Hunter S. Thompson's widow writes book

[sasquatch]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071012/ap_en_ot/the_gonzo_way

DENVER - It wasn't a reckless obsession with liquor, drugs and gunplay that made the late Hunter S. Thompson the undisputed king of Gonzo journalism, his wife says. Instead, it was old-fashioned principles such as working hard and telling the truth, enlivened by the glee Thompson took from learning and from being right.

"I don't deny his lifestyle, because his lifestyle was pretty extreme," Anita Thompson told The Associated Press, but that lifestyle was made possible by his success as a reporter and writer, not the other way around.

In her new book, "The Gonzo Way: A Celebration of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson," Thompson says her husband built his career with a tireless dedication to the craft of reporting, a keen awareness of his own shortcomings and his personal blend of patriotism: loving his country while mistrusting authority.

And in a wide-ranging interview, she spoke about a rift between her and Hunter Thompson's son and the agonizing doubts that dogged her in the days after her husband's suicide.

Thompson shot himself in the kitchen of his home outside Aspen in February 2005 at age 67.

He had established himself as an original and riveting voice with "Hells Angels," published in 1966, and "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" in 1972. It was Gonzo journalism — irreverent, outlandish and unapologetically personal. The image it projected, coupled with his undisguised love of guns and explosions, gave Thompson a reputation as an unbridled outlaw surfing on a wave of drugs and excess.

After his death, Anita Thompson said, she got stacks of e-mails and letters from young people who thought they could duplicate his success by mimicking his infamous consumption.

"They wrote me these letters about drinking bottles of Wild Turkey and doing grams of cocaine," said Thompson, a tall, outgoing, slender woman with shoulder-length dirty blond hair and a ready smile who munched on a salad during an interview at a Denver hotel. "And I realized, OK, I need to correct that."

[mitchum]

1. Yes, Thompson wrote exceptionally well in spite of the drugs and booze...

not because of them.
Not that I have anything against booze and drugs, but nothing is a substitute for craft.

[sasquatch]

2. To quote Bill Hicks though "Drugs have done some good things for us"

Alcohol especially

[supernova]

3. I'm glad she did this

The absolute hallmark of HST's writing is that through all the meanderings and musings, you still, STILL have the basics of a well-crafted news article: who, what, when, where, and why.

That's why so many try and fail to imitate him. They get the SoC, without the solid homework.