Happy Birthday, Jack Nicholson (Pocket Penguins 70's)

by Hunter S. Thompson

Paperback, 2005

Status

Available

Call number

PS3570.H62 A6

Genres

Biography & Memoir

Biography

Nonfiction

Publication

Penguin Books Ltd (2005), Edition: 1st, 64 pages

Description

Every book tells a story . . .And the 70 titles in the Pocket Penguins series are emblematic of the renowned breadth and quality that formed part of the original Penguin vision in 1935 and that continue to define our publishing today. Together, they tell one version of the unique story of Penguin Books. High priest of hedonism and godfather of gonzo journalism, Hunter S. Thompson was renowned for his counterculture masterpiece Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, which described his chemical-addled adventures in 1970s America. Taken from Thompson's brilliantly entertaining autobiography, Kingdom of Fear- the last book published before his death earlier this year - these pieces provide a hilarious but now also painful insight into the life and the mind of a true literary outlaw.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member neiljohnford

Every now and then I read something which reminds me why I love to read. Firstly this is a penguin book, say no more. Secondly, I haven't read Hunter S. Thompson for years. In fact I haven't read anything he wrote post 9/11. I remember wondering at the time though what he thought of those events

(and the Bush administration in general). This book contains a few pages that he wrote back then and it's amazing how clearly he saw the situation, and how much of what he wrote on what the after effects would be has now come to pass. Yes there is a war. Yes there's gloomy news on the economic front (on September the 19th 2001 Thompson wrote "The last half of the 20th century will seem like a wild party for kids compared to what's coming now."). Thompson wrote like a drug crazed maniac for a very good reason, however his perception of the politics of fear (and I guess American sport although I'm not qualified to judge on that one) are spot on. More than that he's just funny - his description of slapping a Buddhist in the ear as the answer to the riddle of the sound of one hand clapping is my guilty pleasure for the day. I've given away about half of the Hunter S. Thomspon books I've ever owned (they seem to good to keep to yourself) and I still mourn the first edition of the Great Shark Hunt that I picked up on the West Bank of the Seine and then 'loaned' to a friend (never to see again) so it seems fitting that I found this one. I'll definitely be reading Kingdom of Fear (some of this was familiar so maybe I already have?) and probably re-reading Hells Angels on the back of this. Enough time has passed.

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LibraryThing member verenka

As expected brilliant, crazy and bizarre.

It also contains an interesting essay on Thompson's take on America after September 11, 2001, which he wrote on the day after. I found this piece very interesting because he manages to sound enthusiastic about America, patriotic even, but at the same time

he totally opposes George W. Bush. It's a viewpoint I haven't come across very often before.

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LibraryThing member breakbeat

A small collection of stories from Kingdom of fear - so if you have KoF already you might not want to bother, but the stories that are here flow well together and make a short, snappy book.

LibraryThing member Stahl-Ricco

"My first face-to-face confrontation with the FBI occurred when I was nine years old."

Is there any other sentence in the world that doesn't scream Hunter S. Thompson? That one is on the first page of this collection of funny, strange, and deadly accurate "stories" in this book. The entry about 9/11

perfectly exemplifies all of these qualities! I really like Hunter S., and this short little book made me smile, laugh, and think, and for that, I thank him!

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