In 1970, writer Hunter S. Thompson and artist Ralph Steadman were thrown together to prepare a story about the Kentucky Derby. The story, published in Scanlon Monthly, is the first instance of the renowned style known as "Gonzo Journalism!" He writes about the Derby saying, "Total chaos, no way to see the race, not even the track...nobody cares." He writes of a drunken, wild, hilarious weekend, spent struggling with Southern genteel culture! That is the Derby that Dust Commander won, who my girls are related to through Nasrullah, Discovery and Blenheim!I encourage you to read his mad, crazy essay by jumping to the links below. Hunter S. Thompson passed by his own hand in 2005, so we've lost a great American author and journalist. But I take great pride in the fact that his inestimable style of writing, his new branch of funky journalism arises through the Derby!
Last, his friend, Ralph, recently published a memoir in 2006 about their many misadventures. The book is aptly titled The Joke's Over: Bruised Memories, Gonzo, Hunter S. Thompson and Me.
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