When the Going Gets Weird: The Twisted Life and Times of Hunter S. Thompson by Peter O. Whitmer

by Peter O. Whitmer

Definitive biography of Hunter S. Thompson, American journalist and personality. Sold out in hard and trade paperback by Disney / Hyperion. Eight pages of illustrations. New Prologue, ISBN, and copy of Stipulation preventing me from delivering flowers to Hunter's Mother.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Journalism

Paperback

First published April 1, 1993

Reviews

[Alex Kuzel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book! I haven't read a biography since probably middle school so I'm not really equipped to discuss this on too much of a technical level. That being said, Hunter Thompson was a fascinating person and I plan to read other biographies of him to see what this book missed or did special. At quite a few points when reading this I got the sense that a lot was being glossed over to make Hunter seem more like a glamorous maniac than just a straight monster. Like the fact his ex-wife had make numerous reports to the police about him is just referenced offhand and not given any detail. Not to say the book paints a heroic portrait of the man, I just think its rare for the washed up alcoholic superstar type to NOT be shitty and bigoted towards some type of demographic, and I'm curious as to what other biographies say. It's hard to give a biography a star ranking because the author isn't really responsible for their subject, but this was an interesting read.

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best biography of Hunter S. Thompson among the extant corpus of HST biographies. Recommended.

[Diane Bluegreen · Rating 3 out of 5]

i found this book very enjoyable but have to many other books and interests going right now to continue. i would recommend it even so.

[Natalya · Rating 5 out of 5]

A text for a class taught by a gonzo professor who was seldom sober himself and had a homemade bumper sticker that says "put a bomb in osama's pajamas."

[Michael]

A well-written and insightful biography. This guy was one of my heroes. I cannot imagine that Hunter Thompson was not involved at some level despite the title.

[Rex McCulloch · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read any of the subsequent bios on Thompson. After reading this one, I never felt like I needed to.

[BikerDude · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the better bios I've read. Author has his own writerly skill which works very well with his subject matter. Best HST bio I've read so far.

[Phill Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Strange, but true: Authored by the drummer for the 1960s Beatles copycat band, The Turtles.

[Shane · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of the best biographys on dr thompson.

[Sammie Jenkins]

Got a few chapters in but couldn't finish it - I was bored out of my skull.