Thanks for this. I admired HST greatly, trying in a small way to emulate him, but I grew out of it. He himself admitted that he couldn't cover the 1976 election, writing that he now had "too many friends named Jones." But it wasn't just the drugs or the endless booze. The seeds of his destruction were in him from the early years. He was not a hippie by any definition. He was a complete asshole to almost everyone, and he even treated Sandy badly, slapping her in front of friends on one occasion because she had made some mistake. He took his sudden fame for granted and tortured himself over his inability to write novels. (He worked on The Rum Diaries for years.) His single great gift was his wonderful ability to articulate a dense, almost operatic, contempt for the powers that be.
"He traveled to Zaire to cover the famous “Rumble in the Jungle” boxing matchup between Ali and Foreman, but didn’t show up for the actual fight. He journeyed to South Vietnam to report on the end of the war, but left to visit Hong Kong and thus missed the fall of Saigon. He tried covering the 1976 campaign, but gave up after two days in New Hampshire and fled to the comfort of his Colorado farm—although he had known Jimmy Carter for several years, and could have been the perfect chronicler of the election."
None of his writing would have worked as well without the drugs. But yes, the end result was inevitable. Just say no, kids, seems horrendously trite to me. Avoid habitual use, sure. Don’t do them? Bah!
Meh, if we were looking for reflexive one line comments that rise to the top of a r/popular thread, this would be it. But instead, like why are you here? I actually swung by to ask about
“Hunter Thompson at Mardi Gras should have been a bestseller—but only resulted in travel bills and a monumental drinking tab.”
That is how we perceive it. If you liked the Doctor (hell, I only knew him by reputation and ESPN2 articles), it feels like he missed an opportunity. But really we feel like we missed out. Who knows what was better, the book that never happened or the experience he had? Stupidly romantic, sure, but in a world that cares mainly about efficiency and results, maybe wasting time is something to be jealous of.
"I would never recommend the use of dangerous drugs to anyone, but in my case they worked." --HST (Not the exact quote, I think, but you get the picture.)
You said you would leave up to others to debate the merits of suicide. As a teacher, I'll give my two cents here. If you have children to take care of, suicide is completely unacceptable. It can really mess them up It's why I feel very differently about David Foster Wallace's suicide versus Anthony Bourdain's (both subjects of Ted's articles). I don't believe suicide is evil or even sinful. It is, however, very selfish. Having a kid ask me why his mom would rather be dead than spend time with him is still the low point of my career as an educator and I've had a student pull a knife on me. If you don't have anyone to take care of and want to end it all, happy trails.
If you are taking care of little kids, you are not entitled to that level of supreme selfishness.
Enjoyed your take on Thompson. As a teen I couldn't make sense of the relationship between the man vs. the maniac in Doonesbury. However, to be honest, Rolling Stone was swiftly scanned while standing at the magazine rack in the library. Settling into one of the comfy chairs was reserved for MAD magazine. And that's no insult. I found MAD was often the more recognizable sendup of everything in the late '70's.
I enjoyed this series. Hunter Thompson is an interesting character; the culture as reflected in his prolonged fame is just as fascinating. Also enjoyed this beauty: “…no space is left for the frail and fragile private lives we all must live, sooner or later.”
The story of him in New Orleans, unable to attend a party because he didn't want to be viewed in his wheelchair, is one of the sadder things I've read in awhile.
I just recently revisited Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas. It was just as crazy as I'd remembered it.
The funny thing is that I had to purchase a new copy because my paperback from college days had been loaned to a friend who took it on a camping trip. It had gotten soaked with beer and came back puffed up like one of those magazine doorstops people were fond of making back then.
His best real journalism was done prior to Hell's Angels. Everything after that was lazy self-indulgent crap which he got away with because of his skill at bamboozling people, particularly women. He refused to do the sustained effort real journalists do.
I agree that Hunter's early reporting was actually pretty solid, if less entertaining than SOME of his later stuff. And to be fair, he also expanded the boundaries of what could be talked about in public. But to be great, instead of notorious, he would have had to meet people as they are, not just as he thinks they are. Maybe he could have developed empathy for them, and tried to understand them, instead of just calling them names, which is easier, but lazy. And stop singing in the key of "Me!"
The first rule of life is "Show up." And not just when you feel like it.
Second is "Be there."
Third is "Get it done."
Personal anarchy gets old real fast, and harms everyone around you.
This idea of "attacking = truth telling" is a fraud. And it is the culture we have today. How is it working out? Yeah, people attack each other.
By contrast, consider the work of two other California social critics, each commenting on the lifestyles of Marin County. The late Cyra McFadden, and her book "The Serial" (which was made into a truly terrible movie, which you can skip).
These are all for people who don't desire to stick knives into other people, but just want to laugh at their craziness, which is not so different from our own. We are all a little crazy; but not hopeless.
The cures for craziness are not self indulgence; they are discipline and self awareness. Not an easy sell in the USA.
......
It was just sad, not entertaining or funny at all, to watch Hunter destroy himself.
I read ‘real journalists’ and am left, at best, irritated - and at worst offended at being taken for a fool. When the truth is unable to even be hinted at, or obscured in some kind of attempt at appearing objective, it is a disservice to the public.
Campaign Trail is a comprehensive journalistic work. It’s also entertaining at times. I’ve never read any other work that explains the political process as clearly.
When the topics you report on will land you and the publisher in court, and the off the record sources can’t be subpoenaed, it’s an untenable situation that requires an almost impossible creative effort to report. Hunter found a way to make a very fine living, however unorthodox as it was and wrote some of the finest sentences in our time. His lifestyle is irrelevant. What is relevant is he was an original and honest reporter. Judging him from a conventional standpoint is a futile exercise and shows a lack of empathy for the frustrations and outrage that his ideal of what America is supposed to be has been trampled under foot by monstrous sociopaths…..and there is no fixing it.
Sad that hunter checked out when he did, he was in physical pain and sick of the news. We needed him during the w bush era. Yes, rare to read anything gonzo. Nice job on your report.
If the Examiner articles were good, and they are available, you should give the title. You state that the book was nominated for a Pulitzer. What was the title. Thanks so much, Ted. Keep it up!
I worked for HST's editor and I don't believe this or any other HST writing was ever nominated for a Pulitzer. A Google search turned up this comment section and nothing else.
You can read about Hunter Thompson's nomination for a Pulitzer for his Examiner columns on page 290 of William McKeen's bio of HST. And let me point out that a nomination isn't the same as winning or getting named a finalist. So, for example, I have been nominated for Pulitzer in criticism, but you wouldn't be able to find that out from a Google search.
I still mourn him, selfishly, which he would disdain. But I know he is on another plane, gnawing on bastards' skulls, while Laslo pulls at him for another poorly planned escapade.
Thanks for this. I admired HST greatly, trying in a small way to emulate him, but I grew out of it. He himself admitted that he couldn't cover the 1976 election, writing that he now had "too many friends named Jones." But it wasn't just the drugs or the endless booze. The seeds of his destruction were in him from the early years. He was not a hippie by any definition. He was a complete asshole to almost everyone, and he even treated Sandy badly, slapping her in front of friends on one occasion because she had made some mistake. He took his sudden fame for granted and tortured himself over his inability to write novels. (He worked on The Rum Diaries for years.) His single great gift was his wonderful ability to articulate a dense, almost operatic, contempt for the powers that be.
"He traveled to Zaire to cover the famous “Rumble in the Jungle” boxing matchup between Ali and Foreman, but didn’t show up for the actual fight. He journeyed to South Vietnam to report on the end of the war, but left to visit Hong Kong and thus missed the fall of Saigon. He tried covering the 1976 campaign, but gave up after two days in New Hampshire and fled to the comfort of his Colorado farm—although he had known Jimmy Carter for several years, and could have been the perfect chronicler of the election."
Don't do drugs, kids.
None of his writing would have worked as well without the drugs. But yes, the end result was inevitable. Just say no, kids, seems horrendously trite to me. Avoid habitual use, sure. Don’t do them? Bah!
Meh, if we were looking for reflexive one line comments that rise to the top of a r/popular thread, this would be it. But instead, like why are you here? I actually swung by to ask about
“Hunter Thompson at Mardi Gras should have been a bestseller—but only resulted in travel bills and a monumental drinking tab.”
That is how we perceive it. If you liked the Doctor (hell, I only knew him by reputation and ESPN2 articles), it feels like he missed an opportunity. But really we feel like we missed out. Who knows what was better, the book that never happened or the experience he had? Stupidly romantic, sure, but in a world that cares mainly about efficiency and results, maybe wasting time is something to be jealous of.
Right? He sounds like every other drug addict I’ve known. A few are brilliant but drugs take them down every time.
Yup - didn't do much for me. At this distance - he looks sadder than ever
Do Tai Chi instead.
"I would never recommend the use of dangerous drugs to anyone, but in my case they worked." --HST (Not the exact quote, I think, but you get the picture.)
Talk about missing the point, jeez…
Yah, just say ‘no’…
You said you would leave up to others to debate the merits of suicide. As a teacher, I'll give my two cents here. If you have children to take care of, suicide is completely unacceptable. It can really mess them up It's why I feel very differently about David Foster Wallace's suicide versus Anthony Bourdain's (both subjects of Ted's articles). I don't believe suicide is evil or even sinful. It is, however, very selfish. Having a kid ask me why his mom would rather be dead than spend time with him is still the low point of my career as an educator and I've had a student pull a knife on me. If you don't have anyone to take care of and want to end it all, happy trails.
If you are taking care of little kids, you are not entitled to that level of supreme selfishness.
"To comfort the weird, and weird out the comfortable.". ******
Enjoyed your take on Thompson. As a teen I couldn't make sense of the relationship between the man vs. the maniac in Doonesbury. However, to be honest, Rolling Stone was swiftly scanned while standing at the magazine rack in the library. Settling into one of the comfy chairs was reserved for MAD magazine. And that's no insult. I found MAD was often the more recognizable sendup of everything in the late '70's.
I enjoyed this series. Hunter Thompson is an interesting character; the culture as reflected in his prolonged fame is just as fascinating. Also enjoyed this beauty: “…no space is left for the frail and fragile private lives we all must live, sooner or later.”
The story of him in New Orleans, unable to attend a party because he didn't want to be viewed in his wheelchair, is one of the sadder things I've read in awhile.
I just recently revisited Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas. It was just as crazy as I'd remembered it.
The funny thing is that I had to purchase a new copy because my paperback from college days had been loaned to a friend who took it on a camping trip. It had gotten soaked with beer and came back puffed up like one of those magazine doorstops people were fond of making back then.
Three great articles on the wonderful HST. Thanks very much Ted.
His best real journalism was done prior to Hell's Angels. Everything after that was lazy self-indulgent crap which he got away with because of his skill at bamboozling people, particularly women. He refused to do the sustained effort real journalists do.
I agree that Hunter's early reporting was actually pretty solid, if less entertaining than SOME of his later stuff. And to be fair, he also expanded the boundaries of what could be talked about in public. But to be great, instead of notorious, he would have had to meet people as they are, not just as he thinks they are. Maybe he could have developed empathy for them, and tried to understand them, instead of just calling them names, which is easier, but lazy. And stop singing in the key of "Me!"
The first rule of life is "Show up." And not just when you feel like it.
Second is "Be there."
Third is "Get it done."
Personal anarchy gets old real fast, and harms everyone around you.
This idea of "attacking = truth telling" is a fraud. And it is the culture we have today. How is it working out? Yeah, people attack each other.
By contrast, consider the work of two other California social critics, each commenting on the lifestyles of Marin County. The late Cyra McFadden, and her book "The Serial" (which was made into a truly terrible movie, which you can skip).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Serial
And right now, Patrick Heij, and his satirical "Marin Lately" newspaper, now on Substack:
https://www.marinlately.com
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/30/us/marin-lately-satire.html
There is also, uh, "The Onion."
These are all for people who don't desire to stick knives into other people, but just want to laugh at their craziness, which is not so different from our own. We are all a little crazy; but not hopeless.
The cures for craziness are not self indulgence; they are discipline and self awareness. Not an easy sell in the USA.
......
It was just sad, not entertaining or funny at all, to watch Hunter destroy himself.
Hunter Thompson RIP
I read ‘real journalists’ and am left, at best, irritated - and at worst offended at being taken for a fool. When the truth is unable to even be hinted at, or obscured in some kind of attempt at appearing objective, it is a disservice to the public.
Campaign Trail is a comprehensive journalistic work. It’s also entertaining at times. I’ve never read any other work that explains the political process as clearly.
When the topics you report on will land you and the publisher in court, and the off the record sources can’t be subpoenaed, it’s an untenable situation that requires an almost impossible creative effort to report. Hunter found a way to make a very fine living, however unorthodox as it was and wrote some of the finest sentences in our time. His lifestyle is irrelevant. What is relevant is he was an original and honest reporter. Judging him from a conventional standpoint is a futile exercise and shows a lack of empathy for the frustrations and outrage that his ideal of what America is supposed to be has been trampled under foot by monstrous sociopaths…..and there is no fixing it.
I guess that's Gonzo
Sad that hunter checked out when he did, he was in physical pain and sick of the news. We needed him during the w bush era. Yes, rare to read anything gonzo. Nice job on your report.
If the Examiner articles were good, and they are available, you should give the title. You state that the book was nominated for a Pulitzer. What was the title. Thanks so much, Ted. Keep it up!
“Generation of Swine: The Brutal Odyssey of an Outlaw Journalist” - volume II of the Gonzo Papers.
I worked for HST's editor and I don't believe this or any other HST writing was ever nominated for a Pulitzer. A Google search turned up this comment section and nothing else.
You can read about Hunter Thompson's nomination for a Pulitzer for his Examiner columns on page 290 of William McKeen's bio of HST. And let me point out that a nomination isn't the same as winning or getting named a finalist. So, for example, I have been nominated for Pulitzer in criticism, but you wouldn't be able to find that out from a Google search.
Thanks for the clarification!
I still mourn him, selfishly, which he would disdain. But I know he is on another plane, gnawing on bastards' skulls, while Laslo pulls at him for another poorly planned escapade.
He was definitely of his era. I often think of Ken Kesey as also being part of that time.
Thanks for writing and publish this series, Ted. I’ve learned a lot.
“We need a Hunter more now than ever” —could anything be more true?
Minor point/correction: Curse of Lono.
Loved this series on HST.