Angriest Rice Cooker Director’s Cut 69–On political surrealities

Quite a wordy one here, which I suppose is fairly appropriate, considering the subject matter. All joking aside, though, Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ‘72 is a true must-read if you’re interested at all in American politics. Whatever else he was, Hunter Thompson was a keen observer, and the election he’s reporting on is a very interesting one from a historical perspective. The shadow of the 1968 election–the assination of RFK, the police riot in Chicago, lies heavy on the ‘72 election. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book that so explodes my unconscious idea of the inevitability of history. Reading the book, I get the feeling that the last 40-some odd years didn’t have to go the way that they did, that it’s all been a collection of events rather than a coherent narrative.

Anyway, it’s a good read, I think especially for people like me for whom this period of time is firmly the domain of the history books. Because where else are you going to find such a drug-addled history book.

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