Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga

3.98 of 5 stars 3.98 · rating details · 18,305 ratings · 715 reviews

"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."Thus begins Hunter S. Thomps...more

Paperback, 288 pages

Published September 29th 1996 by Ballantine Books (NY) (first published 1967)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

Historical Naval Fiction

49th out of 105 books — 77 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 3,000)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Feb 11, 2013 Petra X rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: popculture-anthropology

I'd just read Jay Dobyn's extremely exciting and fully-involved
No Angel: My Harrowing Undercover Journey to the Inner Circle of the Hells Angels. Dobyn was an undercover cop whose total immersion in Angels' culture led to him substituting his real life for what was really a job. Because it was so involved, it took me a while to get into Hunter Thompson's cool, cynical, totally-detached own year-long involvement with the Angels, whose beer, drugs and addiction to speed he was happy to share, but...more

35 likes · like · see review

Apr 17, 2008 James rated it 4 of 5 stars

Hunter S. Thompson’s first book, Hell’s Angels is not nearly as “gonzo” or as good as his later writings and not nearly as fresh and fascinating as, say, Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. Hell’s Angels is a far more straightforward piece of journalism than HST’s later work but it is still an interesting read some 45 years on (certainly no small feat).

For one, it is cursorily interesting in how Hell’s Angels has quickly become outdated with references like, “Hell, eight dollars was a case of beer and...more Hunter S. Thompson’s first book, Hell’s Angels is not nearly as “gonzo” or as good as his later writings and not nearly as fresh and fascinating as, say, Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. Hell’s Angels is a far more straightforward piece of journalism than HST’s later work but it is still an interesting read some 45 years on (certainly no small feat).

For one, it is cursorily interesting in how Hell’s Angels has quickly become outdated with references like, “Hell, eight dollars was a case of beer and gas back to Oakland.” Because now eight dollars will probably get you a 6-pack or enough gas to get out of the station.

But more importantly than that, Hell’s Angels, written about a 3-year period (‘64-‘66), describes a country’s utter fixation and fear about a perceived menace. And reading it in 2008, it all seems rather quaint and foolish. Motorcycle gangs? Really? The subtitle is “A Strange and Terrible Saga.” Reading it now, it just doesn’t seem very strange and terrible at all. And not much of a saga either.

And that makes me wonder about our current era’s perceived threats. Terrorists. Immigrants. Religious Fundamentalists. Health Care. Global Warming. Food Production. Disease. Radical Economists. Nefarious CEOs. Dwindling Natural Resources. Greedy and Compromised Politicians. Will they all seem quaint and insignificant in forty years?

I read books like The Shock Doctrine and Under the Banner of Heaven and Fiasco, and confidently throw them across the room in a violent rage knowing that I have found our age’s plague. How naïve and simple am I?

So what wicked monsters wait for us in the future to render our current perils dust bunnies in a dollhouse?

Hell’s Angels is important, like all of Thompson’s writing, for his uncanny ability to summarize the consequence of whatever it is he has set his special acuity upon, this case motorcycle gangs. In Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas it was the American Dream and the 70s hippie movement. In Hell’s Angels, Thompson does not, nor did he ever, shy from bludgeoning his subjects with the cruel truth. HST had a special ability to place his topics in context, which, if you read Pierre Bayard, is all that matters.(less)

9 likes · like · see review

Annie Really? Inflation equals antiquity? The SF we live in now is a suburban paradise in comparison to forty years ago. Thompson doesn't get into the organ...more
Sep 21, 2008 05:15pm

Keeno In response to “James’s Review” 4/5 stars April 2008

You make some really valid points about parts of it being embarrassingly quaint when reading with...more In response to “James’s Review” 4/5 stars April 2008

You make some really valid points about parts of it being embarrassingly quaint when reading with hindsight but then again, isn’t that the way hindsight usually operates? I don’t think that HST’s intent was to have a future “significance” in the way that you’re implying because it’s not the intent of journalism (even Gonzo). The intent of journalism, real to-the-letter journalism, is to report and in most cases report what is current. At the time of publication the Hells Angels were a home grown menace that was both real and imagined (and they owe not a little of that infamy to the media as HST aptly points out). They have since evolved from their simple nomad rabble rouser days to being mischievous enough to earn the ire of the F.B.I. along with the rest of the “Big Four” outlaw gangs. In the “Quebec Biker War” between the Angels and the “Rock Machine”, over 150 people were killed which is on par with the biggest Cosa Nostra conflicts in the U.S.A. So while average citizens don’t generally walk in fear of the Hells Angels it is a stretch to consider biker gangs to be an insignificant thing of the past.

For my part I thought that it was very interesting and surprisingly fair considering that the author was in effect part of the Angels camp by association. Drawing from first hand experience from “runs” that he participated in and primary source interviews, HST pulls no punches in calling it as he sees it. Often he points out the illogical doctrines of gang mentality and inherent irony at their loss individuality in the attempt to distance themselves from society at large and their law abiding motorcycle counterparts without the evangelical fire of an outsider looking in.

It is precisely because the book is not “nearly as Gonzo” as some of his seminal works that Thompson makes a credible account. He doesn’t overly vilify the Angels nor does he belittle their loyalty to one another and the jocular perspective on what they consider to be a misfit lifestyle. His commentary carries perspective because he is accomplice by mild participation but he never quite loses the stigma of “the establishment” by the Angels own admission. This is punctuated at the close by the stomping he takes from the hands and boots of some of the Angels. Despite that he chooses not to close with malice but with words of affection for some of the Angels he grew to know as people beyond the colors.

Thompson’s account was researched, thorough and insightful. He never offers a conclusion or even a reason why—only a what. For that he offers the reader a ride with the perhaps the most infamous of the world’s outlaw motorcycle gangs.

“There is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over. The others-the living-are those who pushed their control as far as they felt they could handle it, and then pulled back, or slowed down, or did whatever they had to when it came to choose between Now and Later. But the edge is still out there. Or maybe it’s in. The association of motorcycles with LSD is no accident of publicity. They are both a means to an end, to the place of definitions.”

-Hunter S. Thompson: Hell’s Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga of The Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs-
(less)
Jul 02, 2009 07:45am

Jon " The subtitle is “A Strange and Terrible Saga.” Reading it now, it just doesn’t seem very strange and terrible at all. And not much of a saga either....more
Mar 21, 2012 11:01am

Sep 11, 2007 Jessica rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Hunter Thompson fans or Hell's Angels members because they're the only ones who could appreciate it

Shelves: non-fiction, hatedit

Hunter Thompson was this crazy guy who threw himself into his research (literally). He spawned a movement called Gonzo journalism. We read this book in college and learned all about Gonzo. So in 1965 he gets the brilliant idea of joining up with the Hell's Angels. This is back when they were extremely violent. This book is all about his experience riding along with the them. I didn't particularly care for his writing style or the content, so needless to say I am not a fan of this book.

While pre...more

3 likes · like · see review

Jan 29, 2009 Kristina King rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Both Hunter S. Thompson and the Hell's Angels bring preconceived notions to mind:
Thompson was a crazy sonofabitch. He was a nutbag druggie who liked to blow things up.
The Hell's Angel's are crazy motherfuckers. Remember Altamont? They killed like 500 people while providing concert security for the Rolling Stones.

Both of these notions have some basis in reality. Thompson liked drugs and blowing things up. The Hell's Angels did provide security at Altamont, where one person was killed by an Angel...more

6 likes · like · see review

Nov 29, 2008 Brandon rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I just read this for perhaps the fifth time. From this book up to about 1978 Hunter was at his peak and every book he wrote in that period is writing of the highest order. The guy was a major American prose stylist. Those of you who may scoff at this assertion will one day realize that I'm right. Hunter doesn't get nearly enough credit for being the very intelligent guy he was, and that intelligence is very visible in this book, written before the character of Hunter Thompson was developed enoug...more

5 likes · like · see review

Jul 28, 2008 Kelly B rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I love Hunter S., and granted, this is his first book, and I love books written about this time, and there's great insight and observations and great writing and all, but I got halfway through this book more than once and (granted again, this was during my A.D.D. phase where I couldn't finish any book, I usually had 4-6 books going at the same time and never finished any of them) didn't reach the end. Well I finally picked it up again and read it from beginning to end, without reading a bunch of...more

3 likes · like · see review

Mar 12, 2009 Andy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: american-nightmare

Still the best book about bikers ever written - and completely unromanticized, too. Their lifestyle is shown in all its greasy and grimy glory. And Hunter took a bad stomping at the end of the book by some vicious Angels. Written over forty years ago and still rawer than a lot of shit out there!

1 like · like · see review

May 20, 2013 Chas Bayfield rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

As a history and introduction to the outlaw motorcycle gangs of the US, this was brilliant. Thompson immerses himself in the world of the motorcycle gangs - this is no outsider looking in, this has to be one of the first investigative journalism books written. The characters and stories are vivid - one that sticks in my mind is a Hell's Angel who raids his host's medicine cabinet and pretty much ends up in a coma. His learning from the experience (rather than not to try that again) is that there...more

1 like · like · see review

Apr 04, 2012 Erik Graff rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Thompson fans

Recommended to Erik by: no one

Shelves: biography

I first saw this book after reading Thompson's Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail in a little bookstore on the street paralleling the east side of the Red Line here in East Rogers Park, Chicago. It was this edition. It wasn't cheap. I didn't buy it--a regret ever since. Finally, years later, after reading some more of Thompson's earlier work, I did get around to the thing and thoroughly enjoyed it--not just for the author's luridly over-the-top writing style, but also for the angle it threw...more

1 like · like · see review

May 13, 2013 Gopal Rao rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I tried reading a few chapters of Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas when I was in my twenties, and I was assigned a few stories like Strange Rumblings In Aztlan for a lit class as well, but I never really got into it the way I expected I would.

Hell's Angels is a bit different though. I think it was written before Thompson had fully realized his Raul Duke/Gonzo character, and it's noticeably better for it.

The story is ostensibly about an outlaw motorcycle gang and the hysteria that they evoke from...more I tried reading a few chapters of Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas when I was in my twenties, and I was assigned a few stories like Strange Rumblings In Aztlan for a lit class as well, but I never really got into it the way I expected I would.

Hell's Angels is a bit different though. I think it was written before Thompson had fully realized his Raul Duke/Gonzo character, and it's noticeably better for it.

The story is ostensibly about an outlaw motorcycle gang and the hysteria that they evoke from a fearful yet entranced public in the mid 1960's. It's really about the gaps between perception and reality that serve to spark that kind of hysteria, however, and the ways in which the press and politicians fuel it with dis-information and hyperbole.

It's a theme that develops slowly throughout the book, with contributions attributed to then-CA Attorney General Lynch, the nationwide press corps, including the New York Times, various backwoods police departments, and Thompson himself, who concludes the story with a brutal reminiscence of an unfortunate "misunderstanding" that quickly grows out of his control.

The Angels themselves, by Thompson's reckoning, are just a small, ragtag bunch of losers, rendered nearly useless in the modern economy by their lack of education and paucity of technical skills beyond motorcycle repair. But that doesn't stop the people and the people in power from building them up from a band of small-time hoods into a threat to the very fabric of society, and one that attracts bountiful crowds everywhere they go.

Shop keepers sell truckloads of beer, sheriffs recruit dozens of hastily deputized (and armed) local boys, and politicians grandstand about the burgeoning menace that must be stopped.

Thompson inserts his own first person perspectives throughout the story, which begins as a somewhat journalistic report, but soon becomes more of a colorful memoir. His wit is sharp, and his insights gave me at least few chuckles. Notably lacking from the narrative is the proto-psychedelic rambling that seemed to play such an important part of his Fear & Loathing story. Thompson professes his powerful taste for the hops, but stops well short of dissolving his prose into a puddle of drug-induced paranoia, the way his later works seem to delight in.

As a Northern California native, I also enjoyed the time-capsule depictions of the people and places that dotted this region in the mid-60's setting, which seems to play as important of a role in this story as do the outlaw bikers themselves.(less)

like · see review

Aug 10, 2012 Scott rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I recently read Ancient Gonzo Wisdom, which is a collection of all of the interviews HST ever gave, going all the way back to when he was barely a writer at all. Most of the early pages of AGW are devoted to his new book Hell’s Angels, and the trouble he got into toward the end of it. Long story kinda short: Hunter was a broke magazine writer that wrote an article about the Hell’s Angels. Some publisher wanted him to write a book about them and gave him some money to do it. This was in the mid-1...more

1 like · like · see review

Jul 31, 2012 Ruth rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Despite my reluctance to become a fan of HST, I did like parts of this book and his is a snappy writer. I would not call it great, or amazing, or terrifying. It is about, of course, the infamous motorcycle gang. I read it on and off for awhile, and despite enjoying the writing, found the topic at best only mildly interesting. Maybe it's just dated--it was published in 1966.

The descriptions are great, but the narrative of greasy bikers drinking numberless beers and getting into brawls, no matter...more

like · see review

Apr 25, 2012 David rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Nuns, clowns, salesmen, rodeo riders

Recommended to David by: A strange green man from Mars

Shelves: alternate-history, art, challenging-ideas, far-out-funky, favourite-books, popular-culture, usa, alternate-lifestyles

Back in the early days of Earths history, some nice swarms of bio-mass algae grew to such extent in the oceans that they formed floating islands like a carpet metres thick and hundreds of miles wide. These energetic algae sucked up the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and pumped out oxygen as farts, giving Earth a breathable atmosphere for species inclined to favour oxygen. The algae grew to such an extent that it doomed itself by its success. As the atmosphere changed and the carbon dioxide t...more

like · see review

Apr 21, 2012 David Sarkies rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: People who like Gonzo Journalism and Criticism of Modern Society

Recommended to David by: Jason Hayes

Shelves: sociology

I had been meaning to read this book for quite a while, ever since a friend of mine mentioned it to me years ago, however I was never actually looking out for it. Then recently, Penguin decided to release a number of books in a new mass market format, similar to their original released back in their early days. The books that they released in this new format were inexpensive and were collected from various authors throughout history. I actually appreciated this because they selected a lot of le...more I had been meaning to read this book for quite a while, ever since a friend of mine mentioned it to me years ago, however I was never actually looking out for it. Then recently, Penguin decided to release a number of books in a new mass market format, similar to their original released back in their early days. The books that they released in this new format were inexpensive and were collected from various authors throughout history. I actually appreciated this because they selected a lot of lesser known books that I probably would not have read if I had not seen them.
One of the books that I grabbed was Junky by William Burroughs, and the other was this one. The reason I grabbed them because not only were they short, but they also fell into the category of 'dodgy'. I say 'dodgy' because in many ways they are not the sort of books that the average middle class reader would pick up and read, but then again the average middle class reader is likely to pick up and read airport trash (though this is not strictly the case, particularly with some of the avid readers that I know at work).
The opening sentence of this book captivate me, and I cannot remember it strictly especially since I do not have a copy of the book on hand. Hold it, isn't that what the internet is for? The description of the Hell's Angels rider 'like Gengis Kahn on an iron horse, a monster steed with a firey anus' simply captivated me to a point where I could not put it down. I had read Thompson before (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas) and I must admit that I found that book really amusing, however this was the first time that I had decided to return to his writings to see what he was like with his other books. I must admit that his style of writing, and journalism, called Gonzo Journalism, is different, and refreshing.
Thompson takes us on a tour through what he considers to be a 'misunderstood part of American culture'. This book was written during the Vietnam War so at this stage the bikie clubs had not had their ranks filled with returning vets. However, at one point he does describe the 'Linkhorns' that being the indentured labourers and poor people who had come over to the United States in hope of finding a better life, but never actually doing so. As such they continue to move off to the west in an attempt to better their life, but that never actually comes, and instead of finding a new land and wealth for themselves, they simply fall into the dark undercurrents of the society that is developing.
In many cases people suggest that the Hell's Angels of this book and the Hell's Angels of today are two different organisations. I cannot vouch for that statement as my interaction with bikie gangs have been limited at best. I have known people who have been connected, and I have spoken with them about things, but myself, I have never really been involved. It is interesting though because our government seemed to take a disliking to the bikie gangs above and beyond the normal distrust. There was a section of Adelaide where they used to congregated, but the bulldozers moved in, flattened the suburbed, and put up new, more expensive, townhouses in their place. They also enacted laws (struck down by the High Court of Australia) banning the groups and any such associations. Thank God that the High Court intervened, because I can assure you that while today it is the Hell's Angels, tomorrow it is the Greens, the Christians, and the Liberal Party Supporters.
It is a bit of a shame that I cannot remember this book too well, but what Thompson tries to paint is that all they really are is a misunderstood subculture. Okay, at the end they go to town on him, but as it turns out it was because he never actually told them that he was going to write a book about them, and that he was researching their lifestyle. Throughout the book we are reminded of how the police go out of their way to persecute and harrass, so they will be cautious nonetheless, so when it comes to light that Thompson is writing about them, no wonder they are pissed.
We do go on a journey with them, and meet the bikie girls and enjoy a weekend at a lake with them. In many cases there seems to just be an awful lot of alcohol, but the drugs do come into the scene. We meet Ken Kesey at the end of the book having one of his massive drug parties, and in a way I was surprised to encounter this side of Kesey. I remember reading One Flew Over the Cuckoo's nest in high school and was stunned to discover that the writings of this drug fiend is being promoted in our schools. Hey, I don't particularly care, and as one friend of mine said, if 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' is the worst book that schools are forcing children to read, then she would be happy.
This is a short, well written, and entertaining book. I cannot vouch for whether it is relevant for today in that much has changed over the years. I cannot even say if it is relevant to Australia. While Thompson does try to open up a 'misunderstood' subculture in America, I still note that it is a violent subculture, and I must admit that I am a delicate person who really does not like to get into fights, or at least physical fights. However, I guess this is simply the nature of males, in that when angry, they lash out in anger, and fly into a rage, but two days later they will be back in the same pub drinking beer. However, I'm not entirely convinced of this description, as males are also more than capable of holding grudges, and I suspect that the higher up the food chain you go, the more likely they are to hold grudges (I known I do, even though I paint it over with the veneer of respect and trust, but that is an argument and discussion for another day).(less)

like · see review

Jan 09, 2012 Nick Sweeney rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Was this the book that started gonzo journalism? I had a copy for years, and never got round to reading it, and don’t know what happened to it. As you probably know, HST was a pop culture journalist who had some contacts with the Angels of the San Francisco area, and was soon hanging out with them. It is a good look at the HA lifestyle; they strip Harleys down and ride them, they hold parties, drink a lot and take drugs, they go on big runs across the state, they cause trouble if they’re in the...more Was this the book that started gonzo journalism? I had a copy for years, and never got round to reading it, and don’t know what happened to it. As you probably know, HST was a pop culture journalist who had some contacts with the Angels of the San Francisco area, and was soon hanging out with them. It is a good look at the HA lifestyle; they strip Harleys down and ride them, they hold parties, drink a lot and take drugs, they go on big runs across the state, they cause trouble if they’re in the mood to do so, they never refuse a challenge. They also have to go to HA meetings, pay rent, hold down jobs, procreate, pay alimony, pay fines, go to jail. HST does look at this other side of the Angels, but mostly it seems to focus on the partying and trouble. It never seemed to me, even as a kid, that it was a glamorous existence in any way, and this was borne out for me by this book. HST verges on the critical sometimes, describes them as a strange form of grown man who has solemn gang meetings, drinks till he’s sick and takes any kind of drug just because it’s available, but I sometimes felt he wasn’t critical enough, that he was trying to remain too neutral – and that’s something you can’t really do if you want to hang onto the fact that you’re a journalist. And as it turned out, it didn’t matter with the Angels; if one of them took a dislike to you, that was it – they were all committed to that dislike, or at least those nearby were, even if they’d be friendly or tolerant of him up to that point. He got the stomping he’d been fearing, at last, and for no offence, as far as he could see – though he doesn’t seem to have considered that some of the Angels might have seen his simple presence among them as an offence. I think with a gang as uncompromising as the Angels, you can’t be with them and yet not of them. An entertaining book, nonetheless, from which I learned a lot about a culture I only perceived, as a kid, on the odd page of scurrilous muck-raking moral panic in crap newspapers.(less)

1 like · like · see review

Dec 19, 2011 Ensiform rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The book that cemented Thompson’s reputation as the premier journalist of the crazed, and deservedly so. Thompson rode and hung with the Angels for a couple of years, and he presents them, at the height of their notoriety, through his own cynical, paranoiac freak prism. So we see the Angels as bearded, drooling, vicious outlaws ready to rape or stomp anything and anyone who crosses their path, but we also see them as tired old goons, knowing full well that they’re losers, and just trying to hang...more

like · see review

Dec 01, 2011 Matt Pawinski rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Hell's Angels: a Strange and Terrible Saga, by Hunter S. Thompson, is an autobiographical novel about his encounters with the Hell's Angels. One thing that I thought was interesting is how he became involved with the Hell's Angels for two years to write this book. During those two years he shares many drunken and drug induced nights and more then once shared some nasty beatings. The language he uses in the novel is exciting and keeps your attention: "...like Genghis Khan on an iron horse, a mons...more Hell's Angels: a Strange and Terrible Saga, by Hunter S. Thompson, is an autobiographical novel about his encounters with the Hell's Angels. One thing that I thought was interesting is how he became involved with the Hell's Angels for two years to write this book. During those two years he shares many drunken and drug induced nights and more then once shared some nasty beatings. The language he uses in the novel is exciting and keeps your attention: "...like Genghis Khan on an iron horse, a monster steed with a fiery anus," he describes one of the scene at California Labor day weekend as the notorious Hell's Angels blow into town ready to rock and roll. He uses evidence from newspaper and magazine articles about the Hell's Angels activity and states whether the stories are correct or not using his own experiences with them.

The story starts off with a series of newspaper articles about the Hell's Angels and then he writes about the articles. Later in the book he joins the Angels for a two year long period to report on their activities. The Angels were aware he was writing a story about them. It is interesting to note that Thompson introduced the Angels to Ken Kesey, the leader of the Merry Pranksters and the famed Acid Tests of the 1960's, and acid. One thing important about the Hell's Angels is that once your in the gang it is in your best interest not to leave. There were stories in the novel where some Angels wanted to leave to raise a family but every so often he was targeted by other members and beat up for leaving. While during his stay with the Hells Angels at a party he was beaten half to death by other angels because he tried to save a girl from being beaten by one of the Angels for not cooperating. Hunter tried to save the girl and then he got beaten and was banished from the Hell's Angels. After Hunter Thompson finished this book he received lots of death threats and some of the reasoning was because he left and they didn't like that and the other reason was because the Angels felt insulted when they read his book about them.

I was clueless of the Hell's Angels before I read this novel but Hunter Thompson did a good job of describing who they were and why they were so famous. I liked reading this book and I highly recommend people read it because of its exciting and creative language. The story was exciting the whole way through. (less)

like · see review

May 10, 2011 Tocotin rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: borrowed-books, nonfiction

I knew next to nothing about Hell's Angels, so it was an educating trip. But at the end I'm not really sure what the author really thought about them, and I understand about being objective, but I'd like to know... probably at the end, when he got beaten by the group of people he had been hanging out with for a year, and whom he had studied and amused (being amused by them in turn) - at the end his last words were "exterminate all the brutes!", and that was possibly the closest thing to a conclu...more

1 like · like · see review

Mar 23, 2011 Nick Vandermolen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: self-induced-brain-change, face-down-prove, lb-tell-all, feral-brothers

I'm a fan of literature from the 60's and 70's, it was a time before computers and modern consumerism. But it was just on the cusp. With the addition of drugs, crazy freak-your-brain mind expansion drugs life on the edge was all that much better. It was during this edge time, a point when something changes from a solid to a liquid, tremendous energy was released, that energy: the freewheeling barbarians - THE HELLS ANGELS. In a way I envy their every move. Their complete freedom and disregard, t...more

like · see review

Dec 22, 2010 illiterate Inconsiderate rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Well, Mr. Thompson I have to say that as a piece of investigative gonzo journalism, I think I finally feel a little let down by your critique of the Hell's Angels. I do appreciate the submersion you endured within the novel. However my major contensions are with how the hell's angels are never pressed or asked about obvious racist patches the adorn themselves with, such as iron crosses and swastikas. Instead you try to show how they sling around the word "nigger" and have members of different ra...more

2 likes · like · see review

Oct 07, 2010 Donna rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction, history, biography-memoir, library

This was a quick read about a group that everyone has heard of but not many people seem to know much about. Thompson spent a year or so hanging out with the Hell's Angels, so the book includes a lot of his first-hand experiences. He also wrote about both the public perception of the Hell's Angels in the mid-60s and about how they viewed themselves.

It includes a lot of facts and stories, but they aren't overly sensationalized or romanticized. One of my favorite aspects was Thompson's criticism of...more

1 like · like · see review

Jan 27, 2010 Jeffrey rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A friend let me borrow this book almost two years ago now. It was the first piece of Thompson that I had ever read and I burned through it in a little more than a day. It was nearly impossible for me to put down and I have been hooked on Hunter S. Thompson ever since. This was HST's first major published work and it essentially put him on the map and provided him with the money to fund the various exploits that he would perform later in life.
The book resulted from a year long assignment where H...more

like · see review

Jan 20, 2010 Jennifer Brearly rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

s Thompson aficionados are probably aware Hell's Angels is Hunter's first real foray into the sustained writing that would make us smile or be provoked to call for his head on a platter for the next forty years. Although the text clearly demonstrates that this is not a piece of `gonzo' journalism, as it later came to be known, one can see the outline of where he could be heading in this book on probably the most famous outlaw motorcycle gang in American history. The line between Thompson the rep...more s Thompson aficionados are probably aware Hell's Angels is Hunter's first real foray into the sustained writing that would make us smile or be provoked to call for his head on a platter for the next forty years. Although the text clearly demonstrates that this is not a piece of `gonzo' journalism, as it later came to be known, one can see the outline of where he could be heading in this book on probably the most famous outlaw motorcycle gang in American history. The line between Thompson the reporter and Thompson the participant is still fairly clear but one can see just enough sympathy with the subject matter of his book to see where he might be heading. His major `gonzo' work and most famous book Fear and Loathing in Los Vegas thus did not just come out of the blue.

And what of the subject matter of his book, the infamous Hell's Angels that in my youth my mother warned me against incessantly? As noted above Hunter gained a grudging sympathy for them during his yearlong experience in and around their hangouts and their nefarious various doings in Northern California. Some of the antics that they were involved in like their `robust' partying in natural settings and scaring the `squares' seem a little dated, and juvenile. Their gratuitous violence, however, seems rather too familiar.

The more sociological aspects of their marginal social existence is far more interesting and Thompson does a good job of identifying the post-World War II American times that gave rise to such self-defining outcasts. This phenomenon enters the books as one of the outcomes that occur when the Turner thesis on the effects of the end of the frontier and land's end get fleshed out in sunny California. While these men, and they were almost exclusively white Anglo-Saxon men (the women involved with them are a separate and in some ways more interesting question although in the book a marginal one), came from mainly working class backgrounds the details provided by Thompson portrays a classic lumpenproletarian milieu. Thus, politics, protest or allegiance to other organizations meant nothing to them. Forget all that intellectual gibberish, it was about the bikes, man. Dr. Freud can read what he wants into that. Dr. Thompson gives it to us straight.(less)

like · see review

Oct 06, 2009 Tpeter rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Not a complete page-turner, and not nearly as brilliant as 'fear and loathing', this is none the less well worth reading, full of captivating hipster-language, and weird insights into the subculture of the Hells Angels.
Hunter S. Thompson is a brilliant investigative journalist both able to give a high-flying sociological analysis of the Angels, and at the same time (quite unlike most sociologists) able to blend in with them - ride bikes, drink and consume drugs with the best... "showing real cl...more

like · see review

Aug 06, 2009 christa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Is there anything more delicious than when the infamous writes about the infamous. I'm hardly one of those whacked-out Hunter S. Thompson-ophiles, but "Hell's Angels," his nonfiction-ish account of spending the mid-1960s with the motorcycle club as it revved its way into mainstream media is a total kick.

"Weird as it seems, as this gang of costumed hoodlums converged on Monterey that morning they were on the verge of 'making it big,' as the showbiz people say, and they would owe most of their su...more Is there anything more delicious than when the infamous writes about the infamous. I'm hardly one of those whacked-out Hunter S. Thompson-ophiles, but "Hell's Angels," his nonfiction-ish account of spending the mid-1960s with the motorcycle club as it revved its way into mainstream media is a total kick.

"Weird as it seems, as this gang of costumed hoodlums converged on Monterey that morning they were on the verge of 'making it big,' as the showbiz people say, and they would owe most of their success to a curious rape mania that rides on the shoulder of American journalism like some jeering, masturbating raven. Nothing grabs an editor's eye like a good rape."

Thompson follows their runs, when the group converges on a city, which preemptively terrorizes the locals, who envision all the raping and pillaging they are about to have foisted upon them. It's not a basis-less fear: the Angel's are known for brawls and gang bangs -- although they tend to reason that the women they encounter know what they are in for. He writes about their commitment to uncleanliness, the bikers' uniform and the rumors of inner-circle homosexuality. The drinking and the drugs, and their day jobs -- or lack thereof -- and seemingly pedestrian pursuits. As they grow in popularity, the Hell's Angels become publicity seekers who eventually want to charge money to share their stories.

Associating with Hell's Angels does little for Hunter Thompson's reputation with his neighbors, and he is evicted when there are complaints about these visiting motorcyclists and their wild ways. In my favorite moment of the book, Thompson turns to the reader to confess that the really bad stuff wasn't even done by Hells Angels. Their visits, he says, were just loud music, a few bikes on the sidewalk, and an occasional shot out back window.

"Most of the bad action came on nights when there was no Angels around: One of my most respectible visitors, an advertising executive from New York, became hungry after a long night of drink and stole a ham from the refrigerator of a nearby apartment; another guest set my mattress afire with a flare and we had to throw it out the back window; another ran wild in the street with a high-powered Falcon air horn normally carried on boats for use as a distress signal."

Not to mention the time a visiting poet chucked a garbage can under the wheels of a passing bus.

In the last third of the book, Thompson gives the Angels a bit of access to his life. This is where the Angels start hanging out on Ken Kesey's land and taking LSD, which strangely mellows them out. There is Neal Cassady and Allen Ginsberg and nudity and police cars.

(Obviously I'm going to have to read "Electric Kool Aid Acid Test" now, since I enjoyed this so much.)

(less)

like · see review

Jul 02, 2009 Keeno rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction

At the time of publication the Hells Angels were a home grown menace that was both real and imagined (and they owe not a little of that infamy to the media as HST aptly points out). They have since evolved from their simple nomad rabble rouser days to being mischievous enough to earn the ire of the F.B.I. along with the rest of the “Big Four” outlaw gangs. In the “Quebec Biker War” between the Angels and the “Rock Machine”, over 150 people were killed which is on par with the biggest Cosa Nostra...more At the time of publication the Hells Angels were a home grown menace that was both real and imagined (and they owe not a little of that infamy to the media as HST aptly points out). They have since evolved from their simple nomad rabble rouser days to being mischievous enough to earn the ire of the F.B.I. along with the rest of the “Big Four” outlaw gangs. In the “Quebec Biker War” between the Angels and the “Rock Machine”, over 150 people were killed which is on par with the biggest Cosa Nostra conflicts in the U.S.A. So while average citizens don’t generally walk in fear of the Hells Angels it is a stretch to consider biker gangs to be an insignificant thing of the past.

For my part I thought that it was very interesting and surprisingly fair considering that the author was in effect part of the Angels camp by association. Drawing from first hand experience from “runs” that he participated in and primary source interviews, HST pulls no punches in calling it as he sees it. Often he points out the illogical doctrines of gang mentality and inherent irony at their loss individuality in the attempt to distance themselves from society at large and their law abiding motorcycle counterparts without the evangelical fire of an outsider looking in.

It is precisely because the book is not “nearly as Gonzo” (as stated by another reviewer) as some of his seminal works that Thompson makes a credible account. He doesn’t overly vilify the Angels nor does he belittle their loyalty to one another and the jocular perspective on what they consider to be a misfit lifestyle. His commentary carries perspective because he is accomplice by mild participation but he never quite loses the stigma of “the establishment” by the Angels own admission. This is punctuated at the close by the stomping he takes from the hands and boots of some of the Angels. Despite that he chooses not to close with malice but with words of affection for some of the Angels he grew to know as people beyond the colors.

Thompson’s account was researched, thorough and insightful. He never offers a conclusion or even a reason why—only a what. For that he offers the reader a ride with the perhaps the most infamous of the world’s outlaw motorcycle gangs.

“There is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over. The others-the living-are those who pushed their control as far as they felt they could handle it, and then pulled back, or slowed down, or did whatever they had to when it came to choose between Now and Later. But the edge is still out there. Or maybe it’s in. The association of motorcycles with LSD is no accident of publicity. They are both a means to an end, to the place of definitions.”

-Hunter S. Thompson: Hell’s Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga of The Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs-
(less)

like · see review

Jun 27, 2009 Michael rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

My girlfriend had just finished this book, and I had run out of Terry Pratchett (for the moment), so I picked it up. It's good.c Hunter S. Thompson goes well out of his way to rock out with a pack of 60s and 70 Hell's Angels, way out there in Cali. He does a great job of confronting and dispelling a great deal of the rumors of these modern pirates, but at times I think he simply painted them how he wanted to see them.
Thompson does his best to bring out the basic humanity of his subjects, whom he...more

like · see review

Apr 09, 2009 Libby rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: social-commentary

This was a really interesting book about the early history of the Hells Angels MC. I was more interested in Hunter S Thompsons writing style though, I wanted to see what his early stuff was like. It was fairly entertaining, pretty balanced and keenly observant. He did not speak a great deal about his personal involvement though, I would have loved to have heard more details about the times he spent with the club...he did not delve into many personal opinions and appeared to skip over his relatio...more

like · see review

Apr 06, 2009 Oren rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

My new SF Public Library card was largely put to use last year boning-up on local history of the late 1960s. I'm a big fan of music from that time, but claim no real knowledge of that time. I'm interested since my parents grew up through that decade which came just before my life.

Hunter S. Thompson's voice just connects with my thoughts! My sister got me "The Great Shark Hunt" which I just could not read when I first tried. It was like reading a foreign language, which maybe those who know about...more My new SF Public Library card was largely put to use last year boning-up on local history of the late 1960s. I'm a big fan of music from that time, but claim no real knowledge of that time. I'm interested since my parents grew up through that decade which came just before my life.

Hunter S. Thompson's voice just connects with my thoughts! My sister got me "The Great Shark Hunt" which I just could not read when I first tried. It was like reading a foreign language, which maybe those who know about my teetotaling and drug abstinence would suggest was exactly what I was attempting. Persistence and some context paid-off. Seeing 'Fear and Loathing' the movie and doing some more reading about Doctor Thompson resulted in a synchronization of my reading and his writing. I highly recommend the film documentary of his life from last year.

Hell's Angels references abound, so the prospect of finally reading the book which probably set the motorcycle group firmly in the era's history excited me. The SF Chapter's clubhouse also sits not far from my home and I'd recently taken a walking tour which included the Hell's Angels clubhouse. The intimidation and blood circulation felt when three of these guys roar off on their bikes right in front of their own clubhouse is unique and memorable. The experience was topped off by the recent murder of the local club leader by a rival gang!

The historical background on motorcycle groups fascinates me. Thompson hypothesizes as much as recites other accounts, that World War II vets came back from the war and got bored with civilian life pretty quickly. Storming around on fast, powerful American motorcycles, boozing, and cracking heads was more fitting returned war heros than buttoning up a starched shirt and walking past a green, manicured lawn at the same time everyday toting a briefcase to an office full of similarly disguised, socially conforming men.

So one of the original 1950s gangs, the Booze Fighers, supposedly merged and grew into what is now the Hell's Angels. Started in Southern California, the group might have developed out of inspirations formed from events at the Hollister(central/Northern California) motorcycle hill climb depicted in the 1953 Laslo Benedek film "The Wild One" starring Marlon Brando.

Thompson's report of Hells Angels members and their activities again brings into strong question the difference between observation and written reports. Several famous accounts of Hells Angels crimes depict them as debased animals, raping and pillaging through small towns on top of fire-driven bikes.
I found particularly fun reading the way Thompson balances between the acceptance and trust he built with members and his own knowledge that he was, in some perspective, a complete outsider. Even superficial, if that isn't all that's at play, cues like Thompson's choice of a very fast English bike instead of a Harley is humorous to me, especially against the back-drop of my own Triumph and Harley-riding uncles and grandfather.(less)

like · see review

May 21, 2013 Carly Miller rated it 4 of 5 stars

This quote basically sums up the book:

“They saw themselves as modern Robin Hoods…virile, inarticulate brutes whose good instincts got warped somewhere in the struggle for self-expression and who spent the rest of their violent lives seeking revenge on a world that done them wrong when they were young and defenseless” (Page 66).

What a fascinating group of people! I'm not usually one to delve into non-fiction works, but the combined reputations of Hunter S. Thompson and the Hell's Angels was intr...more
This quote basically sums up the book:

“They saw themselves as modern Robin Hoods…virile, inarticulate brutes whose good instincts got warped somewhere in the struggle for self-expression and who spent the rest of their violent lives seeking revenge on a world that done them wrong when they were young and defenseless” (Page 66).

What a fascinating group of people! I'm not usually one to delve into non-fiction works, but the combined reputations of Hunter S. Thompson and the Hell's Angels was intriguing. I have always believed that evil actions are results of troubled pasts and the Angels seemed like a case study for my personal theory. Thompson notes that many Angels were war veterans with little more than the clothes on their backs and the 74 Harley-Davidson's between their legs. Imagine that life for just a second..........Tell me you wouldn't need an escape from your reality. It's no wonder bloodlust, inebriation and orgies that sometimes spiraled into rape became normal. These men were a unique breed.

Thompson’s final comment is a quote taken from The Heart of Darkness by Mistah Kurtz “The horror! The horror!...Exterminate all the brutes!" This actually disappointed me as far as endings go. The entire book appears to defend these people despite the propaganda against them. Then he is brutalized and he changed his tune. This was the only bit that rubbed me wrong. I liked seeing the Angels as actual people rather than as a unit of savages. I felt like Thompson WANTED me to see them in a positive light. I don't think his whole opinion should have been shattered based on his face being shattered. The people who didn't trust him were not people whom he trusted, they were all loose acquaintances or Angels he had never met. I appreciate that he gave readers a peek into the minds of the Hell's Angels, but I felt as though his ending remarks tainted the rest of the book.

Disclaimer--I don't think the Angels are heroes or good people. I do, however, think they were given a worse reputation than was necessary. (less)

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 99 100 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Hells Angels	2	26	Jan 17, 2013 08:56am
Book Review	1	11	Feb 12, 2012 01:12pm
Akins Hollis Engl...: SSR	1	2	Dec 02, 2011 08:07am
Akins Hollis Engl...: Hell's Angels	1	1	Nov 18, 2011 08:02am
Akins Hollis Engl...: The Hells Angels	1	1	Oct 21, 2011 07:50am
Fantastic Letters re the Book	5	23	Sep 30, 2011 09:34am
Akins Hollis Engl...: SSR hell's angels	1	1	Sep 30, 2011 08:17am

combine
Other Editions (39)

More editions...

Genres

Non Fiction

364 users

Writing > Journalism

89 users

History

58 users

Sociology

42 users

Mystery > Crime

41 users

Autobiography > Memoir

41 users

Biography

31 users

Culture

27 users

Crime > True Crime

22 users

Literature

22 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Hunter S. Thompson

Hunter Stockton Thompson was an American journalist and author, famous for his book Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. He is credited as the creator of Gonzo journalism, a style of reporting where reporters involve themselves in the action to such a degree that they become the central figures of their stories. He is also known for his promotion and use of psychedelics and other mind-altering substanc...more

More about Hunter S. Thompson...

Books by Hunter S. Thompson

Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72

The Great Shark Hunt: Strange Tales from a Strange Time

Kingdom of Fear: Loathsome Secrets of a Star-Crossed Child in the Final Days of the American Century

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About Hell's Angels

5 trivia questions

More quizzes & trivia...

Quotes from Hell's Angels: A Stran...

“All my life, my heart has sought a thing I cannot name.

Remembered line from a long-
forgotten poem” — 375 people liked it

“It was obvious that he was a man who marched through life to the rhythms of some drum I would never hear.” — 307 people liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga
avg rating	preview: Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga Goodreads rating: 3.98 (18305 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/78482.Hell_s_Angels?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320450605l/78482.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/78482.Hell_s_Angels?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga by Hunter S. Thompson[/url]

Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website