"Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" by Hunter S. Thompson

"Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" is a seminal book in literature, one of the pillars of modern and post-modern prose.  Although the narrative is not very clear and autobiographical parts are mixed with hallucinations and speculative thought, the overall pace of the novel is interesting and thought-provoking.  The story loosely follows Rolling Stone journalist Raoul Duke and his Samoan lawyer Dr. Gonzo as they drive from LA to Las Vegas with a suitcase of every imaginable and obtainable drug to cover first a race and then a convention about drugs for police officers.  The characters in the novel are on drugs and alcohol combinations pretty much through the entirety of the book and much of the narrative describes them panicking from taking too much of some particular drug or mixing too many different drugs together.

After arriving at the first hotel to cover the race in Las Vegas, the pair destroys the hotel room where they were staying, already high on the many drugs they consumed on the way there from LA.  When being thrown out they separate and Raul Duke drives back to LA while the Samoan flies.  However Raoul turns around half-way through, after being stopped by a smartass cop and meets with Dr. Gonzo, the lawyer, who now has in tow an imbecilic girl, who's apparently a wannabe painter from the Midwest.  As she is high on LSD the pair decides to get rid of her, but she follows them until they get separated and lose her in the stupor of their continuous drug and alcohol binge.

The book is a great example of Gonzo journalism, invented by H.S. Thompson while working hiself for the Rolling Stone and other newspapers.  It is interesting that Thompson wrote several variations on the same style (and pretty much the same book) throughout his entire life until he shot himself at age 60.  This book and his proverbial hatred for Nixon are probably the best-known legacies of his literary career.