Hacker Cinema
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
2008 · Film · documentary · 120 min
Directed by Alex Gibney
Fueled by a raging libido, Wild Turkey, and superhuman doses of drugs, Thompson was a true "free lance, " goring sacred cows with impunity, hilarity, and a steel-eyed conviction for writing wrongs. Focusing on the good doctor's heyday, 1965 to 1975, the film includes clips of never-before-seen (nor heard) home movies, audiotapes, and passages from unpublished manuscripts.
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I'll give you an up vote because it's a fair question. (And, I don't see any reason why someone would down vote.) I don't want to spin my appreciation for Hunter, but I'll provide you some articles. If you want some interesting reads, his most influential books are (pre-gonzo) 'Hell's Angels', 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas', 'Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72', and, much later, 'Kingdom of Fear'.
'Campaign Trail 72' is about the antics at the 72 Democratic Convention to get George McGovern the party's nomination. He was a longshot, but many young writers (including Hunter) started a movement to get him nominated; which succeeded. A lot of people thought that Nixon was undefeatable that year, but things got interesting after the youth movement behind McGovern. Unfortunately, his campaign failed miserably after his running mate, Thomas Eagleton, revealed that he underwent electric shock therapy years earlier. I think that many people would qualify McGovern as the first progressive democrat to be nominated, but, TBH, I don't know much about him, or his campaign, other than what I've already told you.
The other books don't need any introduction, from me, because you can easily find out a lot about them.
Articles by Hunter (personally selected):
"The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Deprived", notable for his first meeting with Ralph Steadman. [1]: http://grantland.com/features/looking-back-hunter-s-thompson-classic-story-kentucky-derby/
"He was a Crook" Obituary to Richard Nixon [2]: http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1994/07/he-was-a-crook/308699/
... Somewhere there is an article about Hunter talking about his only conversation with Nixon. They talked about football. Both men hated each other, but Nixon had no idea who he was talking to at the time. Those events are fictionalized in the movie 'Where the Buffalo Roam' starring Bill Murray as Hunter.
"Fear and Loathing in America" - Published September 12th, 2001 [3]: http://proxy.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?id=1250751
"Don't you dare cancel football" - [4]: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=thompson/040727
"Shotgun Golf with Bill Murray" - His last article, submitted hours before his suicide. [5]: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?id=1992213
'Hey Rube, Page 2' Archive [6]: http://totallygonzo.org/gonzowriting/hst-hey-rube-espn-page-2/
Edit: As for the documentary that you watched, it was likely 'Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson' which was produced by his son, Juan, and narrated by Johnny Depp. As far as his family life, he raised his son, and remained friends with his first wife. I don't know the facts behind the abuse claims, but he was certainly a chaotic person. So, I would imagine he was a difficult person to be around.
Edit2: Fixed the documentary mentioned in the first edit, I had stated it was 'Buy the ticket, take the ride'.