A brown Jay Gatsby -- not black and with a head that would never be white: he moved from the very beginning with the same instinct that drove Gatsby -- an endless fascination with that green light at the end of the pier. He had shirts for Daisy, magic leverage for Wolfsheim, a delicate and dangerously vulnerable Ali-Gatsby shuffle for Tom Buchanan and no answers at all for Nick Carraway, the word junkie.
There are two kinds of counter punchers in this world: one learns early to live by his reactions and quick reflexes, and the other -- the one with a taste for high rolling -- has the instinct to make an aggressor's art of what is essentially the defensive, survivor's style of the Counter Puncher.
Muhammad Ali decided one day a long time ago, not long after his twenty-first birthday that he was not only going to be King of the World on his own turf, but Crown Prince on everybody else's. . .
Which is very, very High Thinking -- even if you can't pull it off. Most people can't handle the action on whatever they chose or have to call their own turf; and the few who can usually have better sense than to push their luck any further.
That was always the difference between Muhammad Ali and the rest of us. He came, he saw, and if he didn't entirely conquer -- he came as close as anybody we are likely to see in the lifetime of this doomed generation.
Res Ipsa Loquitor.
Rolling Stone, #265, May 18, 1978
Bibliography of Works by Dr. Hunter S. Thompson,
by Kihm Winship
* NO is used below as an abbreviation for National Observer.
"Renfro Valley" Chicago (Sunday) Tribune; February 18,1962
" 'Leary Optimism' at Home for Kennedy Visitor," National Observer, June 24, 1962, p. 11. On President Valencia of Colombia.
"Nobody Is Neutral Under Aruba's Hot Sun," NO, July 16, 1962, p. 14. Bar chat and politics in Aruba, with photo of Thompson on the beach. "The author, Hunter S. Thompson, is a free lance writer reporting for the National Observer during a lengthy tour of S. America."
"A Footloose American in a Smugglers' Den," NO, August 6, 1962, p. 13. Smuggling from Aruba to Colombia, with photos by Thompson.
"Democracy Dies in Peru, But Few Seem to Mourn Its Passing," NO, August 27,1962, p. 16. Aftermath of Peruvian election and subsequent coup, with photos by Thompson.
"How Democracy is Nudged Ahead in Equador," NO, September 17, 1962, p. 13. Role of U.S.I.S. in Equador.
"Ballots in Brazil Will Measure the Allure of Leftist Nationalism," NO, October 1, 1962, p. 4. Upcoming elections in Brazil.
"Operation Triangular: Bolivia's Fate Rides With It," NO, October 15, 1962, p. 13. Tin mining, strikes, etc.
"Uruguay Goes to Polls, With Economy Sagging," NO, November 19, 1962, p. 14. Politics and economy in Uruguay.
"Chatty Letters During a Journey from Aruba to Rio," NO, December 31,1962, p. 14. Samples of correspondence between Thompson and his editor, with photo of Thompson.
"Troubled Brazil Holds Key Vote," NO, January 7, 1963, p. 1, 10.
"It's a Dictatorship, but Few Seem to Care Enough to Stay and Fight," NO, January 28,1963, p. 17. Paraguay's upcoming election and current situation.
"Brazilian Soldiers Stage a Raid in Revenge," NO, February 11, 1963, p. 13. Army soldiers destroy a clip-joint after some difficulties the week before. "Hunter S. Thompson, author of this account, is a National Observer special correspondent."
"Leftist Trend and Empty Treasury Plague the Latin American Giant," NO, March 11, 1963, p. 11. Economic conditions in Brazil after election.
"A Never-Never Land High Above the Sea," NO, April 15, 1963, p. 11. Bolivia's political and economic problems.
"Election Watched as Barometer of Continent's Anti-Democratic Trend," NO, May 20,1963, p. 12. Election in Peru.
"A Time for Sittin', Listenin', and Reverie," NO, June 3, 1963, p. 16 National Folk Festival in Covington, Ky. A contrast in the music and the following morning's newspapers.
"He Haunts the Ruins of His Once-Great Empire," NO, June 10, 1963, p. 13. Plight of the Inca Indians in Cuzco, Peru.
"Kelso Looks Just Like Any $1,307,000 Horse. . . A Day With a Champion, . . ." NO, July 15, 1963, p. 1, 7. Visit with Kelso at Belmont Park.
"When the Thumb Was a Ticket to Adventures on the Highway. . . The Extinct Hitchhiker," NO, July 22, 1963, p. 12. A super article. "At age 22 I set what I insist is the all-time record for distance hitchhiking in Bermuda shorts; 3,700 miles in three weeks."
"Where Are the Writing Talents of Yesteryear?" NO, August 5, 1963, p. 17. A review of then current novelists; Thompson as literary critic.
"Why Anti-Gringo Winds Often Blow South of the Border," NO, August 19, 1963, p. 18. Thompson's comments on Americans he observed while in South America; the "Ugly American" syndrome and its causes.
"An Aussie Paul Bunyan Shows Our Loggers How," NO, September 2, 1963, p. 12. Pacific Coast Loggers Championship in Quincey, California.
"Executives Crank Open Philosophy's Windows," NO, September 9, 1963, p. 13. On Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies in Aspen, Colorado.
"One of the Darkest Documents Ever Put Down is 'The Red Lances,' " NO, October 7, 1963, p. 19. Review of Latin American author Arturo Uslar Pietri's The Red Lances.
"Can Brazil Hold Out Until the Next Election?" NO, October 28, 1963, p. 13.
"Donleavy Proves His Lunatic Humor Is Original," NO, November 11, 1963, p. 17. Review of A Singular Man by J.P. Donleavy.
"The Crow, a Novelist, and a Hunt; Man in Search of His Primitive Self," NO, December 2,1963, p. 17. Review of Vance Bourjaily's The Unnatural Enemy, a book on bird hunting.
"What Miners Lost in Taking an Irishman," NO, December 16,1963, p. 4. Comment on kidnapping of USIS official Tom Martin by Bolivian tin-miners.
"When Buck Fever Hits Larkspur's Slopes," NO, December 16, 1963, p. 13. Deer and elk hunting in Colorado; amateurs vs. experienced hunters. Dateline "Woody Creek."
"Southern City with Northern Problems," Reporter, December 19, 1963 (v. 29), p. 26-29. Study of integration in Louisville, Ky. (Thompson's hometown). "Mr. Thompson is a free-lance writer."
"And Now a Proletariat on Aspen's Ski Slopes," NO, February 10,1964, p. 12. A strike by Aspen's ski patrol brings on Federal arbitration.
"The Catch is Limited in Indians' 'Fish-In,' " NO, March 9, 1964, p. 13. Marlon Brando's attempt to regain fishing rights for Indians in Washington (State); beginnings of current Indian rights campaign in U.S.
"Dr. Pflaum Looks at the Latins, But His View is Tired and Foggy" NO, March 9, 1964, p. 19. Review of Arena of Decision by Iriving P. Pflaum.
"When The Beatniks Were Social Lions," NO, April 20, 1964, p. 1, 14. Memoir of beat scene in San Francisco.
"Brazilian's Fable of a Phony Carries the Touch of Mark Twain," NO, April 20, 1964, p. 17. Review of Jorge Amado's Home Is the Sailor.
"Golding Tries 'Lord of the Flies' Formula Again, But It Falls Short," NO, April 27, 1964, p. 16. Review of William Golding's The Spire.
"What Lured Hemingway to Ketchum?" NO, May 25, 1964, p. 1, 13. Haunting consideration of why Hemingway moved to Ketchum, Idaho, and his life there; discussion of writers in America, and the pressures of success.
"Whither the Old Copper Capital of the West? To Boom or Bust?" NO, June 1, 1964, p. 13. Thoughts on the future of Butte, Montana.
"The Atmosphere Has Never Been Quite the Same," NO, June 15, 1964, pp. 1, 16. Change and friction on campus in Missoula, Montana; awakening student movement in the U.S.
"Why Montana's 'Shanty Irishman' Corrals Votes Year After Year," NO, June 22, 1964, p. 12. Mike Mansfield and his Montana supporters.
"Living in the Time of Alger, Greeley, Debs," NO, July 13,1964, pp. 1,16. Dateline: Pierre, South Dakota -- stories of men he has met while on the road, "boomers" who travel looking for work.
"Bagpipes Wail, Cabers Fly as the Clans Gather," NO, September 14,1964, p. 12. Scottish Gathering and Games in Santa Rosa, California.
"You'd Be Fried Like a Piece of Lean Bacon," NO, September 28, 1
964, pp. 1, 19. Forest fires in California in late summer of 1964.
"People Want Bad Taste. . . In Everything," NO, November 2,1964, pp. 1,15. Influx of "topless joints" in the North Beach neighborhood of San Francisco.
"A Surgeon's Fingers Fashion a Literary Career," NO, December 21, 1964, p. 17. On Dr. Robert Geiger, M.D. and novelist and his struggle to be both.
"Motorcycle Gangs: Losers and Outsiders," Nation, May 17, 1965 (v. 200), p. 522-26. Article that eventually turned into the book Hell's Angels; mainly concerned with distorted press coverage of the Angels. Reprinted as: "Losers And Outsiders" in Violence in the Streets, compiled by Shalom Endleman. Chicago; Quadrangle Books, 1968, pp. 259-69.
"Nonstudent Left," Nation, September, 27, 1965 (v. 201), pp. 154-58 Study of Berkeley campus, Free Speech Movement and California's response; the non-student population, its ethos and effects.
"Collect Telegram from a Mad Dog," Spider Magazine, October 13, 1965, Poem.
Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga, New York: Random House, 1966.
"Life Styles: the Cyclist," Esquire, January 1967 (v. 67), pp. 57-63. Excerpt from Hell's Angels.
"Hell's Angels," The New Journalism, Tom Wolfe, New York: Harper & Row, 1973, pp. 340-55. Excerpt from Hell's Angels, with notes by Tom Wolfe.
"The 'Hashbury' Is the Capital of the Hippies," New York Times Magazine, May 14, 1967, pp. 28-29+. "The only way to write honestly about the scene is to be a part of it." (p. 124).
"Why Boys Will Be Girls," Pageant, August 1967, pp. 94-101.
"The Ultimate Freelancer," The Distant Drummer, v. 1 no. 1, November 1967.
"Presenting: The Richard Nixon Doll," Pageant, July 1968, pp. 6-16.
"Memoirs of a Wretched Weekend in Washington," Boston (Sunday) Globe, February 23, 1969, pp. 6-11.
"Those Daring Young Men in Their Flying Machines," Pageant, September 1969, pp. 68-78.
"The Temptations of Jean-Claude Killy," Scanlan's Monthly, March 1970, v. 1 no. 1, pp. 89-100 Thompson observing the ski champ as he merchandises himself.
"The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved," Scanlan's Monthly, June 1970, v. 1 no. 4, pp. 1-12. Reputed to be the first piece of "Gonzo Journalism." Reprinted in The New Journalism (see above) pp. 177-87.
"Police Chief -- The Indispensable Magazine of Law Enforcement" by Raoul Duke. Scanlan's Monthly, September 1970, v. 1 no. 7, pp. 63-66. Thompson, writing as Duke, airing his weapons fetish.
"The Battle of Aspen," Rolling Stone #67, October 1, 1970, pp. 30-37. Thompson describes his run for sheriff.
"The Aspen Wallposter" (Advertisement), Scanlon's Monthly, January 1971, vol. no. 8, p. 96. Mentions that issues 1-4 are already in print, #5 coming. Each poster contains graphics by Thomas W. Benton on one side, "screed" by Thompson on the other. Eight Wallposters were eventually published.
"Strange Rumblings in Aztlan," Rolling Stone #81, April 29, 1971, pp. 30-37. Death/murder of Ruben Salazar and subsequent mood in L.A. barrio. Describes first meeting with Oscar Zeta Acosta in the "Daisy Duck" in Aspen -- similar to the account in Acosta's book, Autobiography of a Brown Buffalo.
Liner notes for: Travelin' Lady by Rosalie Sorrels on Sire (Polydor) SI5902. Released August 1971. Thompson's notes on back of album cover.
"Memo From the Sports Desk: The So-Called 'Jesus-Freak' Scare," by Raoul Duke Rolling Stone #90, September 2, 1971, p. 24.
"Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream," by Raoul Duke Rolling Stone #95, November 11, 1971, pp. 36-48; and #96, November 25, 1971, pp. 38-50. Illustrated by Ralph Steadman.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, New York: Random House, 1972.
Thompson's Coverage of the Election Campaign for Rolling Stone
"Fear & Loathing in Washington: Is This Trip Necessary?" #99, January 6, 1972, pp. 5-8.
"Fear & Loathing In Washington: The Million Pound Shithammer," #101, February 3, 1972, pp. 6-10. Contains his comments on "objective journalism."
"Fear & Loathing in New Hampshire," #103, March 2, 1972, pp. 6-12. Contains car-ride-with-Nixon-talking-football story from 1968 campaign.
"Fear & Loathing: The View from Key Biscayne," #104, March 16, 1972, p. 14. On Nixon.
"Fear & Loathing: The Banshee Screams in Florida," #106, April 13, 1972, pp. 6-14. Florida primary.
"Fear and Loathing in Wisconsin," #107, April 27, 1972, p. 12.
"Fear and Loathing: Late News from Bleak House," #108, May 11, 1972, pp. 26-32.
"Fear & Loathing: Crank-Time on the Low Road," #110, June 8, 1972. pp. 36-40. Nebraska primary.
"Fear & Loathing in California: Traditional Politics with a Vengeance," #112, July 6, 1972, pp. 698
"Fear & Loathing: In the Eye of the Hurricane," #113, July 20, 1972, pp. 22-24.
"Fear & Loathing in Miami: Old Bulls Meet the Butcher," #115, August 17, 1972, pp. 30-46. Democratic convention.
"Fear & Loathing in Miami: Nixon Bites the Bomb" #118, September 28, 1972, pp. 30-46.
"Fear & Loathing: The Fat City Blues," #120, October 26, 1972, pp. 28-30.
"Ask Not For Whom the Bell Tolls . .." #121, November 9, 1972, p. 48. Final comment on election.
"Fear & Loathing at the Superbowl: No Rest for the Wretched. . ." Rolling Stone #128, February 15, 1973, p. 10. Discusses early career as sportswriter against Superbowl backdrop.
"Time Warp: Campaign 72," Rolling Stone #138, July 5, 1973, pp. 48-62. Excerpts from forthcoming Fear & Loathing: On the Campaign Trail.
Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail, San Francisco: Straight Arrow Books, 1973. Collection of reports Thompson sent to Rolling Stone from January 6, 1972 to February 15, 1973 with additions, corrections and introduction.
"Memo from the Sports Desk & Rude Notes from a Decompression Chamber in Miami," Rolling Stone #140, August 2, 1973, pp. 8-10. Thompson writing as Raoul Duke and himself.
"Fear and Loathing at the Watergate: Mr. Nixon Has Cashed His Check" Rolling Stone #144, September 27, 1973, pp. 30-39, 73-92. Numerous Steadman illustrations.
"Fear and Loathing in the Bunker," The New York Times, January 1, 1974, p. 19. Thompson's comments on 1973 and fearful predictions for 1974.
America by Ralph Steadman, San Francisco: Straight Arrow, 1974. Introduction by Thompson.
"Fear and Loathing at the Superbowl," Rolling Stone #155, February 28, 1974, pp. 28-38, 42-52. Later excerpted in Reporting: The Rolling Stone Style edited by Paul Scanlon, Garden City, N.Y.: Anchor Doubleday, 1977, pp. 215-29, with an introduction. Refers to North Dallas Forty by Pete Gent, a book of some interest to Thompson scholars.
"Fear and Loathing in Washington: It Was a Nice Place. They Were Principled People, Generally." (Cover Title: "The Boys in the Bag.") Rolling Stone #164 July 4, 1974, pp. 42-47
"Fear and Loathing in Limbo: The Scum Also Rises" Rolling Stone #171, October 10, 1974, pp. 28-36, 49-52. Reaction to Ford's pardon of Nixon.
"The Great Shark Hunt," Playboy, December 1974, p. 183+.
"Fear and Loathing in Saigon: Interdicted Dispatch from the Global Affairs Desk" Rolling Stone #187, May 22, 1975, pp. 32-34. Thompson in Saigon as the Vietcong close in.
"Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '76: Third Rate Romance, Low Rent Rendezvous," Rolling Stone #214, June 3, 1976, pp. 54-64, 84-88. Refers to Jimmy Carter's Law Day Speech. The speech itself is excerpted in Rolling Stone #228, December 16, 1976, p. 72.
"The Banshee Screams for Buffalo Meat: Fear and Loathing in the Graveyard of the Weird," Rolling Stone #254, December 15, 1977, pp. 48-59. On Oscar Zeta Acosta; his past, his disappearance.
"Last Tango in Vegas: Fear and Loathing in the Near Room." Rolling Stone #264, May 4, 1978, pp. 40-46; #265, May 18, 1978, pp. 62-68, 98-101. On the Ali-Spinks championship bout.
To be published in 1979: The Great Shark Hunt New York: Summit Books, 1979. A collection of shorter pieces.
Bibliography of Works on Dr. Hunter S. Thompson,
by Kihm Winship
"What 'The Spire' Inspires Amo
ng Reviewers," National Observer, June 1, 1964, p. 17. Mentions Thompson's review of The Spire (NO, April 27, 1964 p. 16)
"In and Out of Books," Lewis Nichols, The New York Times Book Review, March 5, 1967, p. 8. Brief discussion of Thompson's trip to NYC to promote Hell's Angels.
"Thompson, Hunter," Contemporary Authors, Detroit: Gale, 1968, v. 19-20, p. 429-30. Standard bio.
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, Tom Wolfe, New York: Bantam, 1969. 700 Chapter 13: The Hell's Angels pp. 150-51. Describes how Ken Kesey met the Angels through Thompson.