Kingdom of Fear - Hunter S. Thompson

This is a modern day story about Peter Pan - the boy who never wanted to grow up, only Hunter was more like the young man who never wanted to get old, so maybe it's not really a modern day Peter Pan story, but an 'i should never have made my fifties' story.

Either way, reading this autobiography led me to realise two things. 1. I find 'fuck you' arrogance boring after a while, and 2. HST was one very smart man (and he knew it). 

A compilation of letters, essays, journal entries, memoirs, articles and photos, this book weaves a windy path through some of the highlights of HST's life and acts as a fitting farewell considering it was not long after that he pulled the trigger on himself. 

Kingdom of Fear is also a fascinating look at how one American experienced the death/demise/destruction/betrayal of the 'American Dream' and acts as an intriguing commentary on modernity and who it has failed. Especially chillingly precise was Hunter's piece on September 11 which I imagine I will re-read for some time to come. 

It's definitely appropriate that Penguin (the publishers) have deemed this a 'modern classic' and sell it for the very reasonable price of $9.95, which I am grateful for since this is what ultimately tempted me to put it in my basket, though I wonder what HST would think of this, being sold between Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and Nick Hornby's High Fidelity?

Not very Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is it?