Conversations with Hunter S. Thompson

by Hunter S. Thompson (Editor), Beef Torrey, Kevin Simonson

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.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography

234 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2008

About the author

Hunter Stockton Thompson was an American journalist and author, widely regarded as a pioneer of New Journalism alongside Gay Talese, Truman Capote, Norman Mailer, Joan Didion, and Tom Wolfe. He gained prominence with Hell's Angels, living among the motorcycle club to provide a first-hand account of their lives, and later wrote the unconventional article "The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved," which established his signature Gonzo journalism style, in which the writer becomes central to the narrative. He is best known for Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, serialized in Rolling Stone, exploring the failure of the 1960s counterculture, adapted for film in 1980 and 1998. Thompson ran unsuccessfully for sheriff of Pitkin County, Colorado, on the Freak Power ticket and became known for his intense disdain for Richard Nixon, covering George McGovern's 1972 campaign for Rolling Stone in Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’72. His output declined in the mid-1970s due to fame and substance abuse, though he continued writing sporadically for outlets including Rolling Stone, Playboy, Esquire, and ESPN.com, with much of his work collected in The Gonzo Papers. Thompson was known for lifelong alcohol and drug use, love of firearms, and contempt for authority, often noting that such vices "worked for him." He was born in Louisville, Kentucky, to Virginia Davison Ray, a librarian, and Jack Robert Thompson, an insurance adjuster, and grew up in the Cherokee Triangle neighborhood. After his father’s death, his mother raised him and his two brothers. An athletic youth, he co-founded the Hawks Athletic Club, attended several schools including Louisville Male High School, and became a member of the Athenaeum Literary Association, contributing to its yearbook until expelled for criminal activity. He enlisted in the Air Force, studying electronics and becoming sports editor of the Command Courier, then worked briefly for Time and local newspapers before moving to Puerto Rico to write for El Sportivo and the San Juan Star. He traveled to South America for the National Observer, then lived in Big Sur, where he worked as a caretaker and security guard and published his first magazine feature and short story. Thompson married Sandra Dawn Conklin, with whom he had a son, Juan, and continued writing, experimenting with dextroamphetamine and later cocaine. His reporting on the Hell's Angels and coverage of the 1968 Democratic National Convention shaped his political outlook. After Hell's Angels, he published for national magazines and critiqued the hippie movement, then moved to Woody Creek, Colorado, establishing his home Owl Farm. In 1970, he pioneered Gonzo journalism with his Kentucky Derby article, later collaborating with illustrator Ralph Steadman, and began writing Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, combining fiction and reportage. His coverage of the 1972 presidential campaign broke traditional boundaries of political reporting. Thompson struggled with fame and substance abuse, missing assignments such as the Rumble in the Jungle in 1974, and retreated to Owl Farm, continuing to write sporadically. He produced The Gonzo Papers, contributed to The San Francisco Examiner, and published memoir Kingdom of Fear in 2003. He married Anita Bejmuk in 2003, and in 2005 took his own life at Owl Farm. Thompson’s Gonzo style blurred fiction and nonfiction, placing himself at the center of his narratives, often creating a mythic persona, Raoul Duke. His political beliefs included support for drug legalization, firearm rights, civil liberties, and skepticism of official narratives, and he engaged in advocacy through the Fourth Amendment Foundation and NORML. Posthumously, scholarships in his name support journalism students and veterans. Thompson remains a cult figure, celebrated for his audacious, immersive writing, fearless social critique, and enduring influence o

Reviews

[Jesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid, if un-illuminating overview of interviews with Thompson. Most seem to be drawn from the '80s and '90s, when HST seemed more interested in talking about writing than actually writing. Still, fun stuff, and there are a few good ones in there, especially the early Playboy stuff & a Matthew Hahn piece from Atlantic Online, circa '97, where HST outlines what he'd assign in Journalism 101. (I'm also still rather proud of my 2003 profile from Relix, which closes the book.)

[Vali Benson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great insight into a complicated mind. This collection of interviews shows the true character of one of America's most gifted and original writers by his own words and not from those of his characters. Highly recommended for fans of the art of communication, exceptional writing, and unique style.

[Elias · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of the interviews began to feel repetitive, but if you can push through those parts it's worth it to see his progression. You can hear him become more jaded and solitary and how his lifestyle might have contributed to his death by suicide. Wonderful thinker about the craft of writing and journalism!

[Joe Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

My review: Covers interviews dating from 1974 to 2003. No way I can give a proper review of anything dealing with the good Doctor. All I know is that reading his words fills me with hope, raises my heart rate, and quite plainly reminds me that I'm still alive.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.8 because it’s HST!!

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I chose to read this book before reading his material because I wanted to hear his perspective on his writing. I find Thompson interesting. I also felt that each interview gave a different perspective. I was particularly interested in the last interview because he spoke about politics and how he feels we will move into the next generation. The books gives a broad spectrum of his personality and intrigued me. I will definitely be adding a few of his books to my reading list.

[dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

words words words - love those words...

[j_ay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too many articles and not actual interviews

[Kristin Knisley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately this collection of interviews and articles didn’t need to exist. It’s a collection from other sources but all it has served is to show how unoriginal journalists of the times were. They loved to focus on his drug use and how Gary Trudeau made a character (Uncle Duke) based off Thompson. None of the articles get to the heart of his character or any depth at all. As a former journalist, I’m not quite sure what these journalists are wanting to accomplish. They had such a shithead in front of them, willing to say anything, potentially giving true insight into the times, and these folks are asking either absolutely dweeb-ish questions, or questions so pretentious that the answer has no meaning. What a waste. I felt like the interviewers were praying HST would think they were “cool” based on their questions, and instead wasted everyone’s time. That being said - focus your energy on Ron Rosenbaum’s question about the invention of Gonzo journalism, Curtis Wilkie’s entire write up, and Matthew Hahn’s questions to get insight into HST’s thoughts on the internet… and ignore the rest.

[Tom Oman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is not necessarily made up of conversations, but rather interviews conducted mainly for magazine articles. In theory this could have been a nice way to 'check-in' with Hunter at different times in his post-Fear and Loathing career, as each interview is chronological with roughly 3-4 years of spacing between each one. However, there ends up being a lot of re-hashing of his entire career, naturally this is understandable given their original context, but in this format, much of the material is repeated in many of the interviews. However, there is a sufficient amount of Hunters unique observance to contemporary events to make the book an entertaining enough read.

[Madame Soybean]

Love it so far...

[Stephen Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

The interviews are interesting but the book needed serious editing. There were spelling and punctuation errors and repeated text.

[mono · Rating 4 out of 5]

🎂