The Joke's Over - by Ralph Steadman (Paperback)

About the Book

A rollicking, no-holds-barred memoir, "The Jokes Over" is the definitive inside story of Hunter S. Thompson and the Gonzo years.

Book Synopsis

In the spring of 1970, artist Ralph Steadman went to America in search of work and found more than he bargained for when he met Hunter S. Thompson at the Kentucky Derby. Their remarkable collaboration resulted in the now-legendary Gonzo Journalism, which would document the civil rights movement, the Nixon administration, Watergate, and the many bizarre and great events that shaped the second half of the twentieth century. When Thompson committed suicide in 2005, it was the end of a unique friendship filled with both betrayal and understanding. A rollicking, no-holds-barred memoir, The Joke's Over is the definitive inside story of the Gonzo years.

From the Back Cover

A "New York Times Book Review" Editor s Choice
"New York Post" Required Reading
"Enormously entertaining." "The Boston Globe
""A pleasant surprise." "The Tampa Tribune
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"Bizarre and compelling." " Miami New Times
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"A must read." "BookPage""
"The rollicking, no-holds-barred, definitive inside story of the Gonzo years from legendary artist Ralph Steadman.
"Hunter Thompson s marvelously deranged illustrator, Ralph Steadman, gives us a terrific memoir with "The Joke s Over" . . . Both fitting and touching." "New York Post
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"There can be no question that Hunter S. Thompson s pivotal works would not be the same without the accompanying artworks of his partner Ralph Steadman . . . [Steadman] recalls it all eloquently . . .A vivid, well-written paean to Thompson and, by extension, the character of the American rebel." "The Buffalo News
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RALPH STEADMAN has illustrated many books, including Hunter S. Thompson s "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" and the fiftieth-anniversary edition of George Orwell s "Animal Farm." He is the author of" The Grapes of Ralph" (for which he won a Glenfiddich Food & Drink Award), "Still Life with Bottle," " The Book of Jones," and "Gonzo: The Art." He lives in England. Visit www.RalphSteadman.com."

Review Quotes

PRAISE FOR UNTRODDEN GRAPES "Steadman has traveled to the world's finest wine-making regions and compiled a fabulously entertaining book about his journeys, full of his famously bizarre and amusing art. . . . To that--and to Steadman's wonderful work--we raise a glass." --The Miami Herald "And surely the unlikeliest travel book of the season is Untrodden Grapes, a volume of illustrations by Ralph Steadman, a book that is pure oxymoron. Mr. Steadman's famously anarchic style of drawing is brought to bear upon a global selection of vineyards. Mr. Steadman is on the trail of gonzo wine."--The New York Times --