The One Percenter Encyclopedia

by Bill Hayes

This is the only complete encyclopedia of one-percenter motorcycle clubs. Concise entries include information on founding chapters, founding dates, number of chapters, number of members and club biography.

Genres: History

259 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2011

Reviews

[Randal White · Rating 2 out of 5]

Naive and shallow This book is confusing to me, at the least. It claims to be, in his words, an "education that gives the devil-and his death's head- his due. It gives respect and recognition to the righteous god who placed the tattooed flesh and the crossed bones into the body of modern biker culture". Sounds ominous, doesn't it? Like the author is really going to tell us something? No, what the book consists of is a encyclopedic listing of motorcycle clubs throughout the United States. An occasional blurb by a member of a group, but nothing in depth. The author has managed to identify many of the "outlaw" biker groups in America. He gives a very brief, thumbnail sketch of each group. Information that could have been found in a simple search of the web. But, hey, at least the groups are listed all in one place. You could use the list to start more substantial research into the clubs. The author states in the beginning, "this book is dedicated to the positive energy and power of the motorcycle club community". He states that he is not interested in listing the "clean-living" motorcycle groups. He even presents an old, pre-internet, portion of a law enforcement manual about motorcycle gangs. Sure, it is comical in today's world, but, as a retired law enforcement officer myself, it is what we had available to us at the time. Laugh if he will at it, but I assure the author that the information law enforcement has today is much more serious and thorough. Also in the beginning, the author quotes a member of the Bandidos motorcycle group, defining what a "1%-er" is. "One percenter - it only means that we're the best....but all it means is we're the best of the best". I find that laughable, as I am sure the guy who told the author it does. I had 28 years of experience dealing with outlaw motorcycle gang members, including candid conversations with many of them while they were incarcerated in Federal prisons. One percenter means the member is deemed to be the worst of the worst, the 1% who openly defy societies rules and norms. And they are extremely proud of that status. And woe onto a guy who wears the patch without earning it. A true 1%er will teach him a lesson he will never forget. The author seems to have stars in his eyes, buying into the myth of a 1%er as a noble knight riding his horse. He fails to even touch on the seedier side of outlaw motorcycle gangs. The dealing of drugs, the stolen merchandise, the abuse of women. I would be willing to bet that there are true one percenter's out there reading the book and laughing their butts off at how naive the author is! It almost makes me wish I was still working, so I could share this with them and see their reaction.
 

[Tom Mueller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bill Hayes did a good job detailing the history of clubs, without the dramatization that is so easy to fall into in any work discussing 1%ers. This work gives the reader an unbiased and factual rendering of all the clubs I know of, and some I had not heard of. The amount of space given each club is in accordance to the size of the club in most regards, with one notable exception. HAMC is given much more coverage than other clubs. In the authors (who is not a Biker) defense, the reason is likely due to the notoriety of HA; over the top media coverage, as well as their involvement in 1960s biker flics. Whereas most clubs keep a low profile in the name of self-preservation, HA have indulged in self promotion.
A most notable quote attributed to the Chosen Few - Buffalo, NY - is "If we all rode together, imagine how strong we could be!" (p. 49). Indeed! The implied premise behind that quote is that Bikers have a common enemy. The threat of that enemy would be minimized if we stood together as a force against that common enemy. I can visualize the snicker on the "alphabet gangs" collective face when we do harm to one another. Togetherness pretty much was where it was at early on, at least through the early to mid 1960s. For more on this and "the way it was", see The Bikeriders, by Danny Lyon. It may be a little hard to find, but is very enlightening and well worth the hunt. For more on our common enemy, see Hayes' Chapter titled "Manual - Cop Guide to Bikers" (p. 226). It is laughable, but reflects the mentality we're up against. Just how many foot pegs have you seen that are capable of firing 12 gauge shells?
Two things about this work that go against the grain are "Printed in China" (so sue me; I'm ethnocentric), and my perception that the term "1%er" is applied to any club that claims it. An example is a certain club that claims to be family oriented, yet remain 1%ers.

[Ian Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

THE ONE PERCENTER ENCYCLOPEDIA By Bill Hayes Murdoch Books
Review by Ian Smith
Welcome to the world of three piece patches. If you’re looking for a book for all the family, you’ve come to the wrong place. However, if you’re into “The world of outlaw motorcycle clubs from Abyss Ghosts to Zombies Elite” then you might find some comfort here.”
It’s basically a compendium of all the bikie clubs that ever were and where they’re at today. So don’t be surprised when you see, under some gang names, …..forced to ‘disband due to many members’ arrest and general disorder.”…..
On how important the club is, “I see that kind of commitment as proof that a relationship filled with meaning, respect, loyalty, honor, love, support, protection, pride and selflessness is cherished and desired. And these men are exhibiting the same traits and values within their club that are both paramount and fundamental to a strong marital bond…….Furthermore, these men hold the bonds of brotherhood on a level equal to marriage. So, my take on being with a patch holder is that if you happen to be with one who wants both a club and marriage in his life, then you have found a pretty special man – a righteous man.”
For me, another telling quote is this one, “In all my years as a member of the Devils Disciples M.C.C., our policy has always been that our business is our business and nobody else’s. But now somebody wants to tell my club’s history so that any Tom, Dick and Harry can read about it. I don’t know why any club member would talk to someone about their club knowing that it will be read by some of the very people we take great measures to keep out of our lives.” Which explains the dearth of information about many of the clubs.
Whether or not the listed club has “..made the law enforcement map” crops up with expected regularity, though I couldn’t help but notice that some of the regular names in Australian law courts never got a mention.
There’s lots of pictures of club members and the listing must run into something well over a thousand. Whilst some clubs have obviously been contacted and comments and history from members is available, others are merely mentioned.
There’s also details on just how your motorcycle should be doctored to comply with the look generally accepted to make it a “bikie bike”.
There’s a bibliography at the rear by Gypsy Raoul that lists other volumes you may find interest in and, indeed, I found this the most informative section as it has several lengthy quotes with factual overtones.
The devil-may-care world of bikes, booze and broads is on show in this work though I suspect it will appeal to about 1 ½% of the population.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting and comprehensive - if surface-level - look at the MANY 1% OMGs around the world. I say "surface-level" because much of this book read like dictionary entries or phone book listings: a club name followed by a one or two sentence run-down of location, founding year, maybe a detail or two. A few entries did have a bit more info (mostly the pioneer and classic clubs), and there were a handful of anecdotes sprinkled in, which were cool to read. It would've been nice to see more photos and/or center patch images (especially since there were a lot of descriptions of these!). Finally, I feel it would be good to include a quick "list of terms" or something for people who don't have even a basic knowledge of MC slang.

*Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC, provided by the author and/or the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Jeff R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's clubs in here that I wouldn't have identified as one-percenters but he did a good job of putting together the basic histories of the clubs, and he covers almost every club operating at the time he wrote it. Not a must read, but if you're a journalist, academic, gang investigator, or just someone who may want the know the history on some obscure club you probably never heard of, this book is valuable.

[Sean C Ratkewicz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting if you like this format.

Pretty much an A to A guide of bike clubs with some semi-interesting dialog. A god introduction to the dark world.

[Dachokie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Field Goal Instead of a Touchdown ...

The ONE PERCENTER ENCYCLOPEDIA alludes to being an A-Z authority on outlaw motorcycle clubs ... a one-stop shop for anything/everything pertaining to such clubs ... quite appealing to anyone curious in learning more about the outlaw biker culture. While the book provides a nicely organized listing of outlaw clubs with a decent collection of color photos, it lacks the substantive content I was expecting for a book with "encyclopedia" in its title.

Organized alphabetically, THE ONE PERCENTER ENCYCLOPEDIA does provide general information about a large number of bike clubs, including a multitude of lesser-known groups. Most of the entries follow a standard base of details such as date of origin, estimated membership and the territory the clubs preside. As expected, the larger, more recognizable (infamous?) clubs receive more lavish, multiple-paged entries and more photographs, but not much .

Considering the subject matter, the listing of clubs is likely incomplete/ever-changing and the availability of elaborate details is understandably scant as secrecy plays a part into the one-percenter culture; I don't fault the author for this. My issue is that the book could have been so much more, well ... "encyclopedic". It would have been nice to see the colors/patch accompanying each club entry. The larger clubs do have known histories (proven by the numerous television documentaries like the "Gangland" series and books written by actual members) that could have provided significantly more information, timelines, leadership, etc. Appendices could have shed light on the various add-on patches and symbolism. Other, overview topics could have been covered as well: the numerous other patches worn, crime, tattoos, the role of women in these groups, a timeline of significant events and how the culture has progressed/regressed over the years.

The whole one-percenter culture is enigmatic, ominous and provocatively interesting to those who don't ride. I believe the ONE PERCENTER ENCYCLOPEDIA is an interesting and colorful presentation of a large list of outlaw biker clubs. One the surface, the book serves as a decent overview that covers a large number of the more obscure clubs and should satisfy those with little knowledge of such clubs. But for those who enjoy reading about biker clubs, the ONE PERCENTER ENCYCLOPEDIA will likely fall short of being the resource it is expected to be.

[Jo]

#TheOnePercenterEncyclopedia #NetGalley

A reference book about the bikers in America and the history about them. A good gift idea for motorcycles lovers or fathers day.