Gonzo Journalism

Hunter S. Thompson (1937-2005) was one of the most controversial and celebrated journalists of his time. The work he developed from the 1960s onward transcended the borders of the United States. The Gonzo style, created by Thompson, continues to inspire journalists around the globe. With an aggressive and brutally honest voice, he poured drugs, alcohol, fear, delirium, humor, lies, and truths onto the pages of newspapers and magazines. He turned the coverage of a horse race, a desert rally, and a police convention in Las Vegas into classics of Western literature. He became Richard Nixon's public enemy number one before Nixon was kicked out of the White House. He fought with and cursed at editors, turned in stories at the very last minute, and published what others didn't want to see published. But above all, he wrote with sincerity. It is this sincerity that Eduardo Ritter brings to light, showing how Hunter Thompson made use of his parrhesia (frank speech) in journalism. Equally sincere is Ritter's analysis, as he traveled through Las Vegas, New York, and many other places to systematize the legacy left by Thompson in a world that increasingly needs writers with the Gonzo spirit.

Eduardo Ritter is a Brazilian journalist and professor who completed his doctoral dissertation on Gonzo Journalism and Hunter Thompson, including a doctoral internship at New York University. From this research came the present book, originally published in Portuguese and now released in this English edition so that readers around the world can drink from yet another source of Gonzo journalism.