Thompson's methods … go beyond traditional fiction into those of more innovative art—techniques and styles tasting more of [Ronald] Sukenick and [Steve] Katz than of [Henry] Fielding and [William] Thackeray. Plus he identifies with (and even becomes a part of) the action more than does Tom Wolfe or most of the other New Journalists. Thompson calls his new style "Gonzo Journalism," and its effect discredits Wolfe's thesis that the techniques of recent fiction are inappropriate for the serious literature of our age.

Thompson began this style with Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga…. As he describes it, "By the middle of summer I had become so involved in the outlaw scene that I was no longer sure whether I was doing research on the Hell's Angels or being slowly absorbed by them." Yet Thompson maintains an interesting tension: despite his sympathy and identification with the Hell's Angels...