Generation of Swine: Tales of Shame and Degradation in the '80's
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A running tally of the folly of the 80's, the decade known for men of "huge brains, small necks, weak muscles & fat wallets..."--NY Times Book Review Thompson may be correct in assuming that the greed & immorality pervading the American social landscape are obscene, but his surreal, half-demented style has hardened into a pose. These columns from the San Francisco Examiner prove only that journalism can become dated quickly. The author of Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas calls Colonel Khadafy smarter than Ronald Reagan & takes potshots at tv news, Gary Hart, Ed Meese, evangelists, Michael Dukakis, Pat Robertson & the Iran-contra hearings. He predicts that the Democrats will self-destruct in the 1988 presidential campaign. People he dislikes are described as "money-sucking animals," "brainless freaks," "geeks," "greed-crazed lunatics" & so on. Thompson's flaccid diatribes seem designed to instill a sense of smug superiority in the reader.--Publishers Weekly Thompson's outrageous reporting style, called "Gonzo journalism," was the rage in the early 70s. The protest generation cleaved to his Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas & Fear & Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72, both genuinely funny & often perceptive social & political commentaries. This new effort, a collection of 100 short pieces originally published as a column in the San Francisco Examiner over the past two years, tries to recapture the old ebullience, but much of it falls flat. Still, Thompson's fans--there are many--will sa