Average customer rating:
- I know, I know...
- A must read for anyone
- Good stuff, but less important than his other work
- Buy the ticket...take the ride
- A wild and extraordinary ride down a lost highway ...
|
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream
Hunter S. Thompson
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Authors
| Arts & Literature
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Journalists
| Professionals & Academics
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Popular Culture
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
True Accounts
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
| Espionage
| Murder & Mayhem
| Organized Crime
| Serial Killers
| True Crime
1960s
| 20th Century
| United States
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Writing
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
Journalism
| Writing
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Foreign Languages
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
Look Inside Entertainment Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Look Inside History Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Look Inside Fiction Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Look Inside Nonfiction Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Look Inside Reference Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga (Modern Library)
-
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test
-
The Rum Diary : A Novel
-
On the Road (Penguin Great Books of the 20th Century)
-
Fight Club: A Novel
ASIN: 0679785892
Release Date: 1998-05-12 |
Amazon.com Reviews
Heralded as the "best book on the dope decade" by the New York Times Book Review, Hunter S. Thompson's documented drug orgy through Las Vegas would no doubt leave Nancy Reagan blushing and D.A.R.E. founders rethinking their motto. Under the pseudonym of Raoul Duke, Thompson travels with his Samoan attorney, Dr. Gonzo, in a souped-up convertible dubbed the "Great Red Shark." In its trunk, they stow "two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high-powered blotter acid, a salt shaker half-full of cocaine and a whole galaxy of multicolored uppers, downers, screamers, laughers.... A quart of tequila, a quart of rum, a case of Budweiser, a pint of raw ether and two dozen amyls," which they manage to consume during their short tour.
On assignment from a sports magazine to cover "the fabulous Mint 400"--a free-for-all biker's race in the heart of the Nevada desert--the drug-a-delic duo stumbles through Vegas in hallucinatory hopes of finding the American dream (two truck-stop waitresses tell them it's nearby, but can't remember if it's on the right or the left). They of course never get the story, but they do commit the only sins in Vegas: "burning the locals, abusing the tourists, terrifying the help." For Thompson to remember and pen his experiences with such clarity and wit is nothing short of a miracle; an impressive feat no matter how one feels about the subject matter. A first-rate sensibility twinger, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a pop-culture classic, an icon of an era past, and a nugget of pure comedic genius. --Rebekah Warren
Book Description
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is the best chronicle of drug-soaked, addle-brained, rollicking good times ever committed to the printed page. It is also the tale of a long weekend road trip that has gone down in the annals of American pop culture as one of the strangest journeys ever undertaken.
Now this cult classic of gonzo journalism is a major motion picture from Universal, directed by Terry Gilliam and starring Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro. Opens everywhere on May 22, 1998.
Customer Reviews:
I know, I know..........2007-09-30
I know, it's THE Hunter S. Thompson book. It would be like having the gall to write a review for the Grapes of Wrath or Slaughterhouse Five and think you'd be doing anything other than blabbing just to see your own words on a computer screen.
That said, read this book this instant. Whatever good anyone's ever said about this book, it's twenty times better. I read it in two sittings and only stopped myself from reading it again because it was a library book and had to be returned.
The late HST's gift for gonzo, that strange mix of fiction and nonfiction, is ultimately realized in this book. Reality is seamlessly mixed with a bizarre fantasy world of sentient reptiles and split personality through the medium of hard drugs that serve to clarify (and sometimes amplify) a violent and twisted town in a strange time.
This book will have you laughing hysterically at parts, so don't read it around other people unless you're okay with passing it to them. This book will have you cringing at the brutality of human nature at points, so have your wits about you.
I really can't say anything else, other than that this book must be purchased and read this very instant if you haven't already done so.
A must read for anyone.......2007-09-21
Thompson's book helps create a vivid picture of the drug fueled 60's and early 70's a way no one else has before.
Good stuff, but less important than his other work.......2007-09-14
¨Fear and Loathing¨ is a great ride for sure. A drug-addled, hilarious, disturbing romp through Las Vegas in search of the American Dream. Thompson is definitely a skilled writer and an outlaw and this stuff comes through in this book. I don't want to shrug this work off by any means, but I definately prefer his other work, such as ¨The Great Shark Hunt,¨ because it truly brings out Thompson's outlook on the world, his hatred of wealth, power and greed, etc. This book is fun, but Thompson is definitely capable of more depth and thought. While this work might be what gave him his big break, he definitely went on to better things.
Buy the ticket...take the ride.......2007-08-23
A bizzare journey to the heart of the American Dream, funny, witty and full of memorable episodes. The illustrations by Ralph Steadman are also superb. Raul Duke says it clearly : "buy the ticket...take the ride"
A wild and extraordinary ride down a lost highway ..........2007-08-20
The lost highway of the American Dream.
I wasn't old enough to remember much from the late 60's early 70's let alone the political aspects of Nixon's presidency or the drug culture of the time, so this review won't have any profound social or political commentary, except that comparisons can well be made to the drug culture of today, and it is glaringly apparent that not much has changed.
Considering the climate of the time: Nixon's presidency, the war in Vietnam, and the country's young men succumbing to the draft, it was no wonder that an entire generation wanted something more, for this was not the American Dream they had been sold. And for some, the only way to drown out the hypocrisy gnawing at your brain is to give your brain an escape. Expand your mind, as that might be the only part of you that is truly free. Whatever it takes to get you directly out of your head -- the higher the better. This story chronicles a journey utterly devoid of restraint and reason as these two men, Raoul Duke and Dr. Gonzo, and their trunk full of felonies set themselves loose upon Las Vegas -- the last vestige of the American Dream. However, their idea of the American Dream is not how most of us would understand it, but somehow, through the fog of hallucinatory metaphor, we can actually see and feel what the main characters are searching for so desperately.
All that aside, even if the 60's culture is beyond your age group, Thompson's writing is worth the read -- Brilliant, sarcastic, and frighteningly funny: Bars seething with has-been lounge lizards, tearing the patrons to shreds, blood soaked tacky hotel rooms, police car chases, kidnapping, gambling, excess, and debauchery ... not to mention the Narcotics Convention. The dialog is brilliant. Harrowing experiences abound; it is amazing that the two main characters make it out of Vegas alive.
Definitely a wild ride for all.
Customer Reviews:
Rah Rah.......2003-11-21
The previous reviewer is what one may call a "gotard."
He feels that fear and loathing is only about drugs. He is simple minded, and can't see what is really occuring in one of the finest American novels of the later half of the 20th century. Fear and loathing in las vegas is about the search for the long lost American Dream. It is story about two men set out to find the American Dream, and they use drugs and excess as means for getting there.
Drug trips.......2003-06-05
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas was veru interesting. THe drug trips scared me but allowed me to see what goes on in the real world. I felt that the literary merit was slim to none. The book is fun of description but does not really have a plot line other than just getting high and all that jazz. The author certainly has some problems and can teach what happens when you get too strung out on drugs.
Fear & Loathing In The Book Store.......1996-06-27
There I was, wandering the various warehouse-like isles of
my neighborhood bookstore hopelessly staring at the shelves
of books I read in the past. Stumbling across the Hunter S.
Thompson books was probably the best thing that happened to
me all week. As everyone else does from time to time, I took
a gamble and bought "Fear & Loathing: In Las Vegas" having
heard nothing about the book, or Hunter S. Thompson prior to
my purchase.
The description on the back of the book entranced me, with
visions of drug-drunken anarchy. A description that upon
reading, sounded so crazy and out of control that I figured
the book was probably trash. The description, as great as
it was, however, didn't even do justice to the book.
Have you ever dreamed about going on the road and doing just
about every drug imaginable over a period of a week or two,
and raising absolute hell in the city of Las Vegas? Driving
around in a large red convertable, picking up hitch-hikers
and scaring them worse than they scared you? And don't forget
the fact that during this dream ("The American Dream" as
Hunter S. Thompson describes it) you have an equally Drugged,
spontaneous, crazy and armed attourney to smooth things out
for you and keep you out of trouble?
This book has more action than you are prepared for, and there
is never a slow or dull moment from start to finish, And will
leave you back in the isles of the book store, or in this
case back in front of the monitor shopping for more of Hunter
S. Thompson's books. This was the first one I purchased, and
ended up buying the rest of his books.
(Warning: This book contains Sex, Drugs, Rock'N'Roll, Adult
situations, Explicit Language and just about anything else
you could imagine on an interstate drug frenzy)
Product Description
His second book & first collaboration with Ralph Steadman, the illustrator. Basis for the Terry Gilliam film featuring Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Toro.
Customer Reviews:
Great reference, excellent history & materials section.......2001-06-16
This is a wonderful reference book for the watercolor painter. It contains all kinds of useful information to help you understand the medium and improve your knowledge and skills.
The first 40 pages provide a great history of watercolor painting, so often overlooked in the overall scheme of art history. Then all the aspects of setting up a work area and studio are covered followed by a very thorough materials and tools section. There are example pictures and descriptions of everything from easels to paper and brushes to paint. There is also a paper stretching demo and a watercolor color chart.
A section on the principles of drawing follows. This includes instructions on making simple shapes, creating perspective, Plato's rule, golden sections, drawing a quick sketch and more. Then various watercolor techniques such as creating washes, erasing with a dry brush and achieving texture with salt and turpentine are covered. Next, there are two chapters on color theory and mixing explaining warm, cool and broken colors as well as color schemes and values. A nice demo of painting a watercolor with three colors is included.
The last chapters deal with techniques, skills and actually beginning the painting process. Here you find information and advice on painting the human figure, skies, clouds, trees, landscapes, illustrations and seascapes. There are no real projects here and no reference photos. Rather the focus is on general advice for painting various subjects with example demonstrations. A helpful glossary is included in the back. This is certainly one of the most thorough, useful and entertaining books I have seen for the beginning watercolorist.
Customer Reviews:
Spirit of Nature translated into the Art of the Abstract.......2004-10-27
If you are looking for a watercolor tutorial in botanical painting, wildlife or landscape, walk away. This isn't the focus of "Painting the Spirit of Nature." Author Maxine Masterfield is, instead, taking the artist on a tour of an interior landscape, using the metaphors, symbols and shapes and colors of nature to create abstract or abstracted imagery. Look at the cover picture; the painting could represent boulders or broken rock face, but is in fact an abstract. This is the lesson of "Painting in the Spirit of Nature."
There is a lot about texture, unconventional techniques using things like salt and other methods, how to find imagery in everyday scenes and objects and how to compose a painting. The real value, however, in this book, is in the selection of paintings. You may or may not like them, but if you have been trying to find an "abstract voice"--I'd say this book would be great for you. If you liked "Watercolor Bold and Free", this is along the same vein.
This is not the spirit of nature!.......2002-08-23
I bought this book since the reviews were quite enthusiastic about it. I have more than 50 watercolor books as well as many other art books, and this is just and justly the worst of them all.
It is about experimental painting, that is true, but it is not about "the spirit of nature". Experimental or abstract painting is simply no excuse. The abstract patterns made through various techniques aren't exciting or beautiful and the techniques themselves can be found in various books where they belong - as a small sidenote. The techniques shown aren't useful at all for a watercolor artist wanting to capture nature.
The enthusiastic reviews gave me a diametrically opposite view of this book than what it was. As a "nature" book it belongs in the trashcan.
What I thought about was some loose techniques for creating texture for nature paintings, but that was not the case, it is all about totally abstractism which was not what I was after.
If you are looking for ways of creating abstact patterns, okey buy it, otherwise don't!
Awesome.......2002-04-22
If you are looking for ideas and techniques this is a wonderful book. Very well done.
Fabulous Teacher, Fabulous Art.......2001-05-06
I was lucky enough to have this artist-author as a teacher almost 2 decades ago. I no longer work in this style or medium but when I was working in it, her methods were the most marvelously freeing ones. If you feel constricted with your present results in water color, as if you must "break free" from such rigid control, Maxine is the teacher for you. The art works are totally glorious as well. Many are hers and she uses other artists' work as well. The book has art work on virtually every page. Back when I took her course, I know that her work was also selling for a lot of money to big commercial clients to put in their buildings and to some private homes as well. Thus, she had cracked the commercial barrier too. I applied her techniques in later years to acyrlics and liquid dyes as well and they worked fine there too.
A perennial favorite in my reference library.......2000-04-05
I also frequently recommend this book to other artists, beginning or advanced. I've had this book for years, and am awed everytime I open it up. It's perfect for jumpstarting the creative juices because almost every page contains an inspiring thought, image or technique. Her photos of natural elements, together with paintings by herself and other artists shows everyone how to use nature as a springboard for creativity. You will LOVE this book!
Customer Reviews:
Making Watercolors.......2001-09-23
Harrison defines and employs standard language used in identifying watercolor effects. She also identifies watercolor usages and materials and is consistent in this regard. Her illustrative material is literally a survey of the watercolor world, with no histrionics, from abstraction to the tightest realism. It is a beautiful book and gratifyingly complete. She has no 'method' to push. With her insistence on planning as the key to realizing one's concept, she leaves the reader in peace to enjoy the experience the book offers of seeing how accomplished watercolorists plan their work.
The index is excellent. I will admit disappointment that Harrison touches only lightly on the qualities of now very expensive materials that would enable one to make useful choices. Her remarks on paper by type and maker I find useful and I wish this knowledgeable woman had given the reader more insights on other materials.
Almost half of this book is a reprint of a previous edition........2001-02-14
Some years ago I purchased the previous edition of this book and found it very useful. When I saw what appeared like a new edition of this book I decided to purchase it. On the cover it is marked REVISED AND UPDATED. The techniques are described well and most are new material but Part 2 - Themes is exactly the same as the first edition and this was very disappointing and will make me think carefully about purchasing a book unless I can view it in a bookshop.
Not my favorite book however.......2001-01-29
You might find it useful. If you can only have a few watercolor books, and you are short on technical experience, this might be just the thing for you. But if you are looking for a lot of creative inspiration rather than technique, this isn't so useful. I wasn't inspired by the contents, but the techniques are certainly ones that I do use.
A book that shows how to master the art of watercolor.......1999-12-01
I was requested by my editors to write the introduction to the Brazilian edition of this book and immediately accepted, because, unlike o most books on art techniques, Hazel Harrison concentrates on demonstrating how to master all the resources and effects that watercolor offers, without implying that there is any preferable way in which to paint. The techniques are clearly explained and well illustrated and, in the second part of the book, she includes many examples of how different artists used the effects described in the first part to interpret various subjects. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who wishes to master the art of watercolor.
Customer Reviews:
Help for a most challenging subject.......2005-02-11
I have been painting & teaching watercolor for 15 years. This is the first helpful book that I have found on painting seascapes in watercolor. I accidentally ran across it in the library of a retirement community where I teach & immediately borrowed it. It contains basic sketches & information about the "character" & construction of waves, surf, foam, & trails which the ordinary painter is not aware of. Reading this book is an "education"; it contains sketches & how-to instructions which any painter can follow to practice painting seascapes in watercolor -- one of the most challenging subjects in this media. As soon as I located this book on Amazon.com, I ordered it.
Book Description
• Twelve classic design motifs make composition simple • Six variations on a design theme for each motif, plus ten artist examples in styles from realistic to abstract • Great for beginners, illuminating for pros
Composition is one of the great puzzles of watercolor painting. Watercolor by Design solves that puzzle! Author Marianne Brown shows artists how to create innovative paintings using twelve classic design motifs, grouped by type: cruciform, horizontal bar, and vertical bar; checkerboard, asymmetric, and staggered grids; radial, cantilever, and pyramid; and frame in frame, allover pattern, and floating shapes. The properties and impact of each motif are explained, then reinforced with six variations on a design theme for each motif, followed by at least ten creative examples by different artists working in different styles from realism to abstract to illustrate the possibilities. Packed with ideas and information, Watercolor by Design lets both new and experienced artists make composition work for them.
Customer Reviews:
looking at watercolour by design.......2007-01-15
Much of the material was valuable but the illustrating pictures were somewhat disappointing.The subject was very wide but the aspects selected were the ones most often met.
Comprehensive and Inspiring.......2006-08-31
This book is written with intelligence, artistic experience and talent. I learned a great deal from the author. It's a must have for every artist, from beginner to advanced.
Cheryl Mazer
Customer Reviews:
Not bad for beginners.......2006-09-20
This book will provide some interesting ideas for those looking to explore watercolor as a painting medium. Different techniques are illustrated such as drybrushing vs. wet-into-wet painting, opaque vs. translucent colors, creating textures and using salt, solvents, sponges and other tools to manipulate paint application. I definitely took some inspiration from this book to try different things when I was first learning watercolor as a medium, though as is noted in the book itself, some of these techniques should be used sparingly as they can look gimmicky in a painting if overused. Still, it is nice to have a book that shows one how to experiment with the medium and not be locked into certain schools of thought that insist on a very regimented approach to watercolor.
The biggest problem with this book is that there are not enough color illustrations to really appreciate what is being described by the artist. There are only 32 color plates in a book with more than 175 black & white images. This shortcoming makes the book visually less appealing and some of the technique explanations harder to fully appreciate.
Satisfactory.......2005-09-06
Quick response book was satisfactory but slightly outdated. Would have desired more color illustrations.
Customer Reviews:
wet and wonderful watercolor expression.......2003-07-11
This is one of the most sought after books on watercolor portraiture. Reid suggests the face and still gets a likeness. He leaves something for the viewer to fill in and be a part of the painting. It takes practice and intuition to bring out the aritists innate intuitive abilities expressed on paper. Reid shows step by step how he approaches his subject. He focuses on contrast and value and immediacy to give the painting life and spontaniety. A valued book to read over and over.
Not Charles' best book -- but quite good none the less.......2002-07-16
...The book is brown, in colour and concept. Charles' book on Natural Painting is much more appealing. However this book is well written and illustrated although not colorfully. There is some interesting insight into portrait technique -- but realistically, I doubt if Charles learned to paint this way himself ... his talent is inborn and self-taught. His portraits are startling and unique in their ability to capture likenesses from a swirling mass of tone and/or color sometimes using only subtlist details of shade and highlight. The facial details that we plebians see (2 eyes, nose, mouth, chin, hair) have little to do with Charles' images -- sometimes many key features are ill defined or undefined ... however he always manages to capture the likeness. He sees in a different way -- I think he sees primarily tones (shades of gray) more than anything -- color seems to be secondary to him (this is apparent in his Natural Painting book too) -- yet he also has a unique and insightful perspective on colors, especially skin tones. A good book.
Books:
- Fixed Point Theorems with Applications to Economics and Game Theory
- Foundations of Colloid Science: Volume II (Foundations of Colloid Science)
- Frank Lloyd Wright: Europe and Beyond (An Ahmanson Murphy Fine Arts Book)
- Frontiers in Transition Metal-Containing Polymers
- Green Urbanism: Learning From European Cities
- Handbook of Nanophase and Nanostructured Materials Vol. 1 : Synthesis
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Amelia Earhart's Shoes: Is the Mystery Solved
- The Accidental Mind: How Brain Evolution Has Given Us Love, Memory, Dreams, and God
- Leukocyte Adhesion Molecules: Proceedings of the First International Conference on: "Structure, Func
- New International Dictionary of the Christian Church, The
- Roma: The Novel of Ancient Rome
- The Fair Tax Book: Saying Goodbye to the Income Tax and the IRS
- The Cat Whisperer: The Secret of How to Talk to Your Cat
- The Private World of Tasha Tudor
- Magnetic Los Angeles: Planning the Twentieth-Century Metropolis
- New Zealand's Alpine Plants Inside and Out
