The Great Shark Hunt Strange Tales from a Strange Time

by Thompson, Hunter S.

• ISBN13: 9780743250450
• ISBN10: 0743250451
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-11-06
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Summary

Originally published in 1979, the first volume of the bestselling "Gonzo Papers" is now back in print.The Great Shark Huntis Dr. Hunter S. Thompson's largest and, arguably, most important work, covering Nixon to napalm, Las Vegas to Watergate, Carter to cocaine. These essays offer brilliant commentary and outrageous humor, in signature Thompson style.Ranging in date from the National Observer days to the era ofRolling Stone, The Great Shark Huntoffers myriad, highly charged entries, including the first Hunter S. Thompson piece to be dubbed "gonzo" -- "The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved," which appeared inScanlan's Monthlyin 1970. From this essay a new journalistic movement sprang which would change the shape of American letters. Thompson's razor-sharp insight and crystal clarity capture the crazy, hypocritical, degenerate, and redeeming aspects of the explosive and colorful '60s and '70s.

Author Biography

Hunter S. Thompson's books include Fear and Loathing in America, Screwjack, Hell's Angels, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, The Proud Highway, Better Than Sex, The Rum Diary, and Kingdom of Fear. A contributor to various national and international publications, including a weekly sports column for espn.com, Thompson lives in a fortified compound near Aspen, Colorado.

Table of Contents

PART ONE
Author's Note	17	(2)
Fear and Loathing in the Bunker	19	(5)
The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved	24	(14)
A Southern City with Northern Problems	38	(8)
Fear and Loathing at the Super Bowl	46	(31)
The Temptations of Jean-Claude Killy	77	(19)
The Ultimate Free Lancer	96	(4)
Collect Telegram from a Mad Dog	100	(2)
"Genius 'Round the World Stands Hand in Hand, and One Shock of Recognition Runs the Whole Circle 'Round" Art Linkletter	102	(3)
Jacket Copy for Fear and Loathing in La Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream	105	(6)
A Conversation on Ralph Steadman and His Book, America, with Dr. Hunter S. Thompson	111	(8)
Strange Rumblings in Aztlan	119	(32)
Freak Power in the Rockies	151	(24)
Memo from the Sports Desk: The So-Called "Jesus Freak" Scare	175	(2)
Memoirs of a Wretched Weekend in Washington	177	(8)
PART TWO
Presenting: The Richard Nixon Doll (Overhauled 1968 Model)	185	(7)
Author's Note	192	(5)
June, 1972: The McGovern Juggernaut Rolls On	197	(41)
Later in June	212	(11)
September	223	(8)
October	231	(2)
Epitaph	233	(5)
Memo from the Sports Desk & Rude Notes from a Decompression Chamber in Miami	238	(10)
Fear and Loathing at the Watergate: Mr. Nixon Has Cashed His Check	248	(34)
Fear and Loathing in Washington: The Boys in the Bag	282	(17)
Fear and Loathing in Limbo: The Scum Also Rises	299	(44)
PART THREE
Traveler Hears Mountain Music Where It's Sung	343	(2)
A Footloose American in a Smugglers' Den	345	(3)
Why Anti-Gringo Winds Often Blow South of the Border	348	(4)
Democracy Dies in Peru, but Few Seem to Mourn Its Passing	352	(6)
The Inca of the Andes: He Haunts the Ruins of His Once-Great Empire	358	(4)
Brazilshooting	362	(3)
Chatty Letters During a Journey from Aruba to Rio	365	(4)
What Lured Hemingway to Ketchum?	369	(5)
Living in the Time of Alger, Greeley, Debs	374	(4)
Marlon Brando and the Indian Fish-In	378	(5)
The "Hashbury" Is the Capital of the Hippies	383	(11)
When the Beatniks Were Social Lions	394	(4)
The Nonstudent Left	398	(8)
Those Daring Young Men in Their Flying Machines ... Ain 't What They Used to Be!	406	(7)
The Police Chief	413	(8)
PART FOUR
The Great Shark Hunt	421	(31)
Jimmy Carter and the Great Leap of Faith	452	(34)
Address by Jimmy Carter on Law Day: University of Georgia, Athens, GA	486	(9)
The Banshee Screams for Buffalo Meat	495	(21)
The Hoodlum Circus and the Statutory Rape of Bass Lake	516	(8)
Ashes to Ashes & Dust to Dust: The Funeral of Mother Miles	524	(6)
Welcome to Las Vegas: When the Going Gets Weird the Weird Turn Pro	530	(17)
Last Tango in Vegas: Fear and Loathing in the Near Room	547	(12)
Last Tango in Vegas: Fear and Loathing in the Far Room	559	(32)
Bibliography of Works by Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, by Kihm Winship	591	(8)
Bibliography of Works on Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, by Kihm Winship	599