Thompson, Hunter S. | "Right now I'm involved in a Holy War and I think we might win. If not—I'll have a book anyway. But it will have a very ugly ending."

Thompson, Hunter S.

Archive containing a copy of an early Better Than Sex manuscript, a signed first edition, and accompanying material [ca. 1992-1994] 

An early manuscript of Better Than Sex. [1992]. 260 photocopied sheets (279 x 216 mm), each in plastic protectors, compiled in a red three-ring binder (292 x 286 mm). Stray staining and creasing to some sheets, likely contemporary to its compilation. Housed in a quarter black morocco clamshell box. — Better Than Sex: Confessions of a Political Junkie Trapped Like a Rat in Mr. Bill's Neighborhood. New York: Random House, 1994. 8vo (240 x 155 mm). Signed on the half-title, numerous illustrations throughout. Publisher's black cloth over black boards, spine and upper board gilt lettered, in original photographic dustjacket with portrait of Thompson on the rear panel; lightly rubbed at tail of spine. Housed in a black quarter morocco clamshell box. [With]: Rolling Stone. Issue 619, 17 September,1992. Side-stapled magazine (304 x 254 mm). Browning. Photographic wrappers; light wear at spine. [And]: Rolling Stone. 14-28 July, 1994. Side-stapled magazine (304 x 254 mm). Browning. Photographic wrappers; light wear at spine, closed marginal tears to front wrapper. Both issues housed in a black slipcase with folding chemise.

The material that led to Better Than Sex and a signed first edition

The present binder was one of three sent by Thompson to his editor during his drafting of Better Than Sex, as was his custom. Thompson would carefully select content from his working manuscripts, notes, and correspondence, photocopy the original pages at his home, paginate them, compile them into binders, and mail them to the publisher—he would never send the originals, which he kept in his basement. This is presumably the first or second of the three binders, given the content and the dates on various documents.

The binder includes photocopies of Thompson's various letterheads, typed drafts, drawings, notes, ideas for the structure of the book, and extensive correspondence—including with Bill & Hillary Clinton, his editor David Rosenthal, Jann Wenner, Ross Perot, P.J. O'Rourke, John Cusak, editors at Playboy and Esquire, among numerous others. The pages contain quintessential Thompson musings—from humorous scrawls containing the genesis of later ideas ("Ho, ho, ho—welcome to Rock & Roll Bubba. We will kick yr lame ass until yr nose bleeds. You won't win two (2) goddamn states! Jesus! Tipper Gore! ... Ho, ho, ho Good ole Bill...Hi. Welcome to Mr. Bill's Neighborhood. Sodomy, weirdness + dumb treachery are seen as Normal here, & don't worry about anything Brutal. Remember I am He, & you're not") to distraught reflections on the state of the world ("We live in hideous times, Jann. The 90's will go down in history as one of thos [sic] nasty little back-waters when bad things happened to dumb people and things went wrong and nobody cared and nobody laughed and Fear was the governing ethic"). Many pages are either executed or annotated in marker with a large, bold hand, showcasing Thompson's stylistic flourishes at every turn.

A substantial amount of the content here is unpublished, and reveals a raw, unedited version of the story of Better Than Sex. Though a number pages correspond to their polished counterparts in the book, and Thompson notes the process of drafting the complete manuscript at several points. Pages 221 and 222 list working titles for the manuscript: "Fear and Loathing inside [struck through] on the Campaign Trial '92," "Paranoia | Survival | Victory," "Notes from the Garden of Agony," and "Better Than Sex" boldly circled. On page 223, Thompson writes to his editor David Rosenthal, "In any case, we have made a great leap forward & now we must stomp on the gas. I think we have a book on our hands, here—for more or less Immediate Publication. You should have on yr. fruit-warped desk, by now, some 220 pages of a saga that will soar instantly to the top of the NYTimes list & make us both Wise, Rich & Powerful for the rest of this evil Century. ... The 220 pages that I sent you by FedXp yesterday are only the first wave of a living, throbbing Document ... All we need now is the red thread of Narrative & the unholy climax of Dramatic Tension that will erupt in [struck through] from the bowells [sic] of Arkansas when I journey there in the first week of November to somehow bring back The Story of ELECTION NIGHT IN LITTLE ROCK."

Also included are the 17 September 1992 and the 14-28 July 1994 issues of Rolling Stone, which published "Bill Clinton: The Rolling Stone Interview by William Greider, P.J. O'Rourke, Hunter S. Thompson, and Jann S. Wenner" and "Trapped in Mr. Bill's Neighborhood" respectively.

We can locate no other examples of Thompson's binders being offered at auction. All together, these offer a singular look into the the gonzo journalist's process.