''Gonzo Papers, Vol. 3: Songs of the Doomed: More Notes on the Death of the American Dream'' is a book by the American writer and journalist

Hunter S. Thompson Hunter Stockton Thompson (July 18, 1937 – February 20, 2005) was an American journalist and author, regarded as a pioneer of New Journalism along with Gay Talese, Truman Capote, Norman Mailer, Joan Didion, and Tom Wolfe. He rose to prom ...

, originally published in 1990. The third installment of the four-volume '' The Gonzo Papers'', it is a chronologically arranged selection of essays, newspaper articles, stories and letters, allowing readers to see how Thompson's brand of

New Journalism New Journalism is a style of news writing and journalism, developed in the 1960s and 1970s, that uses literary techniques unconventional at the time. It is characterized by a subjective perspective, a literary style reminiscent of long-form no ...

, also termed

Gonzo journalism Gonzo journalism is a style of journalism that is written without claims of objectivity, often including the reporter as part of the story using a first-person narrative. The word "gonzo" is believed to have been first used in 1970 to descri ...

, evolved over the years. ''Songs of the Doomed'' is mostly made up of pieces written between 1980 and 1990, but there is also some older material, including excerpts from ''

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas ''Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream'' is a 1971 novel in the gonzo journalism style by Hunter S. Thompson. The book is a ''roman à clef'', rooted in autobiographical incidents. The story fol ...

''; ''

Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 ''Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72'' is a 1973 book that recounts, analyzes, and sometimes fictionalizes the 1972 presidential campaign in which Richard Nixon was re-elected President of the United States. Written by Hunter S. Tho ...

''; his unfinished first novel, '' Prince Jellyfish'', which is still unpublished; and '' The Rum Diary'', which was not published in its entirety until 1998.

''Songs of the Doomed'' is a collection of essays, short stories, and newspaper articles written by Thompson during his career. The book is separated into five sections: "The Fifties: Last Rumble in Fat City", "The Sixties: What the Hell? It's Only Rock and Roll...", "The Seventies: Reaping the Whirlwind, Riding the Tiger", "The Eighties: How Much Money Do You Have?", and "Welcome to the Nineties: Welcome to Jail". Author's Note
''Let the Trials Begin'' / ''Electricity'' / ''Last Train from Camelot'' / ''Note from Ralph Steadman'' The Fifties: Last Rumble in Fat City
''Tarred and Feathered at the Jersey Shore'' / ''Saturday Night at the Riviera'' / ''Prince Jellyfish'' / ''Fleeing New York'' The Sixties: What the Hell? It's Only Rock and Roll...
''Letter to Angus Cameron'' / ''The Rum Diary'' / ''Revisited: The Puerto Rican Problem'' / ''The Kennedy Assassination'' / ''Back to the U.S.A.'' / ''Hell's Angels: Long Nights, Ugly Days, Orgy of the Doomed'' / ''Midnight on the Coast Highway'' / ''Ken Kesey: Walking with the Kind'' / ''LSD-25: Res Ipsa Loquitor'' / ''Chicago 1968: Death to the Weird'' / ''First Visit with Mescalito'' The Seventies: Reaping the Whirlwind, Riding the Tiger
''Iguana Project'' / ''Never Apologize, Never Explain'' / ''Vegas Witchcraft'' / ''High-Water Mark'' / ''Fear and Loathing'' / ''Lies'' / ''Ed Muskie Doomed by Ibogaine'' / ''Washington Politics'' / ''Summit Conference in Elko: Secret Gathering of the Power Elite'' / ''Opening Statement: HST'' / ''Rolling Stone: Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter Here'' / ''Dance of the Doomed'' / ''Checking into the Lane Xang'' / ''Whooping it up with the War Junkies'' / ''Confidential Memo to Colonel Vo Don Giang'' / ''Memo to Jim Silberman on the Death of the American Dream'' / ''Letter to Russell Chatham'' The Eighties: How Much Money Do You Have?
''Welcome to the 80's'' / ''Love on the Palm Beach Express'' / ''Sugarloaf Key'' / ''The Silk Road'' / ''Letter to Ralph Steadman'' / ''Letter to Ken Kesey'' / ''Last Memo from the National Affairs Desk'' / ''Memo from the Sports Desk'' / ''Wild Sex in Sausalito'' / ''The Dukakis Problem: Another vicious beating for the New Whigs'' / ''Secret Cables to Willie Hearst'' / ''San Francisco Examiner Columns'' / ''The New Dumb'' / ''Fear and Loathing in Sacramento'' / ''Whiskey Business'' / '' I knew the Bride When She Used to Rock and Roll'' / ''Community of Whores'' / ''Return to the Riviera Cafe'' / ''Avery: Making Sense of the 60's'' / ''German Decade: Rise of the Fourth Reich'' / ''Turbo Must Die'' / ''Memo to Jay Johnson'' / ''Warning Issued on Cocaine'' Welcome to the Nineties: Welcome to Jail

Reception

Writing for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'',

Ron Rosenbaum Ronald Rosenbaum (born November 27, 1946) is an American literary journalist, literary critic, and novelist. Early life and education Rosenbaum was born into a Jewish family in New York City and grew up in Bay Shore, New York, on Long Island. ...

said, "Reading ''Songs of the Doomed'' reminds us how good he was at his best, and how good he still can be when he's given the freedom — and expenses — to hit the road, rather than stewing in his own bitterness in Woody Creek." ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

'' gave ''Songs of the Doomed'' a mixed review, calling it "an erratically incandescent collection, full of curiosities but not nearly as marvelous as Thompson seems to think."

Notes

{{Hunter S. Thompson 1990 non-fiction books Essay collections by Hunter S. Thompson Simon & Schuster books Reagan Era

Contents

Reception

Notes