Bummer - Author Hunter S. Thompson Commits Suicide
The Late Hunter S. Thompson
Journalist and author Hunter S. Thompson, who unleashed the concept of "gonzo journalism" in books like "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," fatally shot himself in the head Sunday at his home near Aspen, Colorado, police and his family said.
"On February 20, Dr. Hunter S. Thompson took his life with a gunshot to the head at his fortified compound in Woody Creek, Colorado," said a statement issued by Thompson's son, Juan Thompson, to the Aspen Daily News.
More.
I enjoyed Hunter's twisted take on society (Gonzo Journalism) and politics. For many years, his books were the only reason that I visited the Social Science section at book stores. I particularly enjoyed Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72. I always wanted to read his take on politics and enjoyed his national correspondence by way of his mojo wire with Rolling Stone. Both of Hunter's portrayals in the movies, Bill Murray as HST in Where the Buffalo Roam and Johnny Depp as HST in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, pale in comparison to the works of HST. I'll miss you man.
Gonzo.org
Illustrator Ralph Steadman
posted by Randy Black @ 7:44 PM
3 Comments:
No kidding. I learned of this when I first logged on this morning. Hit me like a swift kick to the gonads. I suppose that it should have been expected, he was in the twilight of his powers, but it is still a shock that he is gone, especially by his own hand. But then, he made his own terms, dealt with things without compromise.
Selah.
I've read just about all of his books including the biographies. I read all of his Rolling Stone articles and was looking for one where he compared Nixon to a guinea worm. I could only find one where he compared politics to it. Thompson wrote "Politics is like the guinea worm. It sneaks into your body and grows like a cyst from within until finally it gets so big and strong that it bursts straight through the skin, a horrible red worm with a head like a tiny cobra, snapping around in the air as it struggles to breathe.” (Thompson, Rolling Stone)
Oh yeah, one more thing. Hunter was heavily into Hemingway. I think that may have influenced his death.
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