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Hunter S. Thompson is often misremembered as a wise-cracking, drug-addled cartoon character. In the new book Freak Kingdom: Hunter S. Thompson's Manic Ten-Year Crusade Against American Fascism, professor and author Timothy Denevi attempts to reclaim Thompson for what he truly was: a fearless opponent of corruption and fascism, one who sacrificed his future well-being to fight against it, rewriting the rules of journalism and political satire in the process. Freak Kingdom tells the dramatic account of how Thompson saw the danger of Richard Nixon early and embarked on a life-defining campaign to stop it—and the devastating price he paid for it.

Freak Kingdom is the second book from George Mason professor Timothy Denevi. His essays on politics, sport, and religion have appeared in The Atlantic, New York Magazine, Salon, and Literary Hub, where he serves as the nonfiction editor.