Thompson bio tackles late reporter’s drive

Freak Kingdom: Hunter S. Thompson’s Manic Ten-Year Crusade Against American Fascism (PublicAffairs), by Timothy Denevi

The common image of the late journalist Hunter S. Thompson is one of a drug-induced writer who rode with the Hells Angels, often shot up his red IBM Selectric typewriter and helped Chicano attorney Oscar Zeta Acosta burn the lawn of a California judge.

But a new book on the counterculture crusader attempts to dig deeper into the mission of a writer who pushed “gonzo journalism” – a style of journalism written without claims of objectivity and with the journalist at the centre.

Freak Kingdom: Hunter S. Thompson’s Manic Ten-Year Crusade Against American Fascism by Timothy Denevi looks into the events of the turbulent 1960s and 1970s that drove Thompson to literary journalism and his desire to tackle what he saw as a rising tide of fascism in the United States. That included the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the persistence of the Vietnam War and the rise of President Richard Nixon and his monitoring of activist groups. For Thompson, these events were an attack on the essence of the foundation of the United States and humanities. He decided early on to use his skills as a journalist to combat the rise of a totalitarianism event when it affected his mental state, his marriage and his health.

Unlike other portrayals of Thompson as a simplistic alcohol-driven journalist who brushed off identity politics, Denevi’s book argues that Thompson was indeed disturbed by the plight of young protesters, Chicanos and other minorities as the federal government sought to quiet dissent. He wouldn’t be silent, especially during the Nixon presidency.

Denevi’s work reminds us that the modern-day concern about totalitarianism overwhelming free speech isn’t something new. And 50 years ago, one journalist decided to do something about it.