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Well, I did read Norman Mailer's "Armies of the Night" and thought that, although it was repulsive, it was also a wonderful glimpse into the heart of the Countercultural Revolution with all its madness. In fact, I think it's Mailer's best book.

For me, Mailer is a much more interesting as a person than Thompson. Or was, for a long while. His first novel, The Naked and The Dead, was based on his combat service with the 112th Cavalry Regiment, a pre-war horse unit of the Texas National Guard. (No, I'm pretty sure he wasn't a Texas boy.) Some have said he wasn't much of a soldier. Those who served with him, at least the ones I've talked to, say he was a fine soldier. A captain once told he was the easiest trooper to find, because when they went looking for him, he was always sitting around somewhere writing at something.

Time to find a copy of that novel. Haven't read it in decades.