whats a good Hunter S. Thompson book to read?

Answer 1

They're ALL good:
"Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga. New York: Ballantine, 1967. His first full-length book, and a solid popular success, Hell's Angels cleared up many of the myths and horror stories which surrounded the motorcycle outlaws.

'The Kentucky Derby is Evil and Depraved'. Scanlan's magazine, 1970. While not a stand-alone piece it is well worth citing for two reasons. First, it was the first partnership of Hunter's prose and Ralph Steadman's illustrations, and, second, it was the work which earned Thompson the sobriquet of 'gonzo'. He had in fact developed a serious writer's block and wound up filing his notes just before press deadline. But because those notes were so well-written and closely observed, they conveyed a coherent story.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas was first published by Rolling Stone magazine, starting in 1971. It was based on two visits to Las Vegas on separate assignments, the first to cover the Mint 400 Motorcycle Race for Sports Illustrated, and then the National District Attorneys Association's Third Annual Convention on Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (at the instigation of Rolling Stone). On both trips, Thompson took with him a radical and about-to-be-disbarred Chicano lawyer named Oscar Zeta Acosta, who featured in the final manuscript as a Samoan attorney and fellow debauchee. The story is a piece of psychedelia gone wrong, a tale of violent hyperbole, and it was a smashing success.

'Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72' was originally published as a series of articles by Rolling Stone Magazine.

The Curse of Lono. Ballantine, 1984. The book sold well, but contained comparatively little text by Thompson. Perry says that Ballantine padded out the book with excerpts from Mark Twain and Thomas Ellis, and published the book in what they called 'greeting card format', the better to highlight Ralph Steadman's copious illustrations.

Rum Diary. It can be regarded as a sign that a writer or artist has achieved master status when his/her early work, however unpolished, is published. Rum Diary, although not published until 1999, was written in 1959 while Hunter was living in Puerto Rico.

The remaining works listed below are compilations, of columns, magazine pieces, essays and letters.

Generation of Swine: Tales of Shame and Degradation in the '80s. Random House, 1989.
The Great Shark Hunt. Random House, 1991.
Better Than Sex. Ballantine, 1995.
The Proud Highway: Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman. Random House, 1998 (published in 1997 as The Fear and Loathing Letters).
Death

Thompson committed suicide on 20 February, 2005 with a handgun at his home near Aspen, Colorado. A long time Football fan, he left a note titled 'Football Season is Over'3 which said-

No More Games. No More Bombs. No More Walking. No More Fun. No More Swimming. 67. That is 17 years past 50. 17 more than I needed or wanted. Boring. I am always bitchy. No Fun -- for anybody. 67. You are getting Greedy. Act your old age. Relax -- This won't hurt.
Giving new meaning to the phrase 'going out with a bang', his ashes were put into a cannon and fired off into the sky."

But I'd start off with the one he had his first BIG success with: "Hell's Angels." See link 2, please.

Answer 2

I like Hell's Angels: The strange and terrible saga of an Outlaw Motorcycle Gang.

Answer 3

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

Darkly funny, keenly insightful, melancholy and unapologetic--Thompson's best-known and most accessible work.

Enjoy!

Gal

Answer 4

You MUST read Fear & Loathing... & his The Kentucky Derby.. from Shark Hunt*...

Actually, 'The Kentucky Derby is Decadent & Depraved' from the compilation Shark Hunt* is possibly the best starting point...

http://www.derbypost.com/hunter.html