Rare Book of the Day – Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72, Hunter S. Thompson. First Edition.
“The main problem in any democracy is that crowd-pleasers are generally brainless swine who can go out on a stage & whup their supporters into an orgiastic frenzy—then go back to the office & sell every one of the poor bastards down the tube for a nickel apiece.”
Quotes like the above by the Good Doctor ringer even truer today than when Thompson wrote them in the early 1970s. Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 was Thompson's third book, preceded by Hell's Angels and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Comprised of a collection of articles that were originally serialized in Rolling Stone magazine throughout 1972, the King of Gonzo Journalism writes about the personalities and machinations of the 1972 Nixon/McGovern race for the Presidency with much candor, irreverence and humor. A classic of American political writing, this is the first edition, first printing from 1973:
Thompson and George McGovern on the campaign trail:
More info here:
http://www.rarebooksleuth.com/featured/fear-and-loathing-on-the-campaign-trail-72-dr-hunter-s-thomspson
I forget about the 'Dr' part. Every time I approach Thompson, I get repelled again. I feel like I should wear a helmet to read his stuff. Maybe I'll try that!
Too bad George McGovern got run over by a truck in that election! It just wasn't in the cards. But I wonder if he could have done any better than Dick Nixon in the long run...
The inside track on a political campaign couldn't help but inspire the likes of Hunter Thompson.