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Outlaw Biker: My Life At Full Throttle
Here is the true-life story of Richard "Deadeye" Hayes in all its bad-ass, balls-to-the-wall glory. This is a man who stole a machine gun before he was seven and lost his left eye when a good friend shot him in the face. As a member-and then president-of the infamous Los Valientes Motorcycle Club, he broke more laws and had more fun that any six of the coolest guys you know.
One of the last true Outlaw Bikers, Deadeye knows what it means to be a man, take shit from no one, and have tattoos that actually say something. Riding, drug dealing, and sending men to the hospital with his bare hands, Deadeye made himself a legend among bikers- all the while making sure his daughters never got mixed up with guys like him.
In his own words, Deadeye tells it all. From earning his colors with an outlaw motorcycle club to his steady diet of drugs, sex, violence, and crime, this is his story: true to life, yet larger than life, and full throttle all the way.
One of the last true Outlaw Bikers, Deadeye knows what it means to be a man, take shit from no one, and have tattoos that actually say something. Riding, drug dealing, and sending men to the hospital with his bare hands, Deadeye made himself a legend among bikers- all the while making sure his daughters never got mixed up with guys like him.
In his own words, Deadeye tells it all. From earning his colors with an outlaw motorcycle club to his steady diet of drugs, sex, violence, and crime, this is his story: true to life, yet larger than life, and full throttle all the way.
191 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
August 4, 2015
What do you get when you add a 72 year old college English professor to aged adolescent with a penchant for violence and an appetite for drugs? You get an addled, incoherent mess masquerading as an autobiography.
It's hard to know who to blame for Outlaw Biker, the high school dropout whom this book is about or the English professor? What could have been a Scorsesesque tale of drugs, sex, gambling and the outlaw biker lifestyle turned out to be 190 pages of muddle. Instead of a tale that leads you through the story, pulling together the events of a life, each chapter behaves more like a 6th grade theme. Each chapter covers multiple years with no structure to ground the reader in any semblance of what's happening when and in relation to other events. The book begins in a diner on a rainy night which has no connection to anything else in the book and becomes essentially a wasted chapter. One chapter is devoted to the various stings, bites, stabbings, and shootings suffered by Hayes. Another covers his time as an accidental pimp, still others are devoted to trips to Las Vegas, dealing drugs, and running restaurant kitchens. Most of the chapters overlap and seem to cover decades, but who can really tell?
Surely there must be a story here and it could be a good one, had only Mary Gardner worked with Hayes to structure the book in a more chronological order. A profound event in the book, the death of Hayes best friend Butch could have been an outstanding starting point in a Scorsese fashion, then take the reader on a ride from Hayes childhood building the foundation for why Butch's death was such a pivotal event, instead it comes near the end of the book and is muddled as the rest.
In the forward Gardner tell the reader she wants Hayes own words to tell the story. That she'd correct spelling, grammer, and ask questions to fill in the gaps. Apparently she didn't ask enough. Was she intimidated by her subject? A big tough biker? Or was this an attempt a literary realism or vernacular writing? Who can tell? At times Hayes comes through as a sensitive person reacting to a world he really doesn't understand or fit in with. At others he comes across as a bully. Had Gardner really filled in the blanks there is so much more we could have known about Hayes beyond an alcohol and drug fueled man often out of control.
It's hard to know who to blame for Outlaw Biker, the high school dropout whom this book is about or the English professor? What could have been a Scorsesesque tale of drugs, sex, gambling and the outlaw biker lifestyle turned out to be 190 pages of muddle. Instead of a tale that leads you through the story, pulling together the events of a life, each chapter behaves more like a 6th grade theme. Each chapter covers multiple years with no structure to ground the reader in any semblance of what's happening when and in relation to other events. The book begins in a diner on a rainy night which has no connection to anything else in the book and becomes essentially a wasted chapter. One chapter is devoted to the various stings, bites, stabbings, and shootings suffered by Hayes. Another covers his time as an accidental pimp, still others are devoted to trips to Las Vegas, dealing drugs, and running restaurant kitchens. Most of the chapters overlap and seem to cover decades, but who can really tell?
Surely there must be a story here and it could be a good one, had only Mary Gardner worked with Hayes to structure the book in a more chronological order. A profound event in the book, the death of Hayes best friend Butch could have been an outstanding starting point in a Scorsese fashion, then take the reader on a ride from Hayes childhood building the foundation for why Butch's death was such a pivotal event, instead it comes near the end of the book and is muddled as the rest.
In the forward Gardner tell the reader she wants Hayes own words to tell the story. That she'd correct spelling, grammer, and ask questions to fill in the gaps. Apparently she didn't ask enough. Was she intimidated by her subject? A big tough biker? Or was this an attempt a literary realism or vernacular writing? Who can tell? At times Hayes comes through as a sensitive person reacting to a world he really doesn't understand or fit in with. At others he comes across as a bully. Had Gardner really filled in the blanks there is so much more we could have known about Hayes beyond an alcohol and drug fueled man often out of control.
June 26, 2024
Didn't buy it
I've read some true stories happening in mc world and this one is not it, sorry. Other than few laughable moments, not much of a read.
I've read some true stories happening in mc world and this one is not it, sorry. Other than few laughable moments, not much of a read.
February 12, 2016
The whole book was mediocre as per other readers review. HOWEVER, final few chapters revealed some genuine and sincere insights about brotherhood, true friendship and biker connection. Even though throughout the book I had this feeling that I will learn absolutely nothing from it (qualifies to be a bad book) towards the end I really enjoyed stories about the gang members and how they were more than just friends. Summa summarum - if you like bikes, this is not a book for your, if you don't like bikes this also isn't a book for you, but if you want a nice story about boozing, fighting, drug selling and biker friendship then you might actually enjoy it.
September 13, 2009
I'm open to learn about lifestyles that I'll NEVER live, and so what could be more different than me than a motorcycle biker??
As a memoir, it was good...little snippets of his life in a mostly linear time line. It could have been longer! And I like that he wrote it in his own voice, not all prettied up.
As a memoir, it was good...little snippets of his life in a mostly linear time line. It could have been longer! And I like that he wrote it in his own voice, not all prettied up.
September 18, 2013
It's pretty much what you would expect from an "Outlaw Biker" book. It chronicles the life of Richard "DeadEye" Hayes, his associates and their exploits.
Nothing really new here, that is, if you grew up around or were ever associated with bikers.
It gives a face to the "reap what you sow principle" in life. So this books serves as a life-lesson on not to do life.
Nothing really new here, that is, if you grew up around or were ever associated with bikers.
It gives a face to the "reap what you sow principle" in life. So this books serves as a life-lesson on not to do life.
April 10, 2014
This is basically a jumble of poorly written stories without an underlying theme. Some interesting shenanigans, but for the most part it's just a guy talking about riding his bike, going to vegas, doing a lot of drugs, getting into a lot of fights. I thought it would be something more revealing about biker culture.
October 29, 2008
Real life biker autobiography. I short read and interesting- he talked to a lawyer about the statute of limitations for prosecution about all the things he's done- so he left out a couple of things for which the statute has not run. Interesting.
February 7, 2009
The book is horribly written. It's stilted, careens all over the place, the storyline is all out of whack...and it's awesome as hell. I loved every minute I was reading it, even if the flow did pull me out of my head every other page or so.
April 13, 2009
Not as good as I was hoping. The author has had an interesting life and has lots of good stories, but it's not put together very well. It reads as a bunch of random anecdotes with no chronological or any order making it seem like a bunch of disjointed short stories rather than a memoir/biography.
January 31, 2012
The NAME of this book is Outlaw biker, but it won't let me add that. Author is Mary Gardner.
Interesting in that it is a real-life account of his life *+(of course missing certain things to keep him fomr prosectuion) ;)
Interesting in that it is a real-life account of his life *+(of course missing certain things to keep him fomr prosectuion) ;)
November 13, 2013
Great stories! I felt like I was talking to a buddy at the bar... Not the greatest story teller. Worth the read though.
November 16, 2014
No disrespect, but this has the tone of drunken rambles from an uncle who "lived the most interesting life in the world".
February 10, 2015
Charles Manson meets Charlie Chaplin through Evel Knievel.
October 3, 2012
Worst book i've read.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews