The Proud Highway: Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman, 1955-1967 : 1955-67, Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman v. 1 - Hardcover

Hunter S. Thompson

4.16

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9780747537519: The Proud Highway: Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman, 1955-1967 : 1955-67, Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman v. 1

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0747537518 ISBN 13: 9780747537519

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, 1997

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This is Hunter S. Thompson's recollection of his perception of the 1960s and a portrait of a writer of huge intelligence who is forced to live as an outsider, with rage and humour as the only tools with which to force his way in. Hunter S. Thompson's work includes "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas", "Hell's Angels", "Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail" and "Better than Sex". Much influenced by Hemingway, George Orwell, Jack Kerouac, Tom Wolfe and Ken Kesey, he is the founder of 'gonzo' journalism, which is essentially injecting fiction into journalism in order to give the reader a truer vision of the subject-matter. His books have all been written in gonzo form, usually with him as a central character. This volume contains the best of his letters from 1955 to 1967 (age 17 to 29) and is, therefore, his first work of non-fiction and the closest thing to true autobiography that will every publish. Readers learn that rather than being simply a genius, hopelessly addicted to drugs and alcohol, Thompson is a high-minded man, whose rage and drug-taking derive from his clear-sighted understanding of how much better the world - in particular America - could be.

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Review:

The Proud Highway is the first in an anticipated three- volume collection of the letters of Hunter S. Thompson. It includes letters spanning a 12-year period, during which time Thompson survived his first incarceration, graduated from high school, was discharged from the Air Force, drank to excess, wrote prolifically in obscurity and finally achieved notoriety with the publication of Hell's Angels, his first successful book. The letters are frantic and comedic, self- righteous and intensely cynical. He writes to friends and family, famous authors he admired and even the president of the United States. As Thompson travels from New York City to Puerto Rico, then on to South America and Northern California, his letters trace the development and refinement of his talent. This collection of Thompson's early writings paints a portrait of the man before words like "Gonzo", "Doctor" and "fear and loathing" were inextricably linked to his name, revealing the unrestrained ego that serves as the foundation for the talent of this popular and important American writer.

About the Author:

Hunter S. Thompson (July 18, 1937-February 20, 2005) was an American journalist and author. He was known for his flamboyant writing style, most notably deployed in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, which blurred the distinctions between writer and subject, fiction and nonfiction. The best source on Thompson's writing style and personality is Thompson himself. His books include Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga (1966), Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream (1972), Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 (1973); The Great Shark Hunt: Strange Tales from a Strange Time (1979); The Curse of Lono (1983); Generation of Swine, Gonzo Papers Vol. 2: Tales of Shame and Degradation in the 80's (1988); and Songs of the Doomed (1990).

William J. Kennedy, author, screenwriter and playwright, was born and raised in Albany, New York. Kennedy brought his native city to literary life in many of his works. The Albany cycle includes Legs, Billy Phelan's Greatest Game, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Ironweed.

Douglas Brinkley is a professor of history at Rice University, the CNN Presidential Historian, and a contributing editor at Vanity Fair and Audubon. The Chicago Tribune has dubbed him "America's new past master." His recent Cronkite won the Sperber Prize for Best Book in Journalism and was a Washington Post Notable Book of the Year. The Great Deluge won the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award. He is a member of the Society of American Historians and the Council on Foreign Relations. He lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife and three children.

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