irishdrew83's review
4.0
At the end of 2016 and 2017, I made a list of 10 books I wanted to read and own in the coming year. A few books appeared on both lists, one in particular I discovered while reading Dr. Hunter S. Thompson’s brilliant Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’72. Written by Thompson’s Rolling Stone colleague Timothy Crouse, the book in question is 1973’s The Boys on the Bus. I’m a HUGE Thompson fan. He’s my literary hero. After reading many references to Crouse, I had to read his book for myself. I also thought owning it would make a good companion to Thompson’s work. I wanted backstage insight on my hero for one, and to see what else might be inside the pages. Crouse barely mentions Thompson until one of the final chapters near the end. That’s fine as I didn’t expect a top-rated, top-shelf read. I didn’t expect anything. The Boys on the Bus might not be top-shelf material, but it’s worthy of a spot on the next shelf down which isn’t a bad place to be...
To read the rest of this review go to https://drewmartinwrites.wordpress.com/2018/02/06/the-boys-on-the-bus-1973-review/
To read the rest of this review go to https://drewmartinwrites.wordpress.com/2018/02/06/the-boys-on-the-bus-1973-review/
jdcorley's review
informative
medium-paced
4.0
The much lesser known and criminally underrated companion volume to Fear and Loathing On The Campaign Trail '72, Crouse has just as sharp an eye for observation as Thompson, but plays it more "straight". You can still feel the urgency of his regard, still put yourself in these vital stories. Don't miss this; it's as lively and exciting today as it was when it came out.
msmarymustard's review against another edition
4.0
Cautionary tale of a profession too set in its own ruts to do something transcendent. Not much seems to have changed in the last fifty years there. Lots of 70s politics gossip. Essential reading for a wannabe journalist.
brainboyle's review against another edition
5.0
My all-time favorite non-fiction. You'll get as much out of this book than you would in any four years of journalism ethics courses. It's a warm, cozy, thoughtprovoking blanket. Equal parts hilarious as it is sad. A love letter-- and a window into the soul of-- a profession full of idealists beaten into cynicism.
alikath's review against another edition
5.0
I really fascinating look at the journalists responsible for covering the 1972 campaign which ended with Nixon beating McGovern and then later stepping down from the presidency due to watergate. I don't know if I've mentioned this but I want to be a reporter some day and I also am a bit of a political junkie so being a political reporter would be a dream job. I will admit right now that this book could be boring to people if this is not a topic they are interested in but I love this kind of thing. Political reporting is very interesting and Nixon is a very fascinating character as well. I definitely didn't know as much about McGovern or his campaign so that was definitely interesting to read about. I think reading this book right after the 2016 presidential election made this all the more interesting. In one part of the book it was discussed how many of the reporters longed to be able to put more analysis and opinions in their stories and how reads wanted that as well. Now reporters are accused of being too biased. In another part of the book it was discussed how reporters were breaking with tradition and fact checking their stories more and now in this election we saw the complete disregard of facts so it's interesting to see that in many ways we have come full circle back to pre 1972 election coverage so hopefully journalism will have another renaissance and people will appreciate it again because while I agree that journalism and news today can be better I also agree with Jefferson that if I had to choose a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government I would not hesitate to choose the latter and I think that Nixon is a perfect example as to the damage that can be done when the press and its access is restricted and the determination that it will take to uncover the truth. I think books like this are extremely important right now to reminded us that while we might not always like or agree with the press, the press will always be important.
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