Gonzo: The Life of Hunter S. Thompson » (Reprint)

Jann S. Wenner is the founder, owner and editor of Rolling Stone magazine. He is also the head of Wenner Media, which includes such magazines as US Weekly and Men's Journal. He lives in Manhattan.

Corey Seymour is a writer and editor who came to know Hunter Thompson while working as his New York-based assistant during his tenure at Rolling Stone in the early nineties. He lives in Brooklyn.

Hailed everywhere as a brilliant biography, GONZO is a startling portrait of Hunter S. Thompson, the genius who spent a lifetime channeling his energy and insight into such landmark works as Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas—and revolutionized the art of writing. In their own words, an incredible array of stars—Sonny Barger, Jack Nicholson, Ralph Steadman, Jimmy Buffett, Anjelica Huston, Marilyn Manson, Jimmy Carter, and many more—bring into vivid focus Thompson's creative frenzies, love affairs, drug use, and, ultimately, his tragic suicide. As Thompson was fond of saying, "Buy the ticket, take the ride."

"Gonzo...is no hagiography, and it is in its unflinching look at this singular character in American letters as fearless-if not more so-as anything Thompson ever dared write....The most comprehensive picture of Thompson so far, and...likely the best we'll ever get." —Patrick Beach, Austin American-Statesman

"A fond and exhilarating look back at the wild man of American journalism, put together by a couple of guys who were pretty close to him." —Billy Heller, New York Post

The New York Times - Joe Klein

Hunter Thompson was always much more, and sometimes a bit less, than the sum of his ribald public persona. In compiling this oral history, Jann Wenner and Corey Seymour could easily have succumbed to the same temptation that Hunter did: to celebrate the myth, to recount a numbing parade of hilarious, drug-addled Hunter stories, and to miss the man. Happily, they have produced a rigorous and honest piece of work. Gonzo is a wonderfully entertaining chronicle of Hunter's wild ride, but it is also a detailed, painful account of his self-destructive immersions; the brutality he visited upon his wife, Sandy; and the anguish of a life that veered from inspired performance art to ruinous solipsism.

Editor's Note xi Foreword xv Introduction Johnny Depp xxi Chapter 1 Coming of Age in Louisville 3 Chapter 2 An Itinerant Professional 22 Chapter 3 San Francisco, Hells Angels, and Merry Pranksters 75 Chapter 4 Freak Power in the Rockies 93 Chapter 5 The Golden Age of Gonzo 120 Chapter 6 A New Voice on the Campaign Trail 153 Chapter 7 Failed Deadlines and a Failed Marriage 181 Chapter 8 Wreckage in the Fast Lane 224 Chapter 9 Circling the Wagons at Owl Farm 281 Chapter 10 A Writer Resurgent 298 Chapter 11 Vegas Goes to Hollywood 330 Chapter 12 Where Were You When the Fun Stopped? 367 Chapter 13 The End of the Road 412 Cast of Voices 439 Acknowledgments 449 Index 451