Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail of '72

1. Hunter S. Thompson was an American journalist and author, and the author of the gonzo journalism movement. He was born on July 18, 1937 in Louisville, Kentucky, and died on February 20, 2005, in Woody Creek, Connecticut. Some of his notable works are “Hell’s Angels”, “The Rum Diary”, “Fear and loathing in Las Vegas”, “The Curse of Lono”, and “The Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trial of ‘72”. (Wikipedia)

He didn't want to rewrite the story, only wanted to write the truth

2. The book focuses on the Democratic Party’s primaries and the breakdown of the party as it splits between different candidates.Of particular focus is the manic maneuvering of the George McGovern campaign during the Miami convention as they sought to ensure the Democratic nomination despite attempts by the Humphrey campaign and the other candidates to block McGovern. (Wikipedia)

It’s given birth to a whole generation of clichés and literary memes, with many campaign reporters finding themselves consciously or unconsciously making villainous Nixons or Christlike McGoverns out of each new quadrennial batch of presidential pretenders.

3. "When the going gets weird, the weird turn professional.”

“With the truth so dull and depressing, the only working alternative is wild bursts of madness and filigree.”

“Live steady.”

“The whole framework of the presidency is getting out of hand. It's come to the point where you almost can't run unless you can cause people to salivate and whip on each other with big sticks. You almost have to be a rock star to get the kind of fever you need to survive in American politics.”

"How low do you have to stoop in this country to be President?”

4. This book can be considered controversial because of the brutal honesty and lack of politeness on the White House campaign trail when asking the candentes questions. He would get kicked off the press team and wouldn't care he would just go write somewhere else because he worked for Rolling Stones.

5. Critical of the candidates and of the media, broke from the pack of journalists and spoke the truth, it was the most accurate account of the campaign of ‘72

6. http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/timewarp-campaign-72-19730705 and http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/books/2012/06/hunter_s_thompson_fear_and_loathing_on_the_campaign_trail_72_review_by_matt_taibbi_.html

7. The Boys on the Bus and The New Journalism

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