8. Hunter S. Thompson
Hunter S. Thompson was a journalist who created the “Gonzo” style of journalism, which blends nonfiction and fiction and often features the writer as a first-person character in the narrative. Thompson began his career as a traditional journalist, writing extensively for an English language newspaper in Brazil before returning to the United States to write for the National Observer. Once back in the states, Thompson began to get heavily involved in the drug and counterculture movement of the hippie era.
Thompson’s big break came with his famous publication Hell’s Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs. He spent almost a year living with the club to complete the story, but his relationship with the gang fell apart when they began to feel he was exploiting their lives for personal gain and demanded a share of the profits of his writing. His most famous novel, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, was initially published as a serial in Rolling Stone and is a highly fictionalized retrospective of the early parts of the counterculture era.
There is a tragic element to young photos of Hunter S. Thompson, as he committed suicide in 2005 at the age of 67 in part due to fears of aging and upcoming surgeries he was scheduled for. Friends reported that he frequently said “this kid is getting old” about himself.
