Hunter S Thompson

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream is a novel by Hunter S. Thompson, illustrated by Ralph Steadman. Because of its roots in autobiographical incidents, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is often considered a roman à clef. The story follows its protagonist, Raoul Duke, and his attorney, Dr. Gonzo, as they descend on Las Vegas to chase the American Dream through a drug-induced haze. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas first appeared as a two-part series in Rolling Stone magazine in 1971.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a 1998 film adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson's 1971 novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream. The film, directed by Terry Gilliam, stars Johnny Depp as Raoul Duke and Benicio Del Toro as Dr. Gonzo. Released on May 22, 1998. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas has since become a cult classic.

Vincent Black Shadow 

The Vincent Black Shadow is mentioned in works by Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Kingdom of Fear and "The Great Shark Hunt." In Fear and Loathing, the character Raoul Duke (Hunter S. Thompson's alias) talks about entering a Vincent Black Shadow  into the Mint 400, a grueling desert motocross race. This is meant as comic irony since not only is the Vincent Black Shadow deeply inappropriate for off road use but even at the time of writing (1971), the Vincent Black Shadow was considered antiquated and obsolete.

In his essay taken from Cycleworld Magazine called “Song of the Sausage Creature” Hunter S. Thompson does speak with some affection for the Vincent Black Shadow whilst comparing it to the Ducati 900, describing a bike that was definitely not for the faint hearted or shallow poseur:

"The Ducati 900 is so finely engineered and balanced and torqued that you can do 90 mph in fifth through a 35-mph zone and get away with it. The bike is not just fast -- it is extremely quick and responsive, and it will do amazing things.... It is a little like riding the original Vincent Black Shadow, which would outrun an F-86 jet fighter on the takeoff runway, but at the end, the F-86 would go airborne and the Vincent would not, and there was no point in trying to turn it. WHAMO! The Sausage Creature strikes again. There is a fundamental difference, however, between the old Vincents and the new breed of superbikes. If you rode the Vincent Black Shadow at top speed for any length of time, you would almost certainly die. That is why there are not many life members of the Vincent Black Shadow Society. The Vincent was like a bullet that went straight; the Ducati 900 is like the magic bullet that went sideways and hit JFK and the Governor of Texas at the same time.''

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