Great!
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I enjoyed this book and found Ralph Steadman's account of his friendship with HST refreshingly humouress and open. It does not reveal deep insights into what made HST tick, but shows us what it was like to work with him and be his friend too. His friendship to Steadman is captured in his advice when Steadman's son was going a little off the rails.
All in all an easy and entertaining read accompanied of course by Steadman's wonderful illustrations.
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Pleasant enough but with no real substance
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It's a nice package: a big impressive looking book with a typically striking cover. But this book promises a lot more than it delivers. Basically a series of scenes, anecdotes, vignettes, whatever, with the author meeting and working with Hunter S. T.
Do not expect to learn much about either man as coverage is mostly short and shallow. It's a nice enough read but it is very superficial. I learned nothing important about what drove HST, of what even makes Ralph Steadman tick. What was Hunter like he was? How did he live like that for so long? You won't find out here. You will come across a lot of letters and faxes though, and they get really tedious after a while, as anyone who's tried to read HST collected letters will tell you - fine in small bursts only.
Let's face it, most people interested in Hunter S have only read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. If that's the case, then read Songs of the Doomed next rather than this - you'll learn a lot more in every sense.
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A unique perspective
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I enjoyed this book. Ralph Steadman had spent a good deal of time with Hunter Thompson and it shows in his detailed, funny and numerous anecdotes.
Steadman was there at arguably the birth of Gonzo journalism, the Kentucky Derby, although he was not Thompsons first choice illustrator, as he himself points out. This episode is given emphasis in the book, as is the period surrounding their major collaboration 'The Curse of Lono'. The book covers a many events and times, these men were friends for decades. There are letters and faxes from Thompson printed verbatim. These obviously have never been published before and are insightful and in places, very funny.
Steadman is not a professional writer and in places it shows. He is however, intelligent, observant and he possesses a wicked sense of humour and at times a very caustic wit. He also pulls no punches, this is not a sycophantic homage to Thompson. At times it feels like an open letter to his deceased friend, it is a worthwhile read.
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