Customer Reviews

Angels of Death: Inside the Biker Gangs' Crime Empire

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book is meticulously researched by one of the leading experts on biker gang crime. Contrary to the reviews above, probably written by a couple of hangers-on hoping to score brownie points with the full-patchers, Sher tells it like it is. The exclusivity of the Hells Angels and the fact that all of the crimes are actually perpetrated by the hangers-on and associates, so that none of the full-patchers ever see jail time is what constitutes the threat. An excellent read for anyone who has ever wondered about the Angels.

Studies show that criminals are more than twice as likely to commit violent acts when acting as members of a gang. "Angels of Death" details murders and other mayhem committed by Hells Angels members in the U.S., Australia, and Europe. With an estimated 2,500 members in 25 countries, they are among the most feared and violent underworld players.

The book's first major section relates how a group of four Mesa (Arizona) bikers beat and stabbed to death a woman who had insulted them. One of the perpetrators then decided to become an informant and connects with the ATF. (The crime still has not been resolved in the courts.) Then comes the Laughlin (Nevada) melee between Mongols and Hells Angels.

Sher and Marsden then move on to Australia, and later Europe for similar tales. The book also makes clear the difficulty of infiltrating and prosecuting a biker gang.

Somewhat interesting, though I much preferred "Under and Alone" by William Queen - about the tense and dangerous infiltration of the Mongols by an undercover ATF agent.

The Angels of Death is riveting book about the Hells Angels quest for global domination. Reads like a thriller where the most exciting part is about ATF's undercover operation. Well recommended and hard to put down.

I find it hard to take these writers seriously. They write that the world's largest and oldest biker rally is held in Sturgis, COLORADO! Nope, it's Sturgis, South Dakota.They also write about a ride from the Phoenix area to Florence, Colorado and describe it as 80 miles. Fact is, it's closer to 800 miles! Makes you wonder how many other mistakes slipped by BOTH of the authors AND proofreaders, as both these facts are pretty easy to confirm.

I have read numerous books on bikers, and this is one of the better reads. But like all books on the subject matter, it seems to go something like this.

Guy patches into club. Guy gets involved with drugs and needs money. Guy gets busted by the cops. Guy turns evidence, and everyone else goes to jail but him.

Cop patches into club. Cop sets up deals. Cop takes their money, arrests them for having the goods.

Face it, if you look hard enough anywhere you're going to find what you're looking for. You press the right buttons, you get a violent reaction. This is true of any group. You want to see violent, watch cocaine cowboys. Billions of dollars, and 1000s murdered in cold blood. And yet, alot of these people are back on the streets.

The biggest part of the problem is that things like this are exactly what the books are saying. When guys like this, who sometimes are in positions of authority in the club, promote stuff like the violence that happens and then turn on everyone else, ( Tait, who bought explosives, stole guns, and basically set up the thing that got the Angels indicted on federal charges ) you have to think about where the constitutionality and presumption of innocence come into play.

How long can law enforcement persecute bikers? They backed people up with drug problems, violent pasts, and made them look credible to the biker community, so that they could find trouble. Drug kingpins don't live in trailers, man. Wave enough money in someone's face, and dare them to do it; it's leading them into jail.

Now, I'm not saying that bikers, particularly 1%ers, are choirboys. On the contrary, they are the baddest of the bad. But mostly, they want to be left alone. They're not out to terrorize society, they mostly avoid it. When the government supplies them with drugs and weapons so that they can arrest them for having drugs and weapons, it looks like entrapment. And it is in the book, and the charges get pled down to almost nothing.

Ever think that if the cops weren't looking for problems there wouldn't be any? I don't know. I do find it a fascinating read, but it's hard to tell the complete story of this without the gonverment revealing at least part of it's hand. And therein lies the rub.

Ride free.

When I first read the news reports of Operation Black Biscuit, I knew that someone, somewhere, was gonna write a book about it. This was the first book to come out on the subject and it will have to hold us all over until Jaybird (Special Agent Dobyns) retires from the ATF and writes his autobiography. This is a great book, but it is filled with alot of rehashing about Canada and Norway and other subjects that have already been written about extensively. I found myself skimming through some of the chapters so I could get to the next chapter on Jaybird and his crew. All in all, a good read though.

A first glance you would think this book is about the Hells Angels in particular. However, it is more of a primer about several of the major outlaw clubs here in the US and internationally. I found it interesting to see how all of the clubs tear into each other in their expansion for "market" or territory. If the ATF accounts are true and the book is accurate, then you will be amazed at just how organized these clubs have become in the past 20 years. No longer are they just the rowdy "good ol' boys" tearing down the highway looking for some good times. They have basically become international corporations with trademarked branding only a lot more dangerous than Sam Palmisano and the IBM "blue crew". Although, sometimes I wonder...

I bought this book for my boyfriend and he said he could not put it down - when I awoke the next day he was still in the living room reading!

This was a very good book to read and would be a must for those into true crime, criminals or outlaw motorcycle gangs. The agent must have had real nerves of steel is all I can say, you can't get much further undercover than this guy was. Nicely bound and printed nicely.

This book takes an in-depth look at many major incidents involving the Angels from around the globe. Assuming it's factual, the book sheds a new light on the violence that these outlaw clubs are capable of.