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

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.

Who says this guy is such a great writer?

Once he called the newspaper delivery man a nigger and spoke fondly of sending his dog to attack him for allegedly breaking a window in his residence with the daily newspaper, I had enough.

1 of 2 people found this review helpful

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.

Informative, and Gripping!

this was perhaps the most exciting political book I have ever written. It is easy to connect both to the author, and the subject matter he presents - in a very understandable way, I might add.

Scott Sowers captures the mood

Hunter Thompson's extremely high-energy writing has to be very hard to interpret. But Sowers does a great job by using a tone and pace that syncs well with Thompson's powerful writing. And Hunter Thompson was just amazing!

Gonzo Politics

Hunter's writing is a thing of Cynicistic Beauty & Unabashed Humor. He covers the Bullshit world of Politics with all the skepticism & frankness it deserves, Loved It!

for politics junkies only

Would you listen to Fear and Loathing again? Why?

no, but only because i had a hard time staying interested in the topic. this book is about the hardcore "nut cutting" presidential politics of 1972. altho hunter kept it interesting enough for me to work though it, if it were written by any other author i would have tossed it after chapter one.

What did you like best about this story?

hunter s thompson's writing style. i really dig his hardcore attitude.

Which scene was your favorite?

the scenes that take place on the nixon campaign press airplane nicknamed the "zoo". hunter describes the plane as being clouded with smoke as he stands in the cockpit smoking a joint and drinking a beer during takeoff

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

not really but the book as a whole paints an interesting picture of how things may have been in the late sixties and early seventies

Any additional comments?

would recommend this book only to people who are "politics" junkies, interested in the presidential politics of the sixties and seventies

0 of 3 people found this review helpful