by John Bowie

Created on: April 27, 2007   Last Updated: May 15, 2007

Hunter S Thompson had a work ethos that ended up defining a new genre of writing style. Throwing himself head first into his subject matter to the extent by which you can't help but be amazed he lived as long he did before going out in his triumphant blaze of glory as his ashes were fired firework style across the Arizona desert. What a writer! His 'by the seat of his pants' Gonzon journalism put him in ominous situations with Hells Angels, the Police and drug cultures a-like all adding richly to his end result, the writing.

Highlight moments of his crazy Gonzo-ness include being chain whipped by some Hells Angels that thought he'd infiltrated there gang as some sort of 'class war' joke / and as an initiation, shooting lizards with revolver high as a kite, being 'questionably' questioned by road police and a remarkable deconstruction of the whole las Vegas experience.

classic Thompson quotes include;

"I wouldn't recommend sex, drugs or insanity for everyone, but they've always worked for me."

''Every now and then when your life gets complicated and the weasels start closing in, the only cure is to load up on heinous chemicals and then drive like a bastard from Hollywood to Las Vegas ... with the music at top volume and at least a pint of ether."

"Freedom is something that dies unless it's used"

"I feel the same way about disco as I do about herpes."

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