"There he goes. One of God's own prototypes. Some kind of high powered mutant never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die."\n-- "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," by Hunter S. Thompson
English professor Manuel Martinez awaited every Hunter S. Thompson book like a child waiting for Christmas.\n"As soon as it hit the table, I grabbed it and read it," he said.\nBut Martinez won't be able to wait anymore.\nHunter S. Thompson shot himself Sunday in his Colorado home. The dean of "gonzo journalism" was 67.\n"What a loss it will be knowing that another new Thompson book won't be coming out," Martinez said. "We won't be able to hear that voice that cut through the smoke and fog of political hypocrisy."\nThompson hit the national spotlight in the mid-1960s, transcending traditional journalism with a variety of reporting he dubbed "gonzo journalism." In this style, Thompson used himself as a primary character and moved past objectivity to uncover the "death of the American dream."\n"(Thompson) was willing to tell the truth about himself," Martinez said. "He was dismissed early and even lately as an egomaniac who didn't pay attention to objective space. But he built up a cache as someone who was willing to tell the truth regardless."\nThompson penned "Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72," "Generation of Swine" and "The Rum Diary," along with countless other articles, novels and short stories. Martinez focuses his studies and classes on 20th century American literature and creative writing and uses Thompson's "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" in one of his classes. The book and the movie, which later featured Johnny Depp, spoke directly to a counterculture interested in what lies beneath a political facade. Because of this approach, Thompson found one of his largest audiences among universities.\n"College students feel like they can make a difference and they can see things realistically," Martinez said. "Thompson is a voice for that kind of idealism and hope."\n"Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" recounts Thompson's trials in Las Vegas through the character "Dr. Thompson." Thompson used Las Vegas as a lens to "shine a light on the American underbelly," Martinez said. At a moment when America was really lost, Thompson tried to expose the blind pursuit of pleasure that was sending America into a tailspin.\n"Throughout the whole thing, you feel like it is the craziest story you've ever read in your life," said freshman Chris Michael. "Once you start reading, it takes over you, and you want to read more of his work. He was a great writer, and he wrote to what college students want to see -- the truth."\nThompson's close link to the drug culture also could be a direct connection to college students, freshman Thompson fan Zachary Slovin said. Drugs, alcohol, guns and arrests all have been staples in Thompson's life, but Martinez feels they all convey the wrong message.\n"Too many people will dismiss his life as having been (crazy)," he said. \nThompson wasn't just a reporter, but a citizen reporter -- a social critic, Martinez said. \n"It's kind of emblematic that his life ends at a moment where that kind of truth telling isn't welcomed or fostered," he said. "To me it is a passing of an era where Thompson was one of the last reporters like that out there. He told people things they didn't want to hear."\n-- Contact Sports Editor Brian Janosh at bjanosh@indiana.edu.
