Hey Rube: Blood Sport, the Bush Doctrine, and the Downward Spiral of Dumbness is a book by Hunter S. Thompson, consisting of 83 articles split into three parts. The articles were first published on ESPN.com's Page 2 under Thompson’s column Hey Rube. First published in mid-2004, the book contains articles from November 20, 2000, to October 13, 2003. It is sub-titled, Modern History from the Sports Desk.
This was the final book Thompson published before his death in February 2005.
Most of the columns were written primarily as sports commentary, but tend to branch into other subjects -- commonly politics and social commentary -- either due to a perceived relevance to the sports news, or as a result of Thompson's natural discursive tendencies. Some articles are focused on subjects entirely outside sports. like 'Love Blooms in the Rockies' and 'Fear and Loathing in America', which deal with the 9/11 attacks and Thompson's marriage.
Thompson also chimes in on world events at the time of writing the articles. He voices his distaste for the 2000 presidential election, promotes warning as he writes through September 11, and tells of his crusade to free Lisl Auman from a harsh lifetime in prison sentence.
Included in Hey Rube is a copy of a personal report written about Thompson during his time in the United States Air Force at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. It requests that he be reassigned duties and advises that Thompson should not do any unauthorized writing or accept outside employment with local media. Thompson also includes a personal political statement and an “Honor Roll” which includes the names of such figures as Johnny Depp, Fidel Castro, Al Gore, and Anita Thompson.
The title is taken from the 19th century slogan Hey, Rube!, a slang term of circus folk used to rally other carnies to their aid during a fight with a patron from the local town. Thompson elaborates in the introduction on the meaning of the term and the zeitgeist of old-fashioned circuses from the golden era that spawned the term.
Included articles
Part One
The New DumbThe Fix Is InWelcome to Generation ZThe White House DiseaseGet Ready for SainthoodThe Xmas ViceThe Curse of MusburgerCruel Twist in the Coaching BusinessThe NFL Sucks…Another League Bites the Dust…Rich Kids with WeaponsSlow Week for Sports, in PoliticsLynching in DenverMad Cow Disease Comes to the NBADeath in the AfternoonXFL, R.I.P.The Most Horrible Curse in SportsUrgent Warning to Gamblers: Beware the Ideas of MarchI Told You It Was WrongWhere Were You When the Fun Stopped?Running Away with the CircusNBA and the Downward Spiral of DumbnessBad Craziness at Owl FarmCan the Three Stooges Save the NBA?Kentucky Derby and Other Gambling DisastersQuitting the Gambling Business While I’m AheadThe Most Dangerous Sport of AllPatrick Roy and Warren Zevon- Two Champions at the Top of Their GameWild Days at the Sports DeskEerie Lull Rattles the Sports WorldOlympic Disaster in UtahThe Wisdom of Nashville and the Violence of Jack Nicholson- A Football StoryPart Two
Fear and Loathing in America: The Beginning of the EndWhen War Drums RollWill Sports Survive Bin Laden?Stadium Living in the New AgeFootball in the Kingdom of FearFoul Balls and Rash PredictionsGetting Weird for Devil’s DayThe Yankees are Dead: Long Live the YankeesThe Man Who Loved Sport Too MuchThe Shame of IndianapolisFailure, Football, and Violence on the StripMadness in HonoluluBreak Up the RavensPay Up or Get WhippedGetting Braced for the Last Football GameSodomized at the Airport: Are Terrorists Seizing Control of the NFL? And Who Let It Happen?Slow Dance in Rap TownDr. Thompson in BeirutDr. Thompson Is Back from BeirutThe NFL: We Will March on a Road of BonesPart Three
A Wild and Wooly Tale of Sporting ExcessMy 49er HabitDon’t Let This Happen to YouGrantland Rice Haunts the Honolulu MarathonHonolulu Marathon is Decadent and DepravedPublic Shame and Private VictoryShooting the Moon with the RaidersThe Last Super BowlExtreme Behavior in AspenBillionaire Swine and Kiwi CatastropheFleeced by Ed BradleyLove Blooms in the RockiesLove in a Time of WarA Sad Week in AmericaThe Doomed Prefer OaklandThe Tragedy of Naked BowlingWest Coast OffenseGreat Fleecing in Woody Creek: Lakers Staggered in Series OpenerThe Sport of KingsThe Good, the Bad, and the ViciousRewarding the UglyKilled by a Speeding HummerWhen in Doubt, Bet the Dark SideWelcome to the Big DarknessThe Nation’s CapitalSpeed Kills and Other Football WisdomNightmare in HollywoodSpeed Will Rule the NFL This YearThe Bush LeagueBoxing SucksGeorge PlimptonVictoryWisdomHonor Role
