Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Hunter S. Thompson

Copyright

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      Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by ‘Raoul Duke’ first appeared in Rolling Stone magazine, issue 95, November 11, 1971, and issue 96, November 25, 1971.

      First published in Great Britain by Paladin 1972

      Copyright © Estate of Hunter S. Thompson 1971

      Illustration copyright © Ralph Steadman 1971

      PS section copyright © Travis Elborough 2005

      PS™ is a trademark of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd.

      Hunter S. Thompson, asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

      A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

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      Source ISBN: 9780007204496

      Ebook Edition © OCTOBER 2014 ISBN: 9780007596713

      Version: 2019–07–16

Dedication

      To Bob Geiger,

      for reasons that need

      not be explained here

      —and to Bob Dylan,

      for Mister Tambourine Man

Epigraph

      “He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man.”

      —DR. JOHNSON

      Contents

       Cover

       Title Page

       Copyright

Dedication

Epigraph

PART ONE

2. The Seizure of $300 from a Pig Woman in Beverly Hills

3. Strange Medicine on the Desert … a Crisis of Confidence

4. Hideous Music and the Sound of Many Shotguns … Rude Vibes on a Saturday Evening in Vegas

       5. Covering the Story … A Glimpse of the Press in Action … Ugliness & Failure

6. A Night on the Town … Confrontation at the Desert Inn … Drug Frenzy at the Circus-Circus

       7. Paranoid Terror … and the Awful Specter of Sodomy … A Flashing of Knives and Green Water

       8. “Genius ’Round the World Stands Hand in Hand, and One Shock of Recognition Runs the Whole Circle ’Round”

       9. No Sympathy for the Devil … Newsmen Tortured? … Flight into Madness

       10. Western Union Intervenes: A Warning from Mr. Heem … New Assignment from the Sports Desk and a Savage Invitation from the Police

       11. Aaawww, Mama, Can This Really Be the End? … Down and Out in Vegas, with Amphetamine Psychosis Again?

       12. Hellish Speed … Grappling with the California Highway Patrol … Mano a Mano on Highway 61

      PART TWO

       2. Another Day, Another Convertible … & Another Hotel Full of Cops

       3. Savage Lucy … ‘Teeth like Baseballs, Eyes like Jellied Fire’

       4. No Refuge for Degenerates … Reflections an a Murderous Junkie

       5. A Terrible Experience with Extremely Dangerous Drugs

       6. Getting Down to Business … Opening Day at the Drug Convention

       7. If You Don’t Know, Come to Learn … If You Know, Come to Teach

       8. Back Door Beauty … & Finally a Bit of Serious Drag Racing on the Strip

       9. Breakdown on Paradise Blvd.

       10. Heavy Duty at the Airport … Ugly Peruvian Flashback … ‘No! It’s Too Late! Don’t Try It!’

       11. Fraud? Larceny? Rape? … A Brutal Connection with the Alice from Linen Service

       12.