Hunter S. Thompson - Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72 Books

Pros: Fascinating Gonzo look at American politics
Cons: Nixon won

In the 1972 presidential election, Senator George McGovern (South Dakota) started out as a long shot. After winning the Democratic nomination with an old fashioned, grassroots campaign, McGovern went on to get steamrolled by incumbent Richard Nixon, ...

Pros: Gonzo-style, if you like it. Inside look at a pivotal point in American political history.
Cons: Gonzo-style, if you don't like it. Dated. Too inside for most readers to care.

I write this in March of 2007. It's the beginning of serious election time in this country. Everything gets weird during election time. It's the ultimate silly season which these days goes on for more than a year. For a brief (but seemingly endless), ...

Pros: A profoundly interesting and entertaining read.
Cons: Analysis is rudimentary. Little objectivity.

Today I am feeling smug. ‘What’s new?’ I hear you ask, and of course that is incredibly funny. What isn’t funny is that in 1972 the American people re-elected Richard Nixon by one of the largest margins in history. Richard Nixon, a ...

Pros: Unflinching expose of American politics
Cons: This is our political system

I first read F&L '72 back when I broke my political cherry in 1984. It was my first presidential election, and an older, wiser and weirder friend passed a well worn copy of this book to me in early October. I finished it in a little over...

Pros: Excellent insight into American Politics.
Cons: Hard to follow.

Few elections in American history have been as significant as the 1972 presidential election. The civil rights movement of the 1960’s combined with the changing attitudes towards the Vietnam War created a sense of apathy with American voters. When...

Pros: amazing. simply amazing. i mean, this actually HAPPENED!! that's some heavy sh!t!
Cons: it gets kind of slow when he reprints other articles and goes into depth on politics

If you want a serious, in depth analysis of the 1972 election, it is here. If you crave a funny, esoteric, twisted story about a cross-country journey, read it. If you are a die-hard Thompson fan, and you haven't read this book (although i don't see...

Pros: The political gambits are bolstering.
Cons: It's a long one, for those people who love short stories.

This book is a book that will pull you out of your life and make you see the hair on Nixon's nose. While I read this book my life was put on hold, I remember nothing other than what was in the book. It somehow keeps you locked into this era. Month by...

Pros: Extremely funny, informative.
Cons: If you aren't interested by politics, this won't interest you.

Hunter S. Thompson, the man who brought you Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, also produced this little beauty. It is, simply, an account of George McGovern's ill-fated attempt to wrest the presidency from Richard Nixon in 1972. However, unlike the vast...

Pros: A rare insight into the world of politics.
Cons: If you can't handle brutal honesty don't read.

This book gives a very rare, yet accurate look into the world of politics that existed in the 1970's and in many ways still exists today. Thompson looks at the campaign differently than any other author I've read on this subject and yet still makes you...