Hunter S. Thompson was born July 18, 1937 in Louisville, Kentucky. After a crime-filled youth, he enlisted in the Air Force as part of his parole. At Eglin AFB, he worked as sports editor for the base paper. Following his discharge, he worked at various writing jobs, most of which proved fruitless. He spent some time in the late fifties and early sixties writing newspaper articles in South America for American papers. He returned to the united states and set up his home in Woody Creek, Colorado, on Owl Farm, although he was continually on the road.

thompson gained fame for his first book, 'Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga', in which he spent a year living and riding with the motorcycle gang until a disagreement caused them to stomp him and break his nose. In 1970, he ran for sheriff of Pitkin County on the Freak Power ticket and narrowly lost to the incumbent. He is most famous for his brand of supersubjective journalism, called "Gonzo".

Other books include: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream; 'Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail 72'; 'The Great Shark Hunt', 'Gonzo Papers Vol. 1: Strange Tales from a Strange Time'; 'The Curse of Lono'; 'Generation of Swine', 'Gonzo Papers Vol. 2: Tales of Shame and Degradation in the Eighties'; 'Songs of the Doomed', 'Gonzo Papers Vol. 3: More Notes on the Death of the American Dream'; 'Better Than Sex', 'Gonzo Papers Vol. 4: Trapped Like a Rat in Mr. Bill's Neighbourhood', and 'The Proud Highway: Letters from a desperate Southern Gentleman'.

Dr. Thompson was a man of strange and bewitching charisma. He was 6'2" tall, and, due to the fact that one leg was longer than the other, tended to bob about like a freakish marionette. He was always thirsty; his favourite drinks were Wild Turkey and Chivas Regal. He had one son, Juan Fitzgerald Thompson, and was married to Sandra Dawn Conklin. Besides writer and failed politician, Dr. Thompson was also a peacock and gun collector, ex-night manager of the O'Farrell Theatre in San Francisco, and founder of The Fourth Amendment Foundation.

Thompson died at his self-described "fortified compound" in Woody Creek, Colorado, on February 20, 2005, from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. He was 67 years old.