Predominantly known as a journalist Hunter S Thompson (July 18, 1937 – February 20, 2005) is considered to be the founder of the gonzo journalism movement where reporters involve themselves in the action to such a degree that they become central figures of their stories.
This style of writing was the foundation of his most successful book Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: Subtitled “A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream” it is a perfect example of the author’s counter cultural attitudes and showcases the failures of that very counter cultural movement during the 1960s.
Also known for his lifelong use of alcohol and illegal drugs, his love of firearms, and his iconoclastic contempt for all forms of authority here are 10 of the best hunter S Thomson quotes.
“In a closed society where everybody’s guilty, the only crime is getting caught. In a world of thieves, the only final sin is stupidity.”
“I was not proud of what I had learned, but I never doubted that it was worth knowing.”
“I have a theory that the truth is never told during the nine-to-five hours.”
“If you’re going to be crazy, you have to get paid for it or else you’re going to be locked up.”
“Let us toast to animal pleasures, to escapism, to rain on the roof and instant coffee, to unemployment insurance and library cards, to absinthe and good-hearted landlords, to music and warm bodies and contraceptives… and to the “good life”, whatever it is and wherever it happens to be.
“So we shall let the reader answer this question for himself: who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed?”
“I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they’ve always worked for me.”
“A man who procrastinates in his choosing will inevitably have his choice made for him by circumstance.”
“No sympathy for the devil; keep that in mind. Buy the ticket, take the ride…and if it occasionally gets a little heavier than what you had in mind, well…maybe chalk it off to forced conscious expansion: Tune in, freak out, get beaten.”
“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming “Wow! What a Ride!”
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