Hunter S. Thompson, the Louisville-born father of gonzo journalism, spent 1972 chasing the presidential campaign for Rolling Stone. He followed the crowded Democratic primaries all the way to George McGovern’s doomed showdown with Richard Nixon. Written from highway motels, all-night diners, and airport bars, the book abandons the horse-race style of conventional political coverage for something rawer and more immersive.
Thompson embeds himself in the mindset of his subjects, whether talking football with Nixon or riding out a primary-night party gone wrong in Miami. Decades later it’s still considered one of the sharpest, funniest accounts of American politics ever written.
Published 2012
512 pages
$17.16