Freak Kingdom

Hunter S. Thompson's Manic Ten-Year Crusade Against American Fascism

By: Timothy Denevi

Narrated by: Mark Boyett

The story of Hunter S. Thompson's crusade against Richard Nixon and the threat of fascism in America--and the devastating price he paid for it

Hunter S. Thompson is often misremembered as a wise-cracking, drug-addled cartoon character. This book reclaims him for what he truly was: a fearless opponent of corruption and fascism, one who sacrificed his future well-being to fight against it, rewriting the rules of journalism and political satire in the process. This skillfully told and dramatic story shows how Thompson saw through Richard Nixon's treacherous populism and embarked on a life-defining campaign to stop it. In his fevered effort to expose institutional injustice, Thompson pushed himself far beyond his natural limits, sustained by drugs, mania, and little else. For ten years, he cast aside his old ambitions, troubled his family, and likely hastened his own decline, along the way producing some of the best political writing in our history.

This timely biography recalls a period of anger and derangement in American politics, and one writer with the guts to tell the truth.

Critic reviews

"Freak Kingdom...sheds new light on Thompson's politically awakening and reporting -- and the toll it took on him and his later work and life. Few books this season will give you a stronger and more chilling sense of déjà vu...The book chronicles, in absorbing day-by-day detail, how Thompson intersected with history more than some may recall."—Rolling Stone

"Denevi...crafts his biography like a nonfiction novel, letting his research unfold in a captivating narrative that places readers at some of the most important episodes of Thompson's career. Denevi's work reminds us that the persistent concern about totalitarianism overwhelming free speech isn't something new. And 50 years ago, one journalist decided to do something about it."—The Associated Press

"What Thompson chronicled in his inimitable way during the Nixon era-'America acting on its worst impulses'-still resonates today."—p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px 'Helvetica Neue'}span.s1 {font-kerning: none}The Atlantic

"Beyond the drugs and gonzo journalism, Hunter S. Thompson was a fierce opponent of corruption and the authoritarian tendencies of political leaders. This is what most motivated his writing, Denevi argues in a new biography of the bombastic writer."—p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px 'Helvetica Neue'}span.s1 {font-kerning: none}The New York Times Book Review

"Through meticulous research and recreated in novelistic detail, Denevi chronicles Thompson's scramble to create a viable career out of the instability of freelance writing...If you've ever felt Thompson a bit much to read on his own, Freak Kingdom makes a handy and stabilizing companion text: the behind-the-scenes details of how his big stories came together make it impossible to dismiss Thompson as the pop culture caricature he was later made out to be."—Salon

"Terrifically redemptive....the first book about Thompson to be written during the Trump presidency...Denevi gives a charmingly sensational account of Thompson's life in order to prove his point that Thompson actually conducted himself as quite a serious person."—PopMatters

"Denevi's writing does more than just bring the period alive, it makes one want to be there as if it were brand new...there has never been a Hunter S. Thompson biographer who has captured Thompson's work as well...Simply put, Freak Kingdom does justice to Hunter S. Thompson."—CounterPunch

"Not only powerful but moving."—p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px 'Helvetica Neue'}span.s1 {font-kerning: none}The Spectator

"Freak Kingdom...is one of the most important books of this election season. Despite the word 'Trump' not appearing in it once, it is somehow present on every page."—Mashable

A great history lesson

Remarkable historical connections to the present day told through the lens of a journalistic phenomenon. Well worth a listen and frequently hard to put down.

Adds a lot of contacts

Adds a lot of contacts too literally everything else HST has ever done Kind of wish I had read or listened to this one before anything else but better late than never

Amazing

The author truly knows HST and I apreciate the honest look into the rise and fall of an American icon and personal hero of mine.

great book

absolutely love this book. well written with great prospective, and facts.i would highly recommend this book.

Ok

Doesn’t tell us anything new about HST. But a nice introduction if you’re a newbie.