The Joke’s Over: Bruised Memories: Gonzo, Hunter S. Thompson, and Me

In early 1970, artist Ralph Steadman went to America in search of work and found more than he bargained for. At the Kentucky Derby he met a former Hell’s Angel, one Hunter S. Thompson. Thompson wrote later that “The rest of that day blurs into madness. The rest of that night, too. Steadman was lucky to get out of Louisville without serious injuries, and I was lucky to get out at all.” Thus began a thirty-year working relationship and friendship that gave birth to what became known as Gonzo Journalism.

Few people knew Hunter S. Thompson as well as Ralph Steadman did. This no-holds-barred memoir tells of their unique collaboration that documented the turbulent years of the civil-rights movement, the Nixon years, and Watergate. When Thompson committed suicide in 2005, it was the end of a friendship that was defined by both betrayal and understanding.