Customer comments on this selection.
Disappointed This is probably the weakest book on the topic I have read. The hardest to deal with is the author's weak writing style and use of profane misogynistic gutter language. This language used in context of describing the behavior and mentality of the subject might be of value, but the author seems to be some kind of wannabe outlaw and is using language that is inappropriate for a study of the subject. Couple this with shallow journalism and no real analysis and you have a trite and offending book not worthy of the bathroom collection. I read 70 pages, scanned the rest and chucked it in the bin.
Difficult Read This is one of the most difficult books to read from a stylistic standpoint. It is choppy and seems to bounce all over the place. The editor of this book should be fired - there is way too much extra "stuff" in the text. There is so much fluff that should have been cut out that would have made this a lot easier to read. The author's choice to use slang (to the point of vulgarity) did not go over so well with me either. I understand that this is a book about the Hell's Angels - there is going to be a lot of choice language in it, but he continues to refer to the slang when describing items that are not HA quotes. I don't think this was a necessary device considering the type of book this is - it would have worked for a fictional piece, but not for something as factual as this.
There are many other books out there on the topic of the Hell's Angels or Outlaw Mototcyle Gangs. I would suggest starting elsewhere if you are looking to read about the topic. This book as some interesting parts of it, but you'd be better looking at another title.
Yves. Again! This is sort of a weird book. Yves starts the book writing in the style of a wannabe Hunter S. Thompson and then decides that he may as well just start "writing". I would say that the abrupt transition starts in maybe the first 80 pages.
I believe that Yves Lavigne is probably the most knowledgeable author in the world about the major motorcycle clubs, other than insiders like Barger (or even Wethern) or undercovers like Queen or Dobyns (through authors), or in-touch contacts like Thompson.
But Yves has some sort of agenda that makes him report every myth and fantasy that has EVER been posited as if it is a FACT. It doesn't take long to tire of this book if you have read everything else, because you have to believe, based upon acquired knowledge, that 30% of what he says is suspect, at best.
I respect Lavigne for his obviously superior knowledge of the topic as a whole. But read every other account and determine for yourself if he has some personal agenda, even if it is as simple as money.
Lame but not all bad The guy that wrote this book was really trying to show how cool he is. I mean the the way he wrote it was over the top. You can tell he was trying to prove something. I have read Sonny's book and others and they much better written.
This guy skips around, repeats things he's previously talked about in the book. And the way he talks to the reader is just crude. I mean, sure he's dealing with a rough subject, but come on, use better english.
And I know what I am talking about. I lived the underground life for many years. I knew people like this, and this writer is someone who has never lived this life. He writes like a person who has never been around the people he is writing about.
This book is an over the top, stereotypical view of the big red machine written by a total sidewalk commando, or rather keyboard commando.
This book could have been a much better or clearer view of the HA than it is, but the writer's crude "trying to prove how cool I am" vocabulary, unfocused chapter organization, and other poor writing errors make this book a real dud. I'm still reading it, it's not so horrible that I put it down, but it came close.
This book should have never been published the way it is. The publisher should be ashamed.
If I have to explain, you wouldn't understand... Long live the Big Red Machine! 8181818181818181818181.......
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