Review: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

'Fear and loathing in Las Vegas -- A savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream' originally appeared in two parts, in Rolling Stone magazine, in November 1971. The novel appeared soon afterwards and has been re-printed many times since. Written by self-styled Gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson, under the pseudonym Raoul Duke, the book follows the journalists search for the American Dream. Illustrated by Ralph Steadman.

Along with other luminaries, like Tom Wolfe, a new type of journalist arose out of the Sixties, as part of a movement unoriginally named New Journalism. Unlike conventional journalism, which sets 'objectivity' as its standard, New Journalism was about 'subjectivity'; the journalist positing themselves within the article.

By involving the journalist, with their emotions, beliefs and opinions it produced a starkly literary flavour in the texts of these writers. Thompson's own brand of New Journalism, Gonzo, typified this literary technique. It is politically and socially charged, full of an individuals excesses, as it rampantly explores the many forces of contemporary culture...