Hunter S. Thompson Quotes

On the way down the hill we walked three abreast in the cobblestone street, drunk and laughing and talking like men who knew they would separate at dawn and travel to the far corners of the earth.

The Rum Diary (1993)

Myths and legends die hard in America. We love them for the extra dimension they provide, the illusion of near-infinite possibility to erase the narrow confines of most men's reality. Weird heroes and mould-breaking champions exist as living proof to those who need it that the tyranny of 'the rat race' is not yet final.

Gonzo Papers, Vol. 1: The Great Shark Hunt: Strange Tales from a Strange Time (1979)

I have never felt comfortable around people who talk about their feelings for Jesus, or any other deity for that matter, because they are usually none too bright... Or maybe "stupid" is a better way of saying it; but I have never seen much point in getting heavy with either stupid people or Jesus freaks, just as long as they don't bother me. In a world as weird and cruel as this one we have made for ourselves, I figure anybody who can find peace and personal happiness without ripping off somebody else deserves to be left alone. They will not inherit the earth, but then neither will I... And I have learned to live, as it were, with the idea that I will never find peace and happiness, either. But as long as I know there's a pretty good chance I can get my hands on either one of them every once in a while, I do the best I can between high spots.

Rolling Stone (1976)

There are times, however, and this is one of them, when even being right feels wrong. What do you say, for instance, about a generation that has been taught that rain is poison and sex is death? If making love might be fatal and if a cool spring breeze on any summer afternoon can turn a crystal blue lake into a puddle of black poison right in front of your eyes, there is not much left except TV and relentless masturbation. It's a strange world. Some people get rich and others eat shit and die.

Gonzo Papers, Vol. 2: Generation of Swine: Tales of Shame and Degradation in the '80s (1988)

You'd better take care of me, Lord...because if you don't you're going to have me on your hands.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1971)

We disagree so violently on almost everything that it's a real pleasure to drink with him.

Fear and Loathing in America (2000)

How many times had he stood calmly back there on the duckboards and listened to respectable-looking people talk about raping the hotel penguins?

The Curse of Lono (1983)

Women are terrified of being raped, but somewhere in the back of the womb there is one rebellious nerve end that tingles with curiosity whenever the word is mentioned.

Hell's Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs (1966)

In a nation run by swine, all pigs are upward-mobile and the rest of us are fucked until we can put our acts together: Not necessarily to Win, but mainly to keep from Losing Completely.

Gonzo Papers, Vol. 1: The Great Shark Hunt: Strange Tales from a Strange Time (1979)

I went to the Democratic Convention as a journalist, and returned a cold-blooded revolutionary.

Fear and Loathing in America (2000)

A nervous blonde nymphet who thought that politics was some kind of game played by old people, like bridge.

Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 (1973)

I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me.

A word to the wise is infuriating.

Call on God, but row away from the rocks.

Richard Nixon has never been one of my favorite people anyway.

Pageant (July 1968)

There is a huge body of evidence to support the notion that me and the police were put on this earth to do extremely different things and never to mingle professionally with each other, except at official functions, when we all wear ties and drink heavily and whoop it up like the natural, good-humored wild boys that we know in our hearts that we are..These occasions are rare, but they happen — despite the forked tongue of fate that has put us forever on different paths...

"Fear and Loathing in Elko" Rolling Stone (January 1992)

Then came noon, and morning withered like a lost dream. The sweat was torture and the rest of the day was littered with the dead remains of all those things that might have happened, but couldn’t stand the heat. When the sun got hot enough it burned away all the illusions and I saw the place as it was—cheap, sullen, and garish – nothing good was going to happen here.

The Rum Diary (1993)