Books

First printing of the book at the heart of the Hunter S. Thompson legend a beautiful copy, boldly inscribed by illustrator and longtime collaborator Ralph Steadman. A desperate, drug-fueled experiment in 'gonzo' journalism, FEAR AND LOATHING was written during Thompson's stint as Washington Correspondent for ROLLING STONE, and first appeared in the magazine in serial installments. Straddling the hazy border between thinly-veiled fiction and experimental journalism, first composed in feverish hotel-room notebook-scribbling sessions, the book remains HST's best-known and most influential work. Rather uncommon signed by Steadman. Surreal, hallucinatory, endlessly quotable. 8.25'' x 5.75''. Original blind-stamped grey boards, backed in black cloth with silver lettering to spine. In original unclipped ($5.95) dust jacket, designed by Susan Schwab and illustrated by Ralph Steadman. With additional black-and-white illustrations by Steadman throughout. 206 pages. Inscribed by Steadman on an early prelim over his printed portrait of Thompson: "For Rich, an original / 1st edition / worth / �250. / Ralph Steadman." Small faint crease to rear panel of jacket. Mild fading to top edge of book. Else bright, sharp, clean, and sound overall. Near fine in a near fine jacket.

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.