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    Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72
    Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72
    Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72
    Audiobook17 hours

    Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72

    Written by Hunter S. Thompson

    Narrated by Scott Sowers

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’72 remains a cornerstone of American political journalism and one of the bestselling campaign books of all time. Thompson’s searing account of the battle for the 1972 presidency—from the Democratic primaries to the eventual showdown between George McGovern and Richard Nixon—is infused with the characteristic wit, intensity, and emotional engagement that made Thompson “the flamboyant apostle and avatar of gonzo journalism” (The New York Times). Hilarious, terrifying, insightful, and compulsively readable, Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’72 is an epic political adventure that captures the feel of the American democratic process better than any other book ever written—and that is just as relevant to the many ills and issues roiling the nation today.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateMay 18, 2012
    ISBN9781464044793
    Author

    Hunter S. Thompson

    Hunter S. Thompson (1937-2005) nació en Kentucky. Empezó como periodista deportivo, se consagró como una de las grandes estrellas de la célebre revista Rolling Stone e inventó el llamado «periodismo gonzo», en el que el autor se convierte en protagonista y catalizador de la acción. En Anagrama se han publicado sus obras más célebres y desmadradas, Miedo y asco en Las Vegas y Los Ángeles del Infierno. Una extraña y terrible saga, así como los reportajes reunidos en La gran caza del tiburón. Empezó su única novela, El diario del ron, en 1959, pero no fue publicada hasta 1998.

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    Reviews for Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72

    4/5

    22 ratings15 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Is it just me or did this book remind anyone of the 2004 election? A beatable, unpopular incumbent who nevertheless defeats an inept opponent that squanders good will and multiple opportunities for success.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Hunter S. Thompson cuts through the curtains obscuring the American political process. Forgoing journalistic impartiality, Thompson throws himself into the 1972 presidential campaign firmly behind George McGovern. Thanks to this Thompson presents a bizarre outsider's view from inside of the most lopsided election in American history. Thankfully, Thompson's legendary cynicism turned out to be misplaced. Nixon got his in the end, after all.
    • 3/5
      Fascinating how much of this book resonates with what's happening in current politics. Nixon = Bush? Slows down near the end, and there's an endless section on parliamentary tactics at the convention.One note: since it was originally written as weekly commentary for Rolling Stone, it assumes some familiarity with the news of the day. So the beginning of each section may be confusing, but HST usually fills you in if you persist.
    • 5/5
      Thompson painted Nixon as a monster, but even he remembers that he's human with the classic "Thompson/Nixon Football Talk" bit. A brilliant insight the '72 campaign through Gonzo-tinted glasses.
    • 4/5
      This book can be pretty tedious at times and the reader often gets bogged down in the details. But, above all of this the narrative voice of HST shines through especially when the campaign is winding down. As I read this book during the primary season of 2008, I could not help but think about how similar things are during the book as compared to now. The apathy of the voters, the scripted speeches, the madness of running across the country looking for votes. Actually, to be specific this book was more like the 2004 election or any election where the incumbent was able to sway public opinion based on their decisions. Stick through the election details parts and you will be rewarded with tales such as the Zoo Plane and HST reporting from the Super Bowl.
    • 5/5
      Having not read Thompson previously, I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but this was an incredible read. Being just old enough to barely remember all of these events, it was a bit of a refresher, but nothing like this ever made the evening news. There are, to me, striking similarities to the 2008 election. I just hope that there is not the backlash in 2012 that we saw in 1980...if so, the Mayans might have been right.
    • 1/5
      Personally I found it a waste of paper and ink. Though if you are a Thompson fan, it might float your boat.
    • 5/5
      This is an excellent book, right in there with the best of Hunter S. Thompson’s work. However, strictly because of timing, I found it incredibly depressing. Do yourself a favor; do not read this book during an active presidential campaign. What goes around…the more things change…those who do not learn from history…etc. Ah well, let me pick myself up from my depression and go on to review the book.This is the story of the 1972 presidential election directly from the front lines of the campaign trail – primarily from a front seat of the disaster that was the McGovern campaign. It provides excellent detail on how things came together, how they fell apart, and how the entire year was a sideshow of inexplicable events. It tells the story of how we pick our presidents, and how others pick them for us. (There I go down that spiral again – come on, pick yourself up.) And, of course, it has the twisted take on reality that is the hallmark of gonzo journalism. Of course, to call it reality may be giving Thompson more credit for grasping reality than may be deserved. Okay, let’s lay it out there- Thompson is an unreliable narrator. Meaning, healthy grains of salt must be taken. Yet, in spite of this, it is also obvious there is more truth here than we wish to know.Shy of the last two sections which are primarily Thompson’s meandering thoughts on what went right and wrong (the real low part of the book), this is a fascinating telling of the tale. If you don’t know that much about the 1972 campaign you probably want to start somewhere else. But come back to this one once you have the historical perspective.
    • 5/5
      The good doctor on the campaign trail in 1972. What could be better than having Hunter use his caustic wit and gonzo journalistic attack on the likes of Nixon, Muskie, and Humphrey? Beyond the humor is some of the most insightful political reporting ever. Thompson is a character in his own books, but here the non-fiction aspect shines brightly as well. I would recommend it to any fan/detractor of politics and would consider it must reading for any advanced political science class.
    • 3/5
      A decent bit of political reportage on the US Presidential election of 1972. There are times when the book is too narrative heavy and you wish there was more analysis but overall the ratio isn't too bad. I'm not sure HST brings something different to political coverage in the way that David Foster Wallace did to his piece "Up Simba / McCain's Promise" on McCain's bid in 2000 for the Republican party nomination. But there are still plenty of good insights in this book, some accurate, some not so accurate predictions for the future, and plenty of crazy stories too.
    • 4/5
      So much of HST's comments on politics in 1972 still hold good nearly 40 years later. Have things changed since then? Yes, of course they have. The Internet has enabled the spread of political memes much faster than was possible then. Public image is even more important now than then, with 24-hour TV, faster news cycles, and the like. But these are quantitative, not qualitative, changes. Basically, politics in the USA today seems to rest on the same foundations as when the good Doctor explored the belly of the best in 1972. I have found this to be one of the best books around to explain the American political psyche to a non-American.
    • 5/5
      One of the most under appreciated Thompson books in his long literary history. Whereas Fear and Loathing was short on facts and filled with fantasy, Campaign Trail '72 captures the spirit of the time but tells it through the lens of somebody who really wanted McGovern to crush Nixon but knew he was too idealistic to get voted into office. Filled with just enough Thompson insanity to make it unique, but don't read this if your sole interest in Thompson was the absurdity in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
    • 4/5
      Hunter S. Thompson has the impressive ability to be so F***ed up on drugs that he can't coherently write "spin". Thompson dismisses partisanism (its a forgone conclusion that he hates Nixon, and he doesn't labor the point) and concentrates on the parts of the political process that we never really see (why everyone is a swine). Its also entertaining when he goes into rants for no particular reason, he's a terribly good writer for someone who is vaguely psychotic.
    • 4/5
      Other reporters often fed Thompson stories they would never get published in their own papers. Thompson was a GREAT writer. He started off as a sports writer, and covers politics as well as Angell covered baseball. He does get in the way of his writing, and at times that is humorous, at other times it really reduces the level of work. But the man is...was great.
    • 4/5
      HST is a hell of a writer, not just for his drugs. Few others make journalism so venomous, and political squabbles so interesting.

      It's rather fitting that this is the 40th anniversary edition, re-released in one of the most spectacular train wrecks in years. One wonders, if HST lived, what he would have had to say about this pack of loonies.

      HST, as cynical as he wants to be, still has a bit of idealism buried in him somewhere, that a Democrat lesser evil will prevail over the tyranny of Nixon. But his coverage of the convention and the November trouncing is an exercise in despair.

      Not dated at all, except for a fee slurs. His style is his own. Makes you feel rage instead of cynicism.