by Hunter S. Thompson

First Edition, First Printing | Random House | 1972

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One of the most significant features of Hunter S. Thompson’s most famous novel is that it bends and breaks the boundaries of what can in fact be called a “novel.” Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas tells the story of Raoul Duke, a journalist, and Dr. Gonzo, Duke’s attorney, as they move through Las Vegas, shirking responsibilities, taking illicit drugs, and reflecting on the zeitgeist of post-sixties America. It draws details from two 1971 trips Thompson took to Las Vegas with Oscar Zeta Acosta, a Chicano Activist and attorney, blending fact and fiction to create a hazy, drug-fueled cultural commentary that shook up the literary scene.

This subversive style was not new to Thompson. His 1970 article for Scanlan’s Monthly, titled “The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved,” ignored the obvious facts and details of the event, focusing instead on the rowdiness of the Derby’s wealthy patrons and Thompson’s own bad behavior. Boston Globe editor Bill Cardoso called it “gonzo journalism,” and the name stuck. Fear and Loathing popularized what became Thompson’s signature genre, which places the reporter at the center of the story, renouncing journalistic objectivity in favor of an impressionistic, hyperbolic, and satirical view of the subject of the reportage.

The first edition of Fear and Loathing on the Dawn Treader shelves is not actually the first time the story appeared in print—originally, Rolling Stones published it as a two-part story under the byline “Raoul Duke,” with illustrations by Ralph Steadman (who also illustrated Thompson’s debauchery at the Kentucky Derby). In July 1972, Random House capitalized on the story’s success and Thompson’s notoriety by publishing it as a book. The magazine and book versions of the story differ slightly—when the book was published, some rowdier characters’ names were redacted for the protection of their real-life counterparts.

Next time you’re in town, stop by to take a look at this special copy of a seminal novel that scintillates from the first line—which happens to be one of the Dawn Treader family’s favorites of all time: “We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold.”