I haven’t read very many books on politics (except for that high US history class), but even if I had I think that Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’72 by Hunter S Thompson would still be at the top of the list.
I was getting weird historical deja vu vibes reading this book about the 1972 McGovern/Nixon election and thinking about the current Democratic primary. Yipes! I definitely think that the current passel of Democratic candidates would do well to read this book, not that they probably would. Thompson’s conclusion seems to be that McGovern lost to Nixon because he 1) couldn’t get the old party base to unite behind him and 2) McGovern was unable to competently tap into the disillusioned electorate–to ride the wave, as HST puts it (or, it seems, to run a competent campaign).
Thompson’s a fun guy, as you could probably gather from this HST fansite or HST’s football writings on the ESPN website.
Well worth reading.
Haven’t read that one. I have a couple of big books of his stuff.. .one a collection of essays, the other a collection of letters. I think the latter is Fear and Loathing in America, but I could be wrong. I’ve read about halfway through and got sidetracked. He’s a fun guy to read, and sort of an inspiration for me, though not exactly really. Usually when i’m reading his stuff I end up writing too much like I’m trying to write like him, and that makes me feel like a shmub.
But I’ve been wanting to read one of his book books, instead of the things i have, so maybe I’ll get that one.