Sports Calendar

I don't see how anyone who has written a book which is so much part of the pop-cultural lexicon could possibly be considered a waster of talent. If the doc had written nothing else except Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas he would deserve to be remembered. As it is, On the Campaign Trail and The Great Shark Hunt (a compilation) are equally brilliant. His acerbic off-the-wall point of view will be missed, especially in these times of spineless and slavish obedience to the holders of power. Ciaran Farrell, Dublin, Eire 

Believe it or not, many people have taken LSD. Some describe the experience as precipitating profound religious revelations. Hunter S. Thompson spoke for the millions who took the drug for recreational purposes and enjoyed it. God bless him for expressing the truth, without fear and loathing. John Szczubelek, Haslet, USA

"I was a notorious best-selling author of weird and brutal books and also a widely feared newspaper columnist... I was also drunk, crazy and heavily armed at all times." So the doctor is dead - the only wonder is that he lasted so long. Nobody wrote or writes like HST. The world, seen through his volume of books & articles, is a distored haze of delicious fantasy and ugly reality. Whatever the subject matter (on the campaign trail with Nixon, lounging in a Park Lane Hotel room with Ali, or taming a Vincent Black Shadow motorcycle) it was always a compelling ride. Paul Wingfield, Lincolnshire

Genius or a loser? Neither. He was nothing more than a hedonistic, troubled, eccentric.T B Garber, Enid, USA

Dr. Hunter S. Thompson was a man who lived on the edge, and lived a hundred lives of adventure. A true free spirit, his writings helped touch anyone who read his work. Greatness comes from going to the edge and beyond, and sharing the tales to tell. Hunter did that with every word he penned. Antonio Gonzalez, Meadowbrook, USA

Genius! Open the pages of one of his books and you'll know how and why. I will always be fascinated with Hunter because he can express the most difficult, strange, and weird experiences so accurately and so well. That is something I cannot do, but have tried. That is something many other people cannot do, but have tried. I read a quote of his about any political issue and first I laugh, second I say, "Damn, that hit the nail on the head." Conrad Hindert, Terence Park, USA

If H.S.T. was a loser, who would ever want to win? His death is a tragic loss to us all, I never really beleived that the good Doctor was mortal, perhaps it is only fitting that he died by his own hand, there can be nobility in suicide. His was a lone voice of raging volatile insanity, speaking the truth in an insane world, free from any fear of the evil and corrupt powers of this world. Daniel Svanholm, Aalborg, Denmark

Definitely an essential figure in any appreciation of the notion of 'Third space'and subculture. Only through experience could thomson deliver such strong personality in his reading. I think Duke's comment "if it's worth doing, its worth doing well" (from Fear and Loathing) was probably a part of HST's philosophy. Jig Heanley, Bristol

Whether you agreed with his wild, outspoken, offensive rants or not, it was his compulsion to vehemently speak his mind at any cost that was awe insipiring. God bless you HST! The world is a poorer place without you. Tom Vowells, Brighton

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