The Hell’s Angels Letters: Hunter S. Thompson, Margaret Harrell and the Making of an American Classic is an important revelation in the legacy of Thompson, with letters that survived precarious shipping and travel over decades, cloaked away from the public—scanned in toto..

At last, the public can go inside the experience of Hunter Thompson at Random House. “If Hell’s Angels hadn’t happened I never would have been able to write Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas or anything else . . . I felt like I got through a door just as it was closing,” Hunter told Paris Review.

When he secured a hardcover contract with Jim Silberman (Random House), the known part of the story breaks off. To whip up the final edits, Margaret A. Harrell, a young copy editor/assistant editor to Jim, was—in a break from the norm—given full rein to work with him by expensive long-distance phone and letter. This galvanizing action led to a fascinating tale. She uses the letters to resuscitate the suspenseful withheld drama. The book peaks in their romantic get-together at his ranch twenty-one years after they last met, a moving tie maintained over the years.

Videos from the book launch

Margaret A. Harrell Interview by David Streitfeld
Panel with Peter Richardson, William McKeen, Dr. Rory Patrick Feehan and David Streitfeld
Dr. Rory Patrick Feehan: Hunter S. Thompson archive – YouTube

Live Gonzo Art with Grant Goodwine

Cover image: Grant Goodwine
Cover design: Deborah Perdue

The “Hell’s Angels” Letters: Hunter S. Thompson, Margaret Harrell and the Making of an American Classic

Reviews

“For The Hell’s Angels Letters, Margaret Ann Harrell—in collaboration with Ron Whitehead—has assembled a dossier of all her correspondence with Thompson during the time she worked as the editor of the gonzo writer’s ‘strange and terrible saga of the outlaw motorcycle gangs.’ Typed manuscript pages, scribbled notes, photographs, interviews and all sorts of period ephemera relating to Hell’s Angels allow the reader a valuable, behind-the-scenes glimpse into the making of this classic of New Journalism.”—Michael Dirda, The Washington Post

“ Of course, there are already two collections of Hunter Thompson’s letters available, but somehow they are even more enjoyable when read in the original form. Whether typed or scrawled in giant letters with a red pen, Thompson’s correspondence is invariably annotated and corrected in his unique way, adding a layer of personality that was missing from the collections, as well—of course—as Harrell’s explanations that provide further insight.”—David Wills, Beatdom

“A big book, literally and figuratively . . . The Hell’s Angels Letters is a must-have text for any Hunter S. Thompson fan. Lavishly documented and illustrated with the actual correspondence that led to the publication of his breakthrough literary effort . . .

The author, Margaret Harrell, who was Thompson’s editor on his inaugural book, and her collaborator, Thompson’s friend and associate poet Ron Whitehead, have succeeded brilliantly to create a fabulous present for you, or anyone in your life who admires Thompson’s numerous achievements . . . It’s worth every penny. The Hell’s Angels Letters: Hunter S Thompson, Margaret Harrell and the Making of an American Classic gets five stars out of five! Bravo!”—Kyle K. Mann, Gonzo Today

Buy This Book!

Share This Book!

Related Books

View all Books

  • Keep This Quiet! My Relationship with Hunter S. Thompson, Milton Klonsky, and Jan Mensaert

  • Keep THIS Quiet Too! More Adventures with Hunter S. Thompson, Milton Klonsky, Jan Mensaert