In the past two weeks I've received copies of two different books
that used "selections" from /Hell's Angels/, and in both cases I
was shocked at what happens to my stuff when it's printed out of
context. All it takes is a few cuts on the Humor to make the rest
seem like the ravings of a dangerous lunatic. (Hunter S. Thompson)
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what I've been reading:
lots of Hunter S. Thompson: certainly no less of an acquired taste
than say Charles Bukowski, Thompson is more than the caricature of
a drug-addled madman that his public persona came to be trapped
inside.
The Proud Highway: Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman: The
first collection of his letters takes us from shortly before his
discharge from the Air Force in Florida - where he was already
moonlighting on the military with a local newspaper - to 1967. We
follow Hunter's early adult life through trying to find a woman to
settle down with, early post-military jobs and frequent poverty,
and various attempts to break into the serious literary world via
journalism and attempts at directly networking with people who
might offer him some sort of start on a career. He travels in South
America mailing political and news articles back to the States for
the National Observer and others, demonstrating his willingness to
dive headlong into dangerous situations with no real plan on how to
get out, living by the seat of his pants. Stateside he faces
eviction multiple times, scraping together money from publishing
various types of articles to keep his wife and new son from
starving, eventually spending over a year with the Hell's Angels
motorcycle club on their terms and surviving a Hells Angels
'stomping' after a disagreement with a member to get the material
for his first published book.
Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72: A blistering and
revealing no-holds-barred take on the presidential campaign of 1972
that came down to a devastating loss by George McGovern to Richard
Nixon (Four More Years). Thompson's ability to get inside what was
going on and unwillingness or inability to gloss over what he
observed is in fine form here. It was every bit as good as 'Fear
and Loathing in Las Vegas although of course very different.
Fear and Loathing in America - The Gonzo Letters Volume 2
Continuing right from where 'The Proud Highway' leaves off this
volume delivers just as well to my mind. Thompson's letters to Jann
Wenner after Wenner cuts off his Rolling-Stone-provided insurance
*while* Hunter is en route to Vietnam shortly before the fall of
Saigon when chaos reigned are not to be missed. Nor for that matter
are any of the rest of his beautiful, biting turns of phrase and
threats of physical and journalistic violence - he did not skimp
on the effort in writing his letters, you can see in his
letter-writing the whetting of the scythe of his wit. It is a damn
shame that the article he researched and wrote on the NRA
referenced here has never seen print still to this day. Despite his
pure and long-abiding love of firearms he obviously saw and was
willing to share what he saw that was wrong with the biggest
firearms organization in the world.
[sadly the third Volume of HST's letters - titled 'The Mutineer:
Rants, Ravings, and Missives from the Mountaintop 1977-2005'
appears to not be forthcoming - either his literary executor has
thought better of releasing the material out of concern for the
damage it might do to the memory of Thompson or out of a need to
protect letter recipients who are not yet deceased - the world may
never know. It even has an ISBN assigned (0684873176) but no dice.
A real HST fan maybe would threaten Hunter's literary executor with
kidnapping and slow torture or sudden violence to shake the
manuscript loose but instead we patiently, politely wait in vain.]
Cybernetic Revolutions - Eden Medina The story of the peaceful
transition to a socialist government in Chile via the old-fashioned
method of voting in new politicians and having them implement
socialist policies - and its violent overthrow a few years later by
Pinochet with the assistance of the US and our CIA care of the
Nixon Administration. It focuses on the attempt to implement
cybernetic management technologies and techniques - motivated by
the alignment with the socialist principles at the core of the new
government. There are extensive notes, a large bibliography, and a
good index to go with the story.
What would have come of a successful peacefully-initiated socialist
state? It's interesting to consider. Stafford Beer, the British
cyberneticist who advised the Allende Unity government was trying
to drive increased management involvement and control at the worker
level rather than centralized control which is fascinating. He
was attempting to find solutions for direct feedback mechanisms
from the people to factories and government to drive decisions
about production rates of products, food, etc. to make industry
responsive to the needs of people. Given how un-responsive modern
companies often are to what we want, that is interesting indeed.
I've also now finished HST's 'The Great Shark Hunt' - another
collection of articles, some quite good, and a heaping stack of
additional HST books just arrived in the mail the other day, so
plenty more there to consume. On to 'Fear and Loathing at Rolling
Stone, among others. Perhaps I'll get back to Bukowski's 'Factotum'
soon as well - 'Ham on Rye' was quite good, and 'Post Office' was
absolutely hilarious.
NO CARRIER