Kingdom of Fear: Loathsome Secrets of a Star-Crossed Child in the Final Days of the American Century

The Gonzo memoir from one of the most influential voices in American literature, Kingdom of Fear traces the course of Hunter S. Thompson's life as a rebel--from a smart-mouthed Kentucky kid flaunting all authority to a convention-defying journalist who came to personify a wild fusion of fact, fiction, and mind-altering substances, featuring a new introduction from the bestselling author Rachel Kushner. Brilliant, provocative, outrageous, and brazen, Hunter S. Thompson's infamous rule breaking--in his journalism, in his life, and under the law--changed the shape of American letters, and the face of American icons. Call it the evolution of an outlaw. Here are the formative experiences that comprise Thompson's legendary trajectory alongside the weird and the ugly. Whether detailing his exploits as a foreign correspondent in Rio, his job as night manager of the notorious O'Farrell Theatre in San Francisco, his epic run for sheriff of Aspen on the Freak Power ticket, or the sensational legal maneuvering that led to his full acquittal in the famous 99 Days trial, Thompson is at the peak of his narrative powers in Kingdom of Fear. And this boisterous, blistering ride illuminates as never before the professional and ideological risk taking of a literary genius and transgressive icon.

About the Author :
Hunter S. Thompson was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky. His books include Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72, Screwjack, Kingdom of Fear, The Great Shark Hunt, Fear and Loathing at Rolling Stone, Hell's Angels, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. He died in February 2005. Rachel Kushner is the author of the New York Times bestseller Creation Lake, her latest novel; The Hard Crowd, her acclaimed essay collection; and the internationally bestselling novels The Mars Room, The Flamethrowers, and Telex from Cuba, as well as a book of short stories, The Strange Case of Rachel K. She has won the Prix Médicis and been a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Folio Prize, and was twice a finalist for the Booker Prize and the National Book Award in Fiction. Creation Lake was also longlisted for the National Book Award. She is a Guggenheim Foundation Fellow and the recipient of the Harold D. Vursell Memorial Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Her books have been translated into twenty-seven languages.

Review :
Publishers Weekly Rollickingly funny throughout, Thompson's latest proves that the father of gonzo journalism is alive and well. The Washington Post He amuses; he frightens; he flirts with doom. His achievement is substantial. The Washington Post Thompson's voice still jumps right off the page, as wild, vital and gonzo as ever.