• Fear and Loathing at Rolling Stone

  • The Essential Writing of Hunter S. Thompson
  • By: Hunter S. Thompson
  • Narrated by: Phil Gigante
  • Length: 17 hrs and 59 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (604 ratings)

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Fear and Loathing at Rolling Stone  By  cover art

Fear and Loathing at Rolling Stone

By: Hunter S. Thompson
Narrated by: Phil Gigante
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Publisher's summary

“Buy the ticket, take the ride,” was a favorite slogan of Hunter S. Thompson, and it pretty much defined both his work and his life. Fear and Loathing at Rolling Stone showcases the roller-coaster of a career at the magazine that was his literary home.Jann S. Wenner, the outlaw journalist’s friend and editor for nearly thirty-five years, has assembled articles that begin with Thompson’s infamous run for sheriff of Aspen on the Freak Party ticket in 1970 and end with his final piece on the Bush-Kerry showdown of 2004. In between is Thompson’s remarkable coverage of the 1972 presidential campaign — a miracle of journalism under pressure — and plenty of attention paid to Richard Nixon, his bête noire; encounters with Muhammad Ali, Bill Clinton, and the Super Bowl; and a lengthy excerpt from his acknowledged masterpiece, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

Woven throughout is selected correspondence between Wenner and Thompson, most of it never before published. It traces the evolution of a personal and professional relationship that helped redefine modern American journalism, and also presents Thompson through a new prism as he pursued his lifelong obsession: The life and death of the American Dream.

©2011 Hunter S. Thompson (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

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If bad words offend you, don't read.

Warning, if bad words offend you, do not read this book or this review.

Fear and Loathing at Rolling Stone: The Essential Writing of Hunter S. Thompson is a book that is basically just that. It was in the early 70’s that I first met HST. We used to hang out, smoke a little weed, do a few lines then drop some blotter and discuss the political chicanery going on in Washington or just the basic f--kedupedness of world affairs in general. Vietnam was grist for our mill back then. Ol’ Tricky Dick, being the easy target that he was, had a great deal to be said and written about him. Man, those were some wild times. Crazy..., as messed up as we thought Nixon was back then, how we wished for him back years later when a particular "W" winds up stealing the While House. Man and we thought some cheap, hotel break-in was bad. S--t!

I remember HST telling me about how he met Clarence Thomas on a road trip with these two hookers...

And that’s my rather feeble attempt at Gonzo Journalism. The inimitable writing style that made Hunter S. Thompson so unique and absolutely brilliant. Actually, inimitable back then but not so much now. Gonzo journalism is a style of journalism that is written without claims of objectivity. The reporter is part of the story by way of a first-person narrative. Some of his stories, as mine above, are so outrageously fantastic that they often defy belief but contain elements of truth only in hyperbole that cannot be denied.

The real truth is that I met Hunter S. Thompson in the pages of Rolling Stone (never had the honor in person) in the 70’s and subscribed to that periodical only to read his writings. Journalists are supposed to be objective but objective journalism, as HST has said, is a contradiction in terms, an oxymoron. Fox News stands out today as the paragon of that contradiction but even PBS’s bias these days is only thinly veiled. So give it up, don’t be a hypocrite. Let it all hangout like Limbaugh and Beck. Be who you are and twist and crank the reporting of reality anyway you like, just don’t call it objective (or even real) .

With HST, this was easy reading for me. I adored the guy. To me, he was a true American hero. He was saying things in public not so many people had the guts to say in private. FaLaRS is not only essential Hunter S. Thompson, it is essential reading period. I would like to say that I don’t care what side of the political spectrum you sit, you will laugh your ass off reading this book. But that is probably not the case. Liberals might actually tear-up a little also because they too see the good doctor’s sense of reality. Conservatives, lacking any sense of humor, will probably deny the truth of any of what he had to say and dismiss it all as the ramblings of a drug-crazed maniac.

There’s a lot of talk about drugs here; not so much about sex or rock and roll. There’s mostly politics that is as relevant today as it was between the years of Nixon and George W. Bush, the span of the book. There’s a wonderful part in the book about HST and Mohamed Ali and other parts as well about other sports figures that are priceless.

I absolutely loved this book. There was not a moment that I was not completely entertained by it. It was totally bittersweet and not because HST had the ability to turn the most tragic times in our recent history into something hilarious but because Hunter S. Thompson is no longer with us. And I miss him like crazy.

The narration of this Brilliance Audio production was by Phil Gigante, a better narrator to tell the story of Hunter S. Thompson they probably could not have found. I could not recommend a book more highly.

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Buy the ticket...this is a great compilation.

Being someone that has read a lot of Hunter S. Thompson's work, I was a little skeptical about this compilation. But it's very well done...as the preface states, Rolling Stone attempted to create a narrative out of his various writings done for their magazine and they succeeded in a big way.

It essentially cronicles Hunter's time at Rolling Stone magazine starting in 1970. His personal correspondence with Rolling Stone's editoral staff (mostly unpublished until now) is included, as well as his account of the "Freak Power" local political movement that attempted to prevent Aspen, Colorado from becoming the high-brow Yuppie haven that it is today; "Strange Rumblings in Azltan" about the LAPD violence aganist Chicanos; the hilarious District Attorney's conference of his famous "Las Vegas" book; a sizeable chunk of "Fear and Loathing on the Campaign trail, 72'"...still an extremely relevant work. A ton of his "Politics from the Sports Desk" Rolling Stone features show up in this audiobook as well.

The narrator, Phil Gigante, does a good impression of Thompson as well when reading from Hunter's perspective.

It's a great listen, definately worth the credits. Now, what audible really needs is some more Hunter S, works...."Hell's Angels", the entire "Campaign Trail, 72'" and "The Curse of Lono" would be awesome I would listen to all of them.

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The Doctor Lives

Any additional comments?

I was downright terrified that some backwater idiot was going to read Hunters work to me in the weasel toned professorial way some of his other works have been handled. Not here. Here you'll get nothing but tough hard edging Phil Gigante being the behemoth his name implies. He channels the Doctors wit and charm and you can almost close your eyes and pretend the good Doctor never left us. Rest in Peace you doomed fool. You are gone but a man as unique as you will live on in the curses of wretched fools like Bush, Nixon, and their ilk for generations to come.

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Narrator Phil Gigante is amazing.

I desperately wish Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas audiobook was re-recorded with Phil Gigante. Some of HST's later work I skipped, but overall I'd recommended this.

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Great reader

If you're a Thompson fan, there's some real gems in here, from the 1972 elections and his time in the limo with tricky Dick talking football to his last articles written for Rolling Stone in the late 90s early 00s. This is a collection of unpublished works that bounces around a bit with some useful editor's notes to help understand the context. At its core, it's Thompson and his random ramblings. What a brilliant mind and bizarre perspective.

The reader on this one is perfectly matched. Just the right amount of stop-start cadence when it's demanded with the ability to read 50 word sentences without stopping for a breath.

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Yea for the new narrator.

Finally, someone that comes close to style of Hunter's rhythm and pitch and tone. Scott Sowers is an awful narrator of Thompson's work, but Phil Gigante comes as close to perfect as anyone we are likely to hear. The first two hours of the book are great. The letters between Jann Wenner and Hunter are pieced together wonderfully and make you feel as though you were standing over the shoulder of Hunter as the days wore on and he banged them out on his godforsaken type writer.
The book, however, takes a bit of a dip once it gets into the articles. Most of them are the same articles that run in other published works from hunter over his last years.
However, if you've never read any other recently published Hunter books, then you will find these articles to be very interesting-- which, by the way, they still are even hearing them for about the three time.

Overall, I rate it a 4... 5 for the Phil Gigante (PLEASE REDO HIS OTHER BOOKS ON HERE) I've read Fear and Loathing in Vegas three or four times over the past eight years and consider it in my top three favorite books of all time and would love to own a copy of you reading it.

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Excellent narration

Phil Gigante "channels" HST really well. Very listenable and entertaining for fans of the man like me.
Res ipsa loquitar.

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The Real HST is in This Book

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

If you like Hunter Thompson, then you will like this book. It's made up of his letters and stories, which give a very personal perspective into a lot of his most famous works.

What did you like best about this story?

There's so much crazy random stuff going on with HST, this story gives me bits of those experiences.

Which scene was your favorite?

Probably one of my favorites was the "Fear and Loathing in Elko" part, lol....
I really enjoyed the whole thing!

If you could give Fear and Loathing at Rolling Stone a new subtitle, what would it be?

The Life and Times of a Rolling Stone: Hunter S Thompson

Any additional comments?

Once again, if you're a fan of HST, you'll most likely like this book!!

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A heavy trip Bubba

The narrator does a great job of channeling Dr Thompson. Very entertaining and often hilarious. He does a great job at bringing Thompson's mannerisms and speaking cadence to his written word.

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I love everything Hunter Thompson

Any additional comments?

I think a lot of people can relate to Hunter Thompson in the deeper recesses of their minds, but he rarely kept his deepest darkest thoughts to himself. With very few filters he was a wealth of outrageous statements, wrapped in paranoia and probably self doubt...but its hard not to laugh at his correspondence that tells someone that he'd "like to kill them or at least shove their manuscript up their ass" and then signs the letter "Sincerely" and an encouraging "keep up the good work" and " have a nice day", now come on, that's funny.
The book skips around a bit but overall covers his years with Rolling Stone Magazine including his most notable writings and musings of friends and acquaintances.

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