Vonnegut focuses on the death of a nation and its dream, a similar theme to that of another celebrated American author - Joseph Heller. ... However, unlike Vonnegut and Heller's existential critique, Thompson's Stanislavskian reportage (that is, a kind of "method writing" conducive to great verisimilitude) involves him directly participating in the search for - and death of - the American Dream. ...
When Thompson was 15 his father, Jack Thompson, an insurance salesman who Thompson had little relationship with, died after a lengthy period of fatigue brought on by a rare disease called Myasthenia Gravis (gonzo.org). ... After his father's death, Thompson began a crime spree that has lasted the rest of his life. One could say that his father's death has affected his writing styles; unfortunately, Thompson does not talk about his father in any published article or book that he has been connected with. ... The other two arrested, Ralston Steenrod and Sam Stallings Jr. went free on...
