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A review by cruelspirit
Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72 by Hunter S. Thompson
dark
informative
medium-paced
5.0
I decided to spend this year, the 50 year anniversary of the 1972 presidential election, reading Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72. I bought this book back in the summer of 2021 and the owner of the store told me I'd find a lot of parallels to the recently held 2020 election. This book is laid out in different sections covering each month of 1972 and the progress of the campaign. This made for an easy pace to read throughout the year.
HST was Rolling Stone's political correspondent during this time. These different month excepts were originally serialized in Rolling Stone and were later collected here in this publication. HST gains press access to all of the events of the primary and general election, speaking directly with Nixon, McGovern and many of the campaign organizers. Beyond the political and historical aspects, HST offers readers his typical style of writing, giving his perspective on everything that is happening, often focusing on his hotel or party antics instead of the actual election.
Prior to reading Campaign Trail 72' I had only ever read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas from HST. While I love Las Vegas I really did enjoy this book even more. We get a more focused Thompson who offers insight and evaluation of bigger issues in America and for a more sustained period of time. While HST already had success writing before Las Vegas I think this book really shows that his writing style wasn't just a one off and that he can have different dimensions to how he writes. You don't get the "Gonzo" "off the wall" writing of Las Vegas on every page but rather spaced out between and interlaced with the dry nature of political affairs.
I think the book really benefits from this. While I'm someone interested in history, I have never been too big into political history or political analysis. HST was able to win me over with an election that, to the unaware may seem rather uneventful. The 1972 election is surrounded by much bigger events: the 1968 election, democratic convention, the overall counterculture movement and on the other end the Watergate Scandal, the rise of Reaganism at the end of the decade.
You'd think that this wouldn't be that be an event in American history but then you look at an electoral map and see the outcome. Elections results like this don't happen anymore but elections like this sure do. The 1972 presidential election was the beginning of the kind of elections we have today. HST really offers a lot of insight in this book that makes it feel like he can see into the future or is speaking from our current perspective. If he could see this in 1972, you can only wonder what he'd think now. The political backstabbing, under the table deals, and cult of personality are all covered here. While a lot of the events of this book may seem trivial by today's standards, I think it's a great look into what has become an American tradition.
With every election since, things have only gotten worse to the point where America is a divided and riled up as ever. Football is a consistent theme throughout the book and the point in which the narrative ends; Super Bowl Sunday 1973. While evaluating the outcome of the election, HST draws the conclusion that the only way to win the presidential election going forward is to have a rock star, cult of personality, that gets people as riled up as they are watching the Super Bowl. We've seen this happen and continue to happen at an alarming rate since 2016. Luckily, many of those candidate looking to capture the magic of Trump have nowhere near the kind of charisma as him, which has lead to many failed campaigns. That being said, someone will break through as the next protégé. If I've learned anything from this book its that the next cult of personality will be darker and more sinister than the last and soon enough we'll be watching them walk up to the podium as Hail to the Chief plays.
HST was Rolling Stone's political correspondent during this time. These different month excepts were originally serialized in Rolling Stone and were later collected here in this publication. HST gains press access to all of the events of the primary and general election, speaking directly with Nixon, McGovern and many of the campaign organizers. Beyond the political and historical aspects, HST offers readers his typical style of writing, giving his perspective on everything that is happening, often focusing on his hotel or party antics instead of the actual election.
Prior to reading Campaign Trail 72' I had only ever read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas from HST. While I love Las Vegas I really did enjoy this book even more. We get a more focused Thompson who offers insight and evaluation of bigger issues in America and for a more sustained period of time. While HST already had success writing before Las Vegas I think this book really shows that his writing style wasn't just a one off and that he can have different dimensions to how he writes. You don't get the "Gonzo" "off the wall" writing of Las Vegas on every page but rather spaced out between and interlaced with the dry nature of political affairs.
I think the book really benefits from this. While I'm someone interested in history, I have never been too big into political history or political analysis. HST was able to win me over with an election that, to the unaware may seem rather uneventful. The 1972 election is surrounded by much bigger events: the 1968 election, democratic convention, the overall counterculture movement and on the other end the Watergate Scandal, the rise of Reaganism at the end of the decade.
You'd think that this wouldn't be that be an event in American history but then you look at an electoral map and see the outcome. Elections results like this don't happen anymore but elections like this sure do. The 1972 presidential election was the beginning of the kind of elections we have today. HST really offers a lot of insight in this book that makes it feel like he can see into the future or is speaking from our current perspective. If he could see this in 1972, you can only wonder what he'd think now. The political backstabbing, under the table deals, and cult of personality are all covered here. While a lot of the events of this book may seem trivial by today's standards, I think it's a great look into what has become an American tradition.
With every election since, things have only gotten worse to the point where America is a divided and riled up as ever. Football is a consistent theme throughout the book and the point in which the narrative ends; Super Bowl Sunday 1973. While evaluating the outcome of the election, HST draws the conclusion that the only way to win the presidential election going forward is to have a rock star, cult of personality, that gets people as riled up as they are watching the Super Bowl. We've seen this happen and continue to happen at an alarming rate since 2016. Luckily, many of those candidate looking to capture the magic of Trump have nowhere near the kind of charisma as him, which has lead to many failed campaigns. That being said, someone will break through as the next protégé. If I've learned anything from this book its that the next cult of personality will be darker and more sinister than the last and soon enough we'll be watching them walk up to the podium as Hail to the Chief plays.