Books

New York: Random House, 1971. First edition. 8vo, 206pp. Illustrations by Ralph Steadman. Quarter black cloth with silver lettering over gray paper boards with caricature of Thompson debossed on front cover. Illustrated jacket. Typical toning to edges of boards, single bump to bottom edge of front board. Jacket nicely preserved with minimal wear, a few smudges, and a very light half-circle moisture spot to top edge of front panel. A near fine copy. First printing of this classic novel of 60's drug and counterculture featuring Raoul Duke and his attorney, Dr. Gonzo. The work was made into a successful film in 1998 starring Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro and directed by Terry Gilliam.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is the best chronicle of drug-soaked, addle-brained, rollicking good times ever committed to the printed page. It is also the tale of a long weekend road trip that has gone down in the annals of American pop culture as one of the strangest journeys ever undertaken.

A possible indicator for identifying a first edition, first printing, is the absence of additional printings listed on the copyright page, sometimes noted by a number line with '1' present.