Some of the best writing ever published by Doctor Gonzo can be found in Volume 1 of his Gonzo Papers, The Great Shark Hunt. This volume of work contains a wide variety of snippets from Thompson’s writing career, from the span of 1962 to 1978.

Let me begin by saying that Thompson is one of my favorite authors, and I have read nearly all of his books, including one of the other volumes in the Gonzo Papers collection. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a great piece of work, and is probably the most recognizable for the average person. But this collection is so thorough and impressive that I would recommend anybody to give it a read, regardless of their knowledge of Thompson.

The Great Shark Hunt begins with coverage of the Kentucky Derby, including a piece that Ralph Steadman collaborated on - the first meeting of Thompson and Steadman, who became a unique illustrator for later works by Thompson. Both men essentially drank too much during the derby and made fools of themselves. But the writing is incredibly fresh - even today in 2010, nearly half a century after the original event took place.

The second portion of the book is a rehash of Thompson’s Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’72, which I would recommend to anyone interested in politics. Most of the material in this second portion is simply a reprint of that book, but it was interesting to read it again after having just survived the first year of Obama’s presidential term.

Following that are some interesting thoughts on a variety of topics, including society in South America, the 1965 version of Haight-Ashbury, or “Hashbury,” and the nonstudent movements at America’s universities. I found the piece on Hashbury extremely enlightening for me personally, because it sheds light on what Haight-Ashbury was like before the Summer of Love. After absorbing so much information about 1967, it was interesting to see what the area was like beforehand.

The last section of the book covers shark hunting, Jimmy Carter, a reprint of some sections of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and coverage of Muhammed Ali. The shark hunting story was very interesting and raw. If even half of what Thompson writes actually happened, it’s amazing that he and his cohorts escaped alive. You’ll just have to read it to understand the gravity of the situation.

If you’ve liked any of Thompson’s work before, you should already know that this will be an enjoyable book for you to read. If you haven’t, I can honestly advise this as the first book you should read. It is a bit long, and not as accessible as Las Vegas or The Rum Diary, but it has more depth.

5/5 Stars. 602 pages. Published 1979.