Fear and Loathing

By: Hunter S. Thompson

Narrated by: Scott Sowers

Length: 17 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's Summary

An iconic and controversial figure in American literature, Hunter S. Thompson displayed a brilliance that forever changed journalism. Thompson’s follow-up to The Proud Highway, this second volume of private, never-before-published letters spans the years 1968 through 1976. Addressed to such luminaries as Tom Wolfe, Kurt Vonnegut, and Jimmy Carter, this incisive collection showcases Thompson’s raw and starkly honest thoughts on a pivotal era in U.S. history.

©1973 Hunter S. Thompson (P)2012 Recorded Books

Love the book, not the performance.

Where does Fear and Loathing rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I love Thompson. He's my political guru and the flow of his words will always be lovely.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Scott Sowers?

Hunter S. Thompson himself. Sowers tries to imitate the cadence of Hunter's voice, and fails miserably.

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

Great book ruined by over-acting narrator

How did the narrator detract from the book?

I have a lot of respect for narrators, as this is a tedious process, but the narrator was so bad I've returned the last two Hunter S. Thompson books I've ordered for refunds. I don't need to say anything snarky about his performance, he simply is over-acting, trying to effect the mood of the piece, when he should simply read the book in a calm and measured way.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Don Sowers voice makes it

This is a great book, especially in the lead up to the 2020 Presidential contest. I found it very interesting to hear the observations about America.

Most importantly: Don Sowers voice sells this book. He has just the right amount of crazy and agitation in his voice. Never boring. His weird voice grows on you until you can't do without it. Even if you don't like Hunter S. Thompson, you will find this a great listening experience.

The narrator must be channeling Hunter S Thompson

I was interested in this book for two reasons. 1) to better understand why McGovern’s campaign crashed burned and to understand any similarities with many of today’s 2020 campaigns. 2) I love me some Hunter S Thompson rant.

On that second point, the narrator absolutely makes this book. He’s got great material to work with, but I found myself shouting along with him. Great stuff.

Great story, terrible voice actor

Great book. The reader's voice is, however, exceedingly annoying. Whatever the opposite of euphonious is, his voice is that.

Classic book, subpar narration

I do love this book. There are parts in it that are just as relevant today as they were in 1972. However Scott sowers narration isn’t my favorite and takes away from the story at times.

An outsider insider's look at politics.

One of Hunter S. Thompson's greatest works. A savage,hilarious,sad and in-depth look at a failed political campaign. A must read for students,fans and activists of the political nature no matter their political leaning.

I FEAR that I have developed a LOATHING of the narrator.

Absolutely unbelievably bad narration. Seriously listening to this mans voice is the audiobook equivalent of watching a 240p phone recording of a movie theater screening.
On the other hand the story was written by Thompson which is why most people actually bought the book to begin with.
It’s an average audio book experience overall. While the narrator kills some of the books vibe, it still however beats the alternative of reading a book yourself. If you really want to have this story narrated to you and don’t mind a little ear cancer than I recommend it, however if you are literate than I would not.

A great read, however...

Any additional comments?

I am a huge fan of the DR of journalism. The narrator is tough. I made it through the book. It's worth it.

Beautiful trainwreck

This book has greatness in it, in between tangents and segments where the author was too drugged to write an actual account so he just plops raw transcripts with some apologies. It's unbelievably bad, and wonderful and awesome all at once. 5 stars.