Hell's Angels [Mass Market Paperback]

Hunter S. Thompson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 12, 1975

'A phalanx of motorcycles cam roaring over the hill from the west ...the noise was like a landslide, or a wing of bombers passing over. Even knowing the Angels I couldn't quite handle what I was seeing.' Huge bikes, filthy denim and an aura of barely contained violence; the Hell's Angels could paralyse whole towns with fear, so terrible was their reputation. But how much of that reputation was myth and how much was brutal reality? Only one man could discover the truth about these latter-day barbarians; Hunter Stockton Thompson, Dr Gonzo himself, the man who saw the fear and loathing in the heart of the American dream. This counter-culture classic is the hair-raising result.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'There are only two adjectives writers care about any more - "brilliant" and "outrageous" - and Hunter has a freehold on both of them.' Tom Wolfe 'The first rock-star writer' Guardian --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From the Inside Flap

Gonzo journalist and literary roustabout Hunter S. Thompson flies with the angels--Hell's Angels, that is. He's lived with them, he knows them and their machines, he speaks their langauge,and he reports it back to the world with all the fearsome force of a souped-up cyclone burning rubber. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (May 12, 1975)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345248252
• ISBN-13: 978-0345248251
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (155 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,959,873 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Hunter S. Thompson's books include Fear and Loathing in America, Screwjack, Hell's Angels, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, The Proud Highway, Better Than Sex, The Rum Diary, and Kingdom of Fear. He was contributor to various national and international publications, including a weekly sports column for ESPN Online. Thompson died February 2005.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

87 of 92 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating look into an underworld, August 8, 2000

By 

William A. Marsh (Middletown, DE USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga (Paperback)

Hunter holds himself back and lets the story tell itself. That's is both good and bad. I am a big fan of his Gonzo-style and must admit I missed it. In "Hell's Angels" his writing style was supplanted by the lifestyle he adopted for a year in order to journalize the "trips" of the notorious California Motorcycle gang. Unless you were previously exposed to some (true) stories of the Hell's Angels, much of this book will be eye-opening for the gang did and didn't do. I hadn't been and only knew the myth perpatrated by the media. Hunter does his best to expose the NY Times, Time Magazine and others for their taget-picking, fear-baiting, if-we-printed-it-it-must-be-real style of reporting and de-myths many of the groups exploits. Hunter focuses his story of two or three "runs" the Angel's take. He captures the anti-social attitudes and behaviors of the gang without judging and relates the booze, pills, sex and thuggery stories without embellishment (or so it seemed to me). Read this book if you've ever wondered what the gang life was like for this group of misfits '60's drop-outs. Read this book if you enjoy HST and his eye for the real story.

38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Flip Side of Americana, January 23, 2002

By 

Jeffery S. Anderson (Tigard, Oregon USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga (Paperback)

The Hell's Angels and the outlaw biker gang phenomenon have always made for interesting discussion. One needs only to recall some of those B movies made in the 1960's about the Hells Angels and how many "ordinary" folks fantasized about living the life of a biker gang memeber. This book was written as sort of an expose'into the lives of "typical" biker gang members. It follows the history of the group from the end of World War II up to about 1966. I found it an enjoyable, easy read when I first read it 20-some odd years ago. I think the reader will come away with the understanding of why some individuals find the biker lifestyle an expression of total freedom, albeit within the seedier side of society. Anyone with an interest in the subject matter would find this a good book to buy.

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thompson's most overlooked, and best, work, March 23, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga (Paperback)

I'm always surprised when fans of the great Doctor tell me they haven't read Hell's Angels. Sure, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is probably his most humorous work, and some say it is the most profound. Fair enough. But Hell's Angels has much more substance, and it has a sort of historical significance about it for Thompson fans. It is the story not only of the famous biker gang, but, on a less obvious level, the events that shaped the character of Hunter S. Thompson and made him a true master of modern literature. It also shows what a gutsy journalist can do (and become) when he throws himself into a story. I've been a journalist going on 12 years now, and I blame Thompson for my sorry fate. Reading Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas when I was a high school senior led me to this "low trade," as the good Doctor would put it, but reading "Hell's Angels" several years ago reminded me why I chose this field and gave me the guts to stick with it, despite having to work for a wimpy newspaper publisher who eventually fired me for stirring up too much trouble with businesses owned or controlled by his millionaire friends. Thanks, Hunter. You bastard