Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72

by Thompson, Hunter S.; Knoxville, Johnny

• ISBN13: 9781451691573
• ISBN10: 1451691572
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-06-26
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Summary

Hunter S. Thompson's classic account of the Nixon and McGovern campaigns for the 1972 presidency, "the best account yet published of what it feels like to be out there in the middle of the American political process" ( The New York Times Book Review), now with a new Introduction by Matt Taibbi. Forty years after its original publication, Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 remains a cornerstone of American political journalism and one of the bestselling campaign books of all time. Hunter S. Thompson's searing account of the battle for the 1972 presidencyfrom the Democratic primaries to the eventual showdown between George McGovern and Richard Nixonis infused with the characteristic wit, intensity, and emotional engagement that made Thompson "the flamboyant apostle and avatar of gonzo journalism" ( The New York Times). Hilarious, terrifying, insightful, and compulsively readable, Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 is an epic political adventure that captures the feel of the American democratic process better than any other book ever written.

Author Biography

Hunter S. Thompson was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky. His books include Hell's Angels, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and Fear and Loathing at Rolling Stone. He died in 2005.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. xix
Author's Note	p. 1
December 1971	p. 9
Is This Trip Necessary?
Strategic Retreat into National Politics
Two Minutes & One Gram Before Midnight on the Pennsylvania Turnpike
Setting Up the National Affairs Desk
Can Georgetown Survive the Black Menace?
Fear and Loathing in Washington
January	p. 25
The Million Pound Shithammer
Pros Scorn the Youth Vote
Fresh Meat for the Boys in the Back Room
"The Death of Hope" & A Withering of Expectation
Another McCarthy Crusade?
John Lindsay?
The Rancid Resurrection of Hubert Humphrey
Violence in the Press Box & Mano a Mano on TWA
Who Is Big Ed & Why Is Everybody Sucking Up to Him?
February	p. 43
Fear & Loathing in New Hampshire
Back on the Campaign Trail in Manchester, Keene & the Booth Fish Hatcheries
Harold Hughes Is Your Friend
Weird Memories of '68: A Private Conversation with Richard
Nixon
Will Dope Doom the Cowboys?
A First, Massive & Reluctantly Final Judgment on the Reality of George McGovern
Small Hope for the Hammer & No Hope at All for the Press Wizards
March	p. 80
The View from Key Biscayne
Enter the Savage Boohoo; Madness & Violence on the "Sunshine Special"
Lindsay Runs Amok, Muskie Runs Scared
First Flexing of the Big Wallace Muscle; First Signs of Doom for the Democrats
Abandon All Hope, Ye Who Enter Here
Except Maybe Ted Kennedy
Later in March	p. 103
The Banshee Screams in Florida
The Emergence of Mankiewicz
Hard Times for the Man from Maine
Redneck Power & Hell on Wheels for George Wallace
Hube Slithers out of Obscurity
Fear and Loathing on the Democratic Left
April	p. 119
Stunning Upset in Wisconsin
McGovern Juggernaut Croaks Muskie
Humphrey Falters; Wallace Rolls On
Big Ed Exposed as Ibogaine Addict
McGovern Accosts the Sheriff
Bad News from Bleak House: Mojo Madness in Milwaukee; or How Nazis Broke My Spirit on Election Night
Mankiewicz Predicts First Ballot Victory in Miami
May	p. 164
Crank Time on the Low Road
Fear and Loathing in Ohio & Nebraska
Humphrey Gets Ugly, McGovern Backs Off
Delirium Tremens at the National Affairs
Desk
Acid, Amnesty & Abortion
Massive Irregularities on Election Night in Cleveland; Death Watch in the Situation Room
Wallace Gunned Down in Maryland
Showdown Looms in California
June	p. 200
California: Traditional Politics with a Vengeance
Return of the Vincent Black Shadow
The Juggernaut Roars on; McGovern Troops Ease off as Polls Predict Sweeping Victory
Hubert's Last Stand: Vicious Attacks, Desperate Appeals, Strange Tales of Midnight Money from Vegas
Free Booze & Foul Rumors in the Press Room
Ominous Eleventh-Hour Slump Reveals Fistula in McGovernÆs Woodpile
Later in June	p. 232
Mass Burial for Political Bosses in New York
McGovern over the Hump
The Death by Beating of a Six-Foot
Blue-Black Serpent
What Next for the Good Ole Boys?
Anatomy of a Fixer
Treachery Looms in Miami
July	p. 247
Fear and Loathing in Miami: Old Bulls Meet the Butcher
A Dreary Saga Direct from the Sunshine State
How George McGovern Ran Wild on the Beach & Stomped Almost Everybody
Flashback to the Famous Lindsay Blueprint & A Strange Epitaph for the Battle of Chicago
More Notes on the Politics of Vengeance, Including Massive Technical Advice from Rick Stearns & the Savage Eye of Ralph Steadman
Dark Interlude	p. 304
August	p. 316
Down & Out in the Fontainebleau
Nixon Sells
Out the Party
Goldwater on the Comeback Trail; Agnew in æ76
Mankiewicz Amok; Midnight
Violence at The Wayfarer
The Origins of Eagleton; Death Rattle for the New Politics
Can a Bull Elk in the Rut Pass through the Eye of a Camel?
A Vicious Attack on the Demonstrators: "These People Should Go Back Where They Belong"
September	p. 370
Fat City Blues
Fear and Loathing on the White House Press Plane
Bad Angst at McGovern Headquarters
Nixon Tightens the Screws
"Many Appeared to Be in the Terminal Stages of Campaign Bloat"
October	p. 390
Ask Not for Whom the Bell Tolls
November	p. 394
At the Midnight Hour
Stoned on the Zoo Plane; Stomped in Sioux Falls
A Rambling, Manic/Depressive Screed in Triple-Focus on the Last Day of the Doomed McGovern Campaign
Then Back to America's Heartland for a Savage Beating
Fear and Loathing at the Holiday Inn
Be Angry at the Sun	p. 434
December	p. 435
Purging the McGovernites
Shoot-Out in the Dung-Heap Corral
Where Do We Go From Here: What Next for the "New Politics"?
A Crude Autopsy & Quarrelsome Analysis on Why McGovern Got Stomped
Epitaph
Four More Years
Nixon Uber Alles
Fear and Loathing at the Super Bowl
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.