OK, let’s get that disclaimer stuff out of the way. I’m about to tell you about a book and you should know that I blurbed on the cover. No, I didn’t puke on it. That just means that I said nice stuff about it, in an effort to get you to buy the book.

I did it because it’s a good book and because the publisher asked me. But how often do I waste your time writing about a book I don’t like? So I’d write about this book anyway.

“This book” is Jay Cowan’s memoir of life with Hunter S. Thompson. Cowan spent several years living across the driveway from the Gonzo King at Owl Farm. He was caretaker, protégé and confidant. His book gives us a look at Thompson that few could ever offer. Only a few other people in the planet had a better look at Thompson: a couple of wives, some girlfriends and the Gonzo writer’s long-suffering assistant, Deborah Fuller. All of those other people who wrote about Thompson – they never had to live with the guy.

The only weak point of Cowan’s book is its title – Hunter S. Thompson: An Insider’s View of Deranged, Depraved and Drugged-Out Brilliance (The Lyons Press, $24.95). It gives the impression that it’s another book of Amazing Drug Tales with Hunter.

It’s not. It’s a journey inside the life of a writer who was not appreciated enough during his lifetime. Hunter Thompson wasn’t taken seriously by a lot of folks mostly because he made it look so easy. Cowan’s book is a trip behind the wall, a study of the craft that went into Thompson’s writing. Cowan was there for a lot of the pain and struggle, too.

This article appears in Feb 11-17, 2009.