Thomas Acosta Popular Books
Thomas Acosta Biography & Facts
Oscar "Zeta" Acosta Fierro (; April 8, 1935 – disappeared 1974) was a Mexican American attorney, author and activist in the Chicano Movement. He wrote the semi-autobiographical novels Autobiography of a Brown Buffalo (1972) and The Revolt of the Cockroach People (1973), and was friends with American author Hunter S. Thompson. Thompson characterized him as a heavyweight Samoan attorney, Dr. Gonzo, in his 1971 novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Acosta disappeared in 1974 during a trip in Mexico and is presumed dead. Life and career Oscar Acosta was born in El Paso, Texas, to Manuel and Juanita (née Fierro) Acosta, from Mexico and El Paso, respectively. He was the third child born, but second to survive childhood. Acosta had an older brother, Roberto, born in 1934. After the family moved to California, the children were raised in the small San Joaquin Valley rural community of Riverbank, near Modesto. Acosta's father was drafted during World War II. After finishing high school, Acosta joined the United States Air Force. Following his discharge, he worked his way through Modesto Junior College. Acosta went on to San Francisco State University where he studied creative writing, becoming the first member of his family to get a college education. He attended night classes at San Francisco Law School and passed the state bar exam in 1966. In 1967, Acosta began working locally as an antipoverty attorney for the East Oakland Legal Aid Society. In 1968, Acosta moved to East Los Angeles and joined the Chicano Movement as an activist attorney, defending Chicano groups and activists. He represented the Chicano 13 of the East L.A. walkouts, members of the Brown Berets, Rodolfo Gonzales, and other residents of the East L.A. barrio. Acosta's controversial defenses earned him the ire of the Los Angeles Police Department, who often followed and harassed him. In 1970, he ran for sheriff of Los Angeles County against Peter J. Pitchess, and received more than 100,000 votes. During the campaign, Acosta was jailed for two days for contempt of court. He vowed that if elected, he would do away with the Sheriff's Department as it was then constituted. Known for loud ties and a flowered attaché case with a Chicano Power sticker, Acosta lost to Pitchess' 1.3 million votes but beat Everett Holladay, chief of police of Monterey Park. In 1972, Acosta published his first novel, Autobiography of a Brown Buffalo, about a lawyer fighting for the rights of a marginalized people. In 1973, he published The Revolt of the Cockroach People, a fictionalized version of the 1970 Chicano Moratorium as well as an account of the death of Los Angeles Times columnist Rubén Salazar. Friendship with Hunter S. Thompson In the summer of 1967, Acosta met author Hunter S. Thompson. In 1971, Thompson wrote an article about Acosta and the injustice in the barrios of East Los Angeles, as well as the death of Salazar, for Rolling Stone magazine, titled "Strange Rumblings in Aztlan". While working on that article, Thompson received an offer from Sports Illustrated to cover an off-road race outside Las Vegas. He invited Acosta to join him, and the two men returned to Las Vegas for a second weekend. Thompson wrote about their adventures in a two-part article for Rolling Stone that appeared in 1971. The following year, Random House published Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas as a nonfiction title. The legal department of the publisher of Fear and Loathing said the book could not be published without clearance by Acosta, as references to him were recognizable. Acosta initially refused the clearance, saying that he was insulted by Thompson's alteration of his race—Thompson had described him as a "300-pound Samoan." He understood, however, that inserting his real name and race would necessitate extensive rewriting and delay publication of the book, so he promised clearance provided that his name and picture would appear on the dustjacket. He later claimed a portion of the film rights, which led to more acrimony. Scholar David S. Wills, in High White Notes: The Rise and Fall of Gonzo Journalism, argued that it was Acosta who pushed Thompson to pursue the theme of the American Dream and indeed provided much of the plot of the novel through his actions in Las Vegas. He asserts that this is likely the reason why Acosta felt so aggrieved, citing various letters and audio recordings of the two men. Acosta even complained to one of Thompson's editors, "Hunter has stolen my soul. He has taken my best lines and has used me." Although Thompson and Acosta attempted to work together one more time, their relationship was strained by the dispute over Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and it never fully recovered. After Acosta's death, it took Thompson several years before he wrote an obituary for his friend, "The Banshee Screams for Buffalo Meat". In it, Thompson called Acosta "a stupid, vicious quack with no morals at all and the soul of a hammerhead shark." Ralph Steadman explained that Thompson "berated most of his friends a lot, but somehow it was funny. His way of expressing love for people was to be both angry and insulting." Disappearance In May 1974, Acosta disappeared while traveling in Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico. His son, Marco Acosta, believes that he was the last person to talk to his father. Acosta telephoned his son from Mazatlán, telling him that he was "about to board a boat full of white snow." Marco is later quoted in reference to his father's disappearance: "The body was never found, but we surmise that probably, knowing the people he was involved with, he ended up mouthing off, getting into a fight, and getting killed." In 1977, Thompson's investigation of Acosta's disappearance, titled "The Banshee Screams for Buffalo Meat", was published in Rolling Stone. According to Thompson, Acosta was a powerful attorney and spokesman, but suffered from an addiction to amphetamines and had a predilection for LSD. Thompson wrote that he believed Acosta was either murdered by drug dealers or was the victim of a political assassination. Others have speculated that Acosta overdosed or suffered a nervous breakdown during his trip. Motion pictures The film Where the Buffalo Roam (1980) loosely depicts Acosta's life and his relationship with Thompson. Its name is derived from Thompson's article about Acosta, "The Banshee Screams for Buffalo Meat", in reference to Acosta's book Autobiography of a Brown Buffalo. Actor Peter Boyle portrayed Acosta, whose character is named "Carl Lazlo, Esquire", and Bill Murray portrayed Thompson. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) is a film adaptation of Thompson's 1972 novel of the same name, a fictionalized account of Thompson and Acosta's trip to Las Vegas in 1971. Benicio del Toro portrays Acosta, referred to in the film and novel as "Dr. Gonzo", while Johnny Depp portrays Thompson (under the alias of Raoul Duke). The Rise and Fall of the Brown Buffalo (2017) is a documentary of the life and career o.... Discover the Thomas Acosta popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Thomas Acosta books.
Best Seller Thomas Acosta Books of 2024
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A Christmas Carol
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The Four Loves
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Dracula
Bram StokerAn Apple Books Classic edition. Few characters have seized readers’ imaginations quite like Count Dracula of Transylvania, the hero of Bram Stoker’s classic. The 1897 novel put vam...
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Think and Grow Rich
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Alpha
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The Target
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Saltwater Cove
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Man In The Water
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Law of Attraction
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The Stoic Mind
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Becoming Lady Dalton
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Pretty Little Lies
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Escape, A New Life
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You Are Kind
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The Cupcake Cottage
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The Honeymoon Homicide
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The Holy Bible - King James Version
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Eternal
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Silenced Girls
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Meditations
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The Art of War
Sun TzuAn Apple Books Classic edition. It’s believed that Sun Tzu wrote this Chinese military primer during the 5th century BChundreds of years before the Bible. The book’s 13 chapters ex...
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Coffee Girl
Sophie SinclairMackenzie "Kiki" Forbes finds herself in a pickle. Either become her snarky sister's nanny, or move halfway across the country to work as assistanttothestylist of a ...
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His Girl Next Door
Khardine GrayFrom USA Today Bestselling author Khardine Gray comes a sizzling hot single dad romance you won't want to miss. No strings attached fun with the ubergorgeous single d...
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Little Women
Louisa May AlcottAn Apple Books Classic edition. Meet the Marches! Louisa May Alcott’s classic introduces us to four unforgettable sisters: beautiful Meg, tomboyish Jo, delicate Beth, and Amy, the ...
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Silver Santa
Lacey SilksTrapped together on Christmas, their unintended onenight stand becomes a lifechanging encounter amidst the snow. Laura Young's professional role as a security guard at the Sil...
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Salvation
Meghan O'FlynnIf you like mouthy detectives, serial killers, and suspenseful mysteries that don't quit, this chilling and actionpacked hardboiled detective series has you covered! Try this ...
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Dream Psychology
Sigmund FreudAn Apple Books Classic edition. Written by the founding father of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud’s 1899 book is the definitive text on learning to interpret dreams. Freud’s groundbr...
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Rogue Alpha
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Teach Me
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A Green Kind of Witch
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Death at Hazel House
Betty Rowlands‘Riveting, can't put it down! I love this story… a wonderfully twisted tale of a crime that has more twists than I thought possible... fantastic.’ Goodreads Reviewer, 5 stars ...
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Once Upon A One-Night Stand
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How to Choose a Guy in 10 Days
Lila MonroeThe only thing more hilarious than the movies is… real life?! Fall in love with the sizzling grumpysunshine romantic comedy perfect for fans of Sophie Kinsella and Ali Hazlewood! ...
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His Own Heaven
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Whiskey Girl
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Caught Up with the Captain
Kait NolanCan a retired naval commander and the love he left behind overcome a 34yearold secret to find their way to a second chance? Captain Mitchell Greyson is a man who believes in duty. ...
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Finding Cinderella
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Awaken Me
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Tempting the King
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The Icing on the Cake
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The Great Gatsby
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The Count of Monte Cristo
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Hard Love
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Good Guy
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The Scarlet Letter
Nathaniel HawthorneAn Apple Books Classic edition. Hester Prynne lives in infamy. After committing adultery and bearing a child with a man whose name she refuses to divulge, the heroine of Nathaniel ...
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Become A Better Version of Yourself
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The Seduction Series Boxset
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Wuthering Heights
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Assisting the Bosshole
Kristin MacQueenNo hot water? Check Missed the train? Check Broke my heel? Check Dropped my coffee? Check My first day of my new job can’t possibly go worse, right? Wrong. When I meet Parker Scott...
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Holy Bible
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