synopsis:

this book is about An oddball journalist and his psychopathic lawyer who travel to Las Vegas for a series of psychedelic escapades. it can be read as a savage elegy on the utopian expectations of the 1960s drug culture.

Under the pseudonym of Raoul Duke, Thompson travels with his Samoan attorney, Dr. Gonzo, in a souped-up convertible dubbed the "Great Red Shark." In its trunk, they stow "two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high-powered blotter acid, a salt shaker half-full of cocaine and a whole galaxy of multicolored uppers, downers, screamers, laughers.... A quart of tequila, a quart of rum, a case of Budweiser, a pint of raw ether and two dozen amyls," which they manage to consume during their short tour.

On assignment from a sports magazine to cover "the fabulous Mint 400", a free-for-all biker's race in the heart of the Nevada desert, the duo stumbles through Vegas in hallucinatory hopes of finding the American dream. They never get the story, but they do commit the only sins in Vegas: "burning the locals, abusing the tourists, terrifying the help."

on this book:

The american dream used to consist of leading a successful life and living comfortably with an early retirement. But with the twisted mindsets of many people, the American Dream had become a simple 'get-rich-quick' plan that engulfed the city of Las Vegas. In addition to Thompson's underlying message, he keeps the audience captivated with the array of interesting situations that Duke and his attorney get themselves into.in 1998 this cult classic of gonzo journalism was made into a major motion picture, directed by Terry Gilliam and starring Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro.