My Rating: A+

My Review:

This book is a great study of a sometimes mystifying and often intriguing group of people Hunter S. Thompson does not romanticize the Hell's Angels, nor does he portray them as anything other than what they are. He does however, write in a way that keeps you begging for more. he paints a vivid picture, which proves his talents to me mostly because I have nothing to draw from when it comes to this time period except for re-runs on Nick-at-Night.

The only issue I had with this book was really my issue more than the authors. The titles of the three sections seemed a bit misleading, but other than that this was a wonderful book. I highly recommend it to those even a little bit interested in the Hell's Angels or even Mr. Thompson himself. ( )

Hell’s Angels begins: California, Labor Day weekend . . . early, with ocean fog still in the streets, outlaw motorcyclists wearing chains, shades and greasy Levis roll out from damp garages, all-night diners and cast-off one-night pads in Frisco, Hollywood, Berdoo and East Oakland, heading for the Monterey peninsula, north of Big Sur… The Menace is loose again, the Hell’s Angels, the hundred-carat headline… With a start like that how could you help but be hooked? This is Hunter before Gonzo.

Hunter Thompson’s Hell’s Angels is a fantastically written profile of the outlaw motorcycle club from their postwar origins to their explosion on the public conscious in ’64-’65. It begins with the Angels gaining nation-wide attention via a fumbled rape trial and follows the surreal path that led to their interactions and then clashes with Ken Kesey and the counter-culture movement.

Hunter takes an odd stance here. He seems to oscillate between respecting their rebelliousness and really looking down on them as worthless losers. This sort of Yin-Yang of the Hell's Angels follows through the book. They are both repellent and attractive and Hunter does a very good job of sussing out why this is in writing that is compelling and often brilliant. Liberally sprinkled with quotes of contemporary articles, song lyrics and scraps of poetry that fit into the text without distracting.

Hell's Angels is a gritty, classic slice of reportage that manages to entertain in the way good fiction entertains with a gripping narrative and larger-than-life characters. ( )

Interesting to read a pre-gonzo Hunter Thompson. Hells Angels is still "New Journalism", but unlike later works, the text is well edited and well crafted. The book chronicles the California Hells Angels in 1966-1967, a period in which they were plucked from obscurity and became a media sensation after several high profile run-ins with the law. He shows how this media attention first revitalized their membership, and then threatened to destroy them. Thompson traces their history and roots back to the disenfranchised children of dust-bowl okies and a segment of World War II veterans who had no skills in the new economy that was emerging in the fifties and sixties. A very engaging read.

A fascinating glimpse at the most infamous motorcycle gang in history. Hunter Thompson weaves the tale as only he can. A perspective on the group you won't get from they themselves, those who extol them, or those who loathe them. Uniquely original. Some of Thompson's best work. ( )