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Summary: I love it!
Review: I just want to say that this book by HST is the best by far! I am 18 years old and I was never into politics. HST got me into it. He makes this book so interesting because he is real! He pauses and talks about his crazy adventures with drugs and what not. He's an amazing author! I really think people should read this book. If not, read any one of his great books. You won't be dissapointed.
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Summary: If you like Crap, This is for you.
Review: April 2000
Hunter S. Thompson is an overrated rambling moron. Any sign of intelligence is either accidental, or totally warped because he's so tweeked and drunk all the time. He's biased, he rambles, and he's boring. Whenever he started going into an interesting story he always went off tangent. I am trying to be nice and objective about it, but this is just another volume of crap. Stick to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
Its now September 2001 and as I see other reviews for this book it looks as though I'm the only one that thinks this book sucked. My favorite part was when it ended. What I wrote before stands true to me still. Fear and Loathing was just one volume of his CRAP SERIES. It is mind boggling that people think so highly of this piece of junk.
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Summary: best book on any campaign ever
Review: being a 17 year old guy, i am not that interested in polititcs, but this book somehow interested me like crazy. it was the most interesting and informative book ive ever read
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Summary: A Truly Subjective Look at the American Political System
Review: True to Hunter, this book takes a scynical look at American Politics in the early '70's. With Nixon and company in office, who could be objective.The book was a bit more eclectic than what I enjoy at times, but that's HST for you. For anyone who's read other works by Hunter, this is a must. Yet I wouldn't suggest it as your first HST experience.
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Summary: For thos of you who are about to read, we salute you!
Review: Rock and Roll, baby, Rock and Roll. For anyone trying to catch a glimpse of the madness that was the early 1970's, read this book. Everyone was in the Wasteland of what the 1960's had wrought and this book takes you to that very place where people from both sides were getting over the burn. The first time I read this book, it was a light coming on and it gets more to my liking every time I return. Hunter S. Thompson is the Original Outlaw Journalist, and after opening this book it won't take you very long to find out why. A few reviews down the list, ashleyrosebud misses the entire point of what Hunter Thompson was trying to do. She longs for the drug induced prose of Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas, and propbably has nostalgic feelings for "Where the Buffalo Roam," starring Bill Murray as Dr. Thompson. The truth is, "Capaign Trail '72" is what gonzo journalism is all about. The truth is you owe it to yourself to read this version of politics, this tale of madness and insanity that was the 1972 election, and what I can honestly say to be the best political writing I have ever read.
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Summary: none of that psychedelic cactus stuff here
Review: This long & large book chronicles the events leading up to the re-election of the corrupt Nixon administration that rightly got swallowed up by its own greed & backroom dealings. The good Gonzo Doctor is on the campaign trail supporting Democratic candidate George McGovern & getting an insight of the American political machine over the course of a year which makes it a lot longer read than ...Las Vegas, whilst both are based on real events, this one is slightly more believable. There is a stage where HST actually gets an interview w/ Tricky Dicky & they watch the football game together since it is a common interest/passion, & there weren't any others. @ another stage he gets in another drug haze & that chapter gets written by the editor [bearing in mind that this is a collection of contemporary articles for Rolling Stone, not a nostalgic tracing of history, he lived & breathed those times], probing questions from HST. This kind of reading would be appropriate right now [late 2000] seeing as America is on the verge of maybe giving power to scum like G.W. Bush & if you read the book from the 1988 campaign, Generation of Swine, you'll see HST thought as much of the elder Bush. Anyway, for someone who doesn't read political historical books like this [& in my case who also wasn't born then & live in Australia], HST's writing style makes it more than interesting enough, he could probably write about paint drying & make it a genuine literary masterpiece. I recall the edition I read had a great Ralph Steadman art cover [& occasional illustrations inside too]. good stuff.
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Summary: One of the Very Best Books About American Politics, Ever
Review: Whether you agree or disagree with Thompson's politics you have to praise his candor and determination to cut through the nonsense, as well as marvel at some of the funniest writing anywhere. William Buckley once said you should admire Thompson the way you would admire a streaker at Queen Victoria's funeral. The good Doktor is not intimidated by power or cant: the famous "Ibogaine" hoax about Big Ed Muskie, the Democrat front-runner, was one of the great moments of the '72 election. And his rants against Humphrey were, in the end, far more accurate about that big-government, statist figure than a more "balanced" judgement would have been. The bottom line: Thompson is king-hell for FREEDOM. He's in the wrong party and doesn't even know it.
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Summary: Hunter S. Thompson at his best.
Review: From Thompson's opening description of Washington D.C. to his final pondering on power and the nature of the political beast known as the presidential candidate, Thompson is right on the money. In this chronicle he follows various democratic hopefuls around the country during their campaigns to win the democratic nomination for the office of the president. He contrasts the personalities of the candidates as well as their platforms. He shows the effects of the rigors of campaigning on the individuals and the workings of the political machine of the democratic party in the early 1970's. After McGovern won the nomination, he analyzes how he won it and how it caused the schizm in the democratic party. He shows the differences between the nomination campaign and the presidential campaign from the National party perspective and finally he contrasts the Nixon campaign and bargaining with that of McGovern. This is one of the best that Thompson ever has written. His analysis of the campaign and the personalities was pretty much right on the money. The book is not all work and no play, though. His incisive wit is promently displayed and his knack of being in the right place (or the wrong in some cases) gives him the chance to view certain activities from a perspective that most people don't get a chance to see. His descriptions of the organization meeting for the "spontaneous demonstration" by basically high school students at the Republican convention is hysterical. Especially his reasoning of why he participated as a 35 year old wearing a McGovern for President button alone is worth reading, not to mention the incident on the Sunshine Special that caused him to become persona nongrata on the Muskie campaign. If any Thompson book should be made required reading, this one is it. At least you'll enjoy it.
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Summary: Fear and loathing of Humphrey and Nixon
Review: A great behind the scenes view of journalists covering presidential elections- from the New Hampshire primary circut of handsaking factory workers on snowy March mornings to the make or break primary of California to the Miami streets filled with stoned protesters and Vietnam vets at the Republican convention. This book is worth reading for anyone who suspected that candidates put their shoes on one at time like the rest of us, or else need an aide to tie them. Hunter is at his vitrolic best taking on Humphrey, Muskie, AFL-CIO and Richard Nixon. Those parts are well worth the price of admission. I found the reading a little slow and meandering in the first third, better focused and spirited in the middle and downright fascinating at the end with Nixon (ugly and dark) and McGovern (inept campaigner) showing all sides for Hunter to tell us about with out pulling a punch. Thank you Hunter.
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Summary: Richard Nixon's favorite journalist--NOT!
Review: Hunter Thompson HATED Richard Nixon with all of his capacity to loathe. Nixon represented to him everything that was wrong with America. So for Thompson to have been covering Tricky Dick during the fateful events that ensured his downfall is a delicous irony indeed. This book is akin to Thompson's "Hell's Angels" in that he is reporting about real events, albiet through his own warped perception. The book is a reminder that once upon a time, Thompson was a very capable reporter, before he turned his mind into mush and became a caricature of himself. Politics junkies will find this book to be great comic relief.
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