"Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" by Hunter S. Thompson (Paladin, 1972)

I've read 45 pages and I'm not yet convinced. Here's a jolly snippet from p.27.

"Look outside," I said.
"Why?"
"There's a big . . . machine in the sky, . . . some kind of electric snake . . . coming straight at us."
"Shoot it," said my attorney.
"Not yet," I said. "I want to study its habits."