Outlaw Journalist - William McKeen

‘This is the Great Red Shark of Hunter biographies… Read it of die’ Greg Palast

Requesting his ashes blasted into the blue Colorado sky to drift slowly back over the crowd at his funeral was typical of the menacing humour of Hunter S. Thompson. The master of the Gonzo style, the sheer power of his supercharged prose in masterpieces like Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Hell’s Angels, and The Great Shark Hunt confirmed them as classics of New Journalism. There was no one better at capturing America and its citizens, from the presidential campaign trail to the Hell’s Angels’ lair.

Since the writer’s death in 2005, William McKeen has interviewed many of his associates who have never spoken about him before. The result is a hugely entertaining portrait that gets behind the drink and drugs to reveal a charismatic, complex figure.

Outlaw Journalist is the definitive biography of this compelling American icon.

‘Superb… McKeen’s book brilliantly depicts how one of the fundamental tenets of New Journalism – putting the reporter at the centre of the story – eventually did Thompson in’ Literary Review

‘Well caught by William McKeen in an admirable book’ Independent