Customer Reviews

The Original Wild Ones: Tales of the Boozefighters Motorcycle Club

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Reading The Original Wild Ones by Bill Hayes is like sitting at a family reunion where all of the fun oldtimers are telling stories about a time and place that are long gone - You know that you are not getting a textbook history, but a personal and genuine recounting of something you cannot see except through the eyes of these great men. This book has all the feel of hanging out, with beer in hand, with the original wild ones. I liked the cool conversational style and the way the author makes you feel included in the outlaw tradition. I say write a companion history piece for those of us who are not as well schooled in biker history. GREAT BOOK!

I've had a fascination with bikers since a History channel special on the Hell's Angels I saw about five or six years ago. During that time I've encountered quite a few books on bikers and their culture. This one is TOTALLY different.

While books about 'one-percenters' follow a typical theme (club starts for fun and moves into crime, with most of the books being about the key players time in prison), this one starts fun and stays there.

All the key players are there: Wino Willie Forkner, Red Dog Dahlgren, Jim Cameron, and the rest of the Boozefighters. However, we aren't subjected to their tales of drugged out violence or prison terms. Instead we're introduced to each and led through their memories, most of which are pretty funny.

I recommend it as a breath of fresh air from the typical tales of biker trash committing unspeakable acts. Instead, you'll enjoy speaking about these acts.

Excellent read! This book gave detailed accounts of the beginings of the biker culture in America. These guys set the precedent! They rode hard,drank hard,and lived for their bikes. Alot could be learned from these guys by the current "biker culture." Mainly get out there and ride,ride from the heart.Pick it up,you won't be able to put it down.

This book made me want to be there during the simpler times,when ya did something that wasn't completely within the boundaries of the law and and you weren't crucified for screwing up. My favorite part was the ride from southern cali to daytona and the money they made along the way. This book was a really good reading book.

I loved the book. Overall a fun ride through the history of the so called biker culture and how it started; just a bunch of good friends with a common bond and loyalty to each other.

This is not one of those books "you just can't put down". But it is a book you will keep coming back to because of its historical importance. The motorcycle subculture is explicated in detail from the mouths of its founders. This is California where all things crazy are possible.

Although the book is written in the spirit of awe of the "old timers" and focuses a bit too much on deifying them it gives the reader an insight as to what the good life was back then. The book takes to back to a time when people could live a robust filled life without ending up in the federal pen back before lawyers and lawsuits ruined things for everyone. Comaradarie triumphs over greed and materialism and people didn't sweat the little things in life. It is written about an age where people were real and not made out of plastic like almost everything else these days. In those days when you had a nice custom bike it was because you and your buddies built it yourselves and not out of store bought parts. You built your bike to ride and not to impress people and trailer it around in your truck. The book is a good read about real people and the life they lived.

I was a member of the Boozefighters from 1988-1990, & still hold charter 13 issued to me by Wino Willie. I'm mentioned twice on pg. 282 of the book "The Original Wild Ones" (without my initial knowledge), and because of this, though I enjoyed the tales of the early years (and fondly recall Wino keeping me laughing while telling his stories), I wish that Hayes had spent just a little more time and effort on the very brief mention of the open letter written by Wino to the club. There was much more going on behind the scenes at the time. I know it was a dark chapter in the club's history, and Hayes told me himself in an email (after the book was published) that he didn't want to dwell on that period, I think the reader should've had more context about the growing pains the club went through when it went nationwide. I know none of the 1988 charter holders were still members when the book was written, but some of us weren't that hard to locate (well, I wasn't anyways).

Anyhow, despite this failing, I'd highly recommend the book for the look at the way the biker lifestyle was like, before the politics etc.

"Terry The Tramp of Bellingham"
Charter Holder #13 BFMC 1988

I found this book to be an enthralling read for people interested in the birth of the biker culture. Unlike some of the other reviewers, I found that I was unable to put this book down. I think this book is really designed for the reader that is a REAL BIKER, not some weekend cyclist. Of course, an interest in the BFMC is also necessary to enjoy the book. The thing that really ties the stories to the "real" world out there is the discussion of the media coverage of the 1947 Hollister "riot". The thing that stuck with me most was when the author relates how, due to the media, the BFMC started a new culture (the 1% biker) that they were never really a part of.

Not a book about a "hard core" gang by any stretch, the book does a great job of telling stories about the exploits of the founding members of the Boozefighters, particularly Wino Willie. Most are humorous, all of them are entertaining.