection for reading books in the locations at which the books take place. I developed this interest during an apoplectic fit of maudlin sophomoricism when, at 18, I spent the summer in Paris reading everything possible connected to 20th century literature in that city (the collected volumes of Anais Nin's diaries, Henry Miller's Parisian fantasies, even that Hemingway book that only starts in Paris (The Sun Also Rises?), all those surrealist manifestos, Andre Breton's in...more
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Read in January, 1985
WHen the man was in his prime, before the booze and coke whittled his talent down to a sputtering winking flame, he could really write. This is an example of what he was capable of before the whore of fame came to claim him.
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In this historic and so important election year I though it was only appropriate to re-visit this title...Miss ya Doc.
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Read in December, 2008
I'm really glad I didn't read this during the Obama campaign. A surprisingly thorough and informative look at the entire 1972 campaign, HST clearly is not just some drug-addled psycho but a honest-to-goodness journalist. He has a preternatural political instinct and understanding, as well as being openly biased and honest, which is refreshing. He's certainly unhinged though, and he admits constantly in the text that many articles were written frantically in a matter of hours due to his inabil...more
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Read in July, 2008
Picked this up at my wife's suggestion, after finishing Rick Perlstein's epic political history of 1965-1972, Nixonland, and seeing the new documentary on Thompson, Gonzo. It's my first exposure to Thompson's long works, and it's mighty fun reading, although tackling it after Perlstein's book ensured that I was oriented as to all the players. (Three months ago I didn't know who half these people were... Ed Muskie? Scoop Jackson?) I finished all 480 pages of Campaign Trail ...more
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Read in March, 2008
From Hillary to how we eat, this cruel prose, now 36-years-old, is still as relevant and incisive as it ever was. Everyone deserves a dose of HST’s literary LSD-25 These Days, the ol’ fear and loathing. Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’72 is a raw, worthwhile Thompson-hit of black acid. So stick your tongue out.
Thompson’s political pondering is comprised mostly of the literary equivalent of adrenaline, bile, and dark humor. Until you realize that HST is being absolutely serio...more
Thompson’s political pondering is comprised mostly of the literary equivalent of adrenaline, bile, and dark humor. Until you realize that HST is being absolutely serio...more
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Read in January, 2008
recommended to Eben by:
Sarah Jamesrecommends it for: Anyone interested in American presidential politics
My familiarity with Hunter Thompson's writing to this point has mainly been based off of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and various articles about sports and motorcycles. I always thought of him as a talented if maniacal writer. What engrossed me about campaign trail was his utter fluency in the political world of his time and his almost touching concern, pessimistic as it may be, for the health of the American political system.
A key tension in the book seems to be between Hunters desire t...more
A key tension in the book seems to be between Hunters desire t...more
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Read in January, 2001
recommends it for:
Political Junkies, History Buffs and Gary Hart
With the run up to the now infamous 2000 election in full swing and with Bill Clinton on his way out my interest in politics was waning severly. I didn't see how anyone could vote for the pasty faced red neck son of a former president and I knew in my heart Al Gore was a shoe in.
Once I watched along with the rest of the world in utter shock and mildy amused horror at the outcome of the afore mentioned election I dug around until I found this particular book that details Hunter S. Thompsons...more
Once I watched along with the rest of the world in utter shock and mildy amused horror at the outcome of the afore mentioned election I dug around until I found this particular book that details Hunter S. Thompsons...more
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Read in July, 2007
Coming at Hunter Thompson from the perspective that many my age probably do, viewing him as a drug addled freak scarcely able to save himself from himself through through the grace of his ways with prose, this book comes as an eye opener.
Thompson knew and genuinely cared about politics, and not solely in the sense that he hated those with whom he disagreed with. People talk a lot these days about the loss of innocence surrounding Altamont, the deaths of Hendrix and Joplin, blah fucking blah...more
Thompson knew and genuinely cared about politics, and not solely in the sense that he hated those with whom he disagreed with. People talk a lot these days about the loss of innocence surrounding Altamont, the deaths of Hendrix and Joplin, blah fucking blah...more
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This book collects Hunter's monthly dispatches from a year of following the Democrat's primaries and subsequent presidential campaign as the head of Rolling Stone's National Affairs Desk. This is the "straightest" journalism I've read from Hunter and illuminating to be reminded of how on top of it and knowledgeable he always was regardless of what he was ingesting. My advice when reading this book is to just plow through it because if you start getting hung up on all the unrecognizable...more
Read in July, 2007
recommends it for:
everyone
This book is a hilarious and poignant take on the 1972 presidential campaign as seen through the eyes of Gonzo Journalist Dr. Hunter S. Thompson. During this time, Dr. Thompson was the "National Affairs Editor" for Rolling Stone magazine. This book is essentially an annotated compilation of the articles he was writing for Rolling Stone during the course of the campaign. It offers a first hand account of the insane amount of thought and organization that goes into a national election. A...more
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People often say "this book inspired me to do something." People associate books with taking an interest in political and philosophical issues, with career choices, and life styles.
"This book inspired me" has become such a cliché that we forget what an impact it must have had on the reader to affect his or her lives in some way.
Nonetheless, Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72 was huge inspiration in my decison to pursue a career in professional journalism. ...more
"This book inspired me" has become such a cliché that we forget what an impact it must have had on the reader to affect his or her lives in some way.
Nonetheless, Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72 was huge inspiration in my decison to pursue a career in professional journalism. ...more
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Read in January, 1975
recommended to erik by:
no onerecommends it for: Hunter Thompson fans
How does one classify a book which is ostensibly a journalistic account of the 1972 presidential campaign but is actually more about its author, both essayist about (Thompson is loose, very loose, with the facts) and participant in the events he describes? With misgivings, I classify this as autobiography--albeit, again, loose, very loose, with the facts.
This is not Thompson's best book. Hell's Angels and Fear and Loathing in LasVegas are both better. Indeed, it is pretty clear that this ...more
This is not Thompson's best book. Hell's Angels and Fear and Loathing in LasVegas are both better. Indeed, it is pretty clear that this ...more
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Read in January, 2008
recommends it for:
anybody even slightly interested in the current election
All I can say is, "Fear and Loathing" is pretty closely associated with how I feel after reading this book. An immensely enthralling read (I read over 300 pages just today- couldn't put it down); scarily similar to the presidential race currently transpiring. The end of the book is heartbreaking; although we all know how history unfolded (4 more years of Nixon), I couldn't help but root for McGovern's campaign, senselessly and against all logic. It reminds of me how I felt four yea...more
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Read in September, 2007
recommends it for:
HST Lovers in the truest form
If all you know of H.S.T. is "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," this book is not for you. If you know H.S.T. as a journalist who, in his pre-gonzo years actually covered stories with less drugs and craziness, then you may be able to handle the politics of 1972.
The drugs are there, but not in the Gonzo Sense. This story is pure political. Pieced together from his articles in Rolling Stone, he follows the election like a die-hard. Despite the fact that he actually ran for Sherif...more
The drugs are there, but not in the Gonzo Sense. This story is pure political. Pieced together from his articles in Rolling Stone, he follows the election like a die-hard. Despite the fact that he actually ran for Sherif...more
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Read in November, 2008
It was strange to be reading this particular book while the current campaign was coming to a close. It's all about the Change candidate, and how the youth vote and the new progressives will come out in droves on Election Day, and how we'll end a pointless war, pull ourselves off the brink of recession and take back a country we love but are currently angry about. And then everything goes to hell and Nixon wins.
I was terrified that history would repeat itself. That all this talk of change an...more
I was terrified that history would repeat itself. That all this talk of change an...more
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With the PA primary coming up I thought this would be appropriate to read. It is amazing to see the inner workings of the political process, and getting the first hand account is really eye opening at some times. Also, there seems to be a number of similarities between the 1972 campaign members and those running today - it's amazing how little has really changed with politicians. Tough thing about the book is not knowing most of the key players, but Thompson does a great job of really filling...more
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Read in December, 2006
Possibly the closest Thompson ever got to true journalism. This brutally in-depth examination of the 1972 presidential election is still dripping with classic Thompson, and produces some of his more hysterical moments (one in particular involved a crazed drunkard getting his hands on Thompson's press pass and almost single-handedly ruining Muskie's run at the presidency by recking havoc on his campaign train). However, as the book progresses, he seems more hell-bent on showing as accurately as p...more
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