In 1962, an unknown, 25-year-old reporter named Hunter S. Thompson set out on a yearlong trek across South America, filing newspaper dispatches about the rise of leftist populism, the marginalization of indigenous people, and desperate U.S. effort to protect the nation's interests on the front lines of the Cold War.

Fifty years later, an adrift young writer traverses the continent with Thompson's ghost as a guide, offering a ground-level look at 21st-century South American culture, politics, and ecology — and discovering how America’s iconic “gonzo journalist” was born in the favelas of Rio, the mountains of Peru, and the black market outposts of Colombia.

Originally published in 2010 and now in its eighth edition. Yellowstone contains an incomparable combination of natural beauty, rugged wilderness, and abundant wildlife. Adjacent Grand Teton National Park is renowned for its magnificent, jagged, snow-capped peaks. The single-author Compass American Guide to these parks goes deep on history and ecology, favorite trails and backcountry spots, gateway-town hangouts, and the personalities who shape our public lands.