December 3rd saw the release of yet another book aiming to memorialize the late American author and journalist, Hunter S. Thompson. This time, the book succeeds. This is a book even the good doctor would have enjoyed reading.

Instead of some loud, longwinded biography hoping to capture Thompson’s legacy via imitation of his hyperbolic writing style,
Gonzo (AMMO Books) reads as a visual timeline, beginning with Thompson joining the military at 17, and ending with the construction of the giant canon that would ultimately shoot his ashes into the sky. It’s a collection of Thompson’s personal memorabilia—a scrapbook of sorts.
Johnny Depp writes in the introduction,

Thompson, born in Louisville, KY in 1937, reveled in his miscreant ways right from the start, even missing his high school graduation because he spent six weeks in jail for robbery. The judge then reportedly gave Thompson the option of more jail time or joining the military.
The Air Force never knew what hit them.

Gonzo opens with a copy of a Florida Air Force news release detailing the circumstances surrounding Thompson’s “honorable discharge” in 1957 after serving two years.

Thompson, of course, wrote the news release himself. He was never one to shy away from the chance to craft a tale drenched in wit and a healthy dose of self-deprecating humor.

As Gonzo shadows Thompson’s journey from his journalistic beginnings as a teenager to the psychedelic, hedonistic lifestyle he made legendary as an adult, readers explore his personal collection of photographs. The general quality of the photos is poor—all grossly underexposed and muddy. But their content is excruciatingly wonderful. Many never-before-seen images reveal Thompson in all his cocky, crew-cut youngster glory, smoking a pipe even as a dimpled, fresh-faced adolescent, eyes already brimming with mischief. Other photos include Joan Baez butchering a hog in Big Sur circa 1961, a print of two male Hell’s Angels engaged in a lip-lock, and Polaroids of John Belushi and Bill Murray partying with Thompson in the 70s.

Gonzo also includes: certificates of achievement (most notably Thompson's “Doctor of Divinity” diploma), pharmacy receipts, empty and crumpled prescription bags, drawings, press badges, and first drafts of Thompson’s published works—the typewriter text punctuated by the blue scrawl of his self-edits.

Gonzo is a collector's classic. It’s a well paced anthology and, through original images and reproduced text from Thompson’s archives, lets the reader come to his or her own conclusions about the man’s life, instead of being fed another narrative by yet another gonzo-scholar. After all, the only narrative Thompson ever wanted people to read was his own.

Southern Californians should be sure to check out the first-ever Hunter S. Thompson gallery exhibit at Los Angeles' M+B Gallery, displaying much of the photography featured in Gonzo. The exhibit runs through January 20.