Yeah, Hunter S. Thompson was the author of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. That was Hunter's first major story of Gonzo Journalism.
The story goes:
Hunter was writing for sports illustrated magazine and was given the assignment of covering the Kentucky Derby (back in the 60's sometime.). Gonzo Journalism is covering a story, but writing it in the first person. So instead of writing about the Kentucky Derby and the race, what Hunter did was write a story about his personal experience at the kentucky derby. He briefly talked about the race, the rest of the article was explaining driving to Las Vegas and doing all his drugs and his experiences before and after the race.
Sports Illustrated only wanted a page or two story of the Kentucky Derby. When Hunter turned in his story, it was a novel's worth of material. They of course fired Hunter, but Rolling Stone caught wind of Hunter's story and ended up publishing it in their magazine over several issues. The story ended up blowing up and he released it as a book then eventually had his friends adapt it into a film.
Hunter went on to be a big time writer and was even hired by Sports Illustrated several times after being fired by them haha. Most of his writing after Fear and Loathing was all Political stuff. He has a book called "Fear and Loathing... On the Campaign Trail" that follows the 1972 presidential campaign that is really good. The book itself is a collection of articles that were published in Rolling Stone magazine.
