Fear and loathing in Las Vegas

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas has a well-deserved reputation as one of the great American novels of the 20th century. It's even classified as a "Modern Classic" on the front cover of the edition I read. It captures superbly an impression of the madness and disillusionment of liberal 1970s America.

It is majestic in the scope of its drug-addled derangement. I don't really feel like I have the words to do it justice. In turns hilarious and shocking, it takes you on a wild ride of the author's trip to Las Vegas to cover a desert race called the Mint 400. The actual race plays only a very minor role in what because the story of a pair of drug fiends lurching though a series of increasingly demented and sordid encounters, while reflecting on the nature of American culture and how the madness of Las Vegas is the ultimate expression of America's true self.

Great book. Great movie too, and a worthy adaptation. Definitely worth reading.