A sense of despair has hit the publishing community with the reality that Hunter Stockton Thompson, doctor of journalism, is dead.

Thompson, 67, was found in his Woody Creek, Colo., home the evening of Sunday, Feb. 20, dead of a reported self-inflicted gunshot wound. As a man known for his excessive impulses, passion for danger and endless search for the weird truth in life, it is difficult to take his passing from the world of words.

Born and raised in Louisville, Ky., Thompson got his start in journalism in the U.S. Air Force. Having enlisted because of a plea deal, he began working for the base newspaper as sports editor. After two years’ service — and complaints of his erratic behavior — Thompson left the Air Force, jumping from one job to the next. He spent time working in New York and Puerto Rico, and eventually made a brief home in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district.

After working for several publications there, Thompson began hanging with the most notorious motorcycle gang in American history, the Hell’s Angels. He later documented his time with them in his first published book, Hell’s Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gang.

Thompson left San Francisco for . The Owl Farm, his fortified compound in Woody Creek, in which he raised peacocks and had an arsenal of weapons he used regularly, especially on pictures of Richard Nixon.

Known for his passionate pursuit of politics, Thompson published Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail ‘72, documenting his time covering the McGovern campaign and presidential race. He was a harsh critic of Nixon and once described him as “a monument to all the rancid genes and broken chromosomes that corrupt the possibilities of the American Dream.”

Thompson’s stretch in politics was not limited to reporting. In 1970, he ran for sheriff of Pitkin County, Colo. Part of his agenda was to change the name of Aspen to “Fat City” in hopes of driving away what he considered to be the ruthless swine flocking there. He lost by nearly 500 votes.

Thompson published several books during the 1970s. In 1980, Where the Buffalo Roam, a movie about him, was released starring Bill Murray. The movie remains a cult classic for true Gonzo fans. His most famous piece of work is Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, which spawned the movie starring Johnny Depp as Raoul Duke, a pseudonym frequently used by Thompson.

Recent works from him include weekly columns for ESPN The Magazine titled Hey Rube, a published collection of those columns and the novel Kingdom of Fear.

Thompson had a relentless wit and an appetite for the weird. His persona was offensive to most but reassuring to many. He made his readers feel at home in his reality. His erratic lifestyle was cathartic to the point that, though his readers would not dare his life, they could soak up his words and live vicariously through him.

Thompson was the Mark Twain of the 20th century. He humbled us, inspired us, made us laugh, made us cry and kept us firm in our beliefs. He championed the little guy who stood for truth, justice and the right to get lit. He sought to bring down the crooked and humiliate those with harmful intentions.

But leave it to the Doc to end this thing in his own words:

“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.”