Customer Reviews

Portraits of American Bikers: Life in the 1960s

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

 

 

I recieved a copy of this publication while I was attending the Harley 105th anniversary in Milwaukee. I also got to meet some of the people involved in putting it together.
I have been riding for over 55 years have been a member of a club and still am a photojournalist for National Motorcycle Publications.
Though the book is a photo collection of members of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club it brings back very good memories of the days when I was in a club.
If you were riding in the 60s and 70s you will appreciate the walk down memory lane.
If you are new to motorcycling this is history you should know about.
I would recommend all buying and appreciate the photos and the history.
ROGUE

This book had me in tears... the memories of the old bikers were relived over and over as I turned the pages of this book. The quality of both the photographs and the book are excellent and I take my hat off to Ms Roberts for the love and soul that went into creating this book. I have not only bought one for myself, but another 3 for old timer friends.. all of whom have been awed by this. It has turned out to be a gift that has been most appreciated by my friends... and it is a mainstay in my library in a place of honor.

Purchased this along with the bikeriders. A very different take and approach from Danny Lyon, the images are from a true insiders view though several images have technical issues i would recommend owning it if you have an interest in documentary photography.

I ordered this book along with the companion collection, Portraits of American Bikers: Inside Looking Out. I found them both very interesting and well done. I love the vintage feel of the black and white pictures and the candid shots are so telling. I read one review in which the individual was upset about the pictures where men are kissing each other. If you know anything about outlaw biker culture, especially during these years, those photos should make you laugh. If you are looking at them as an outsider, then you are giving the bikers the response that they want to get from kissing each other; that of shock and repulsion. Outlaw bikers in the 1960's used this behavior frequently in order to affirm their individuality and separate themselves from "citizen society". Love the pictures and the overall feel of this book! If you want a candid look into everyday outlaw biker culture during the beginnings of its origin, this will not disappoint you.

This photo essay is interesting and whimsical. The bulk of the photos seem to be from the same two or three "events", so the persons in the photos are fairly constant, and the setting is fairly static. Quality of the photos reflect an amateurish yet honest "view" of the the subject material.

Not a "coffee table" book for the RUBS or "weekend warrior" set that may have a concern about what mom or dad may think if they stop over and happen to pick up the book while waiting for their "double skinny latte soy with no sugar syrup" drink or the martini that their darling "biker" son or daughter may be making for them.

For those of us that truly understand and live the culture and lifestyle, it's a great photo trip into the past.

Review:

"I knew and still remember the people on the pages of this book. Along with my Dad, most of them are now gone. During the years that these photographs were taken, my Father was a member of the Detroit Chapter of the Outlaws 1%er MC. This collection of photographs was taken with a sincere desire to capture those private moments that were spent with the men that my dad considered his brothers." Beverly V. Roberts I suppose that on the surface it would seem that a review of a book of photographs would center on things like the technical skill of the photographer; the artistic approaches he or she takes in regard to shading, framing, etc.; and maybe a comment or two about the way in which the photographer interacted with the subject matter, enhancing its overall appeal through clever and brilliant juxtapositions and settings. Yeah, maybe. But not in material about this lifestyle. And not about a book as powerful as this one. Yes, quality technical and artistic stuff is certainly here. The late Jim 'Flash' 1%er Miteff knew what he was doing with his then newspaper-standard Graflex Speed Graphic Press camera. His grasp of that complex bit of equipment and his savvy knack for capturing special Kodak moments is obvious. But the photos in this book go far beyond an objective surface. When Jim's daughter, Beverly, says in the book s introduction that her father was capturing moments that were spent with the men that [he] considered his brothers, she really nails the bottom-line essence of this book. The brotherhoods that make up the high-level motorcycle clubs are possessed of a rank-and-file passion that is unparalleled in society. The Outlaws MC, of which Miteff was a member, is one of the oldest still-existing MCs and is considered one of the four most influential clubs in the world. Begun just outside Chicago in 1935, the Outlaws have been around to see all of the major eras in which heavyweight motorcycle clubs were spawned: the post-World War II 1940s, the late 50s/early 60s, and the Vietnam War years. That mid-period the late 50s into the 60s was arguably the standout in terms of pure craziness and social outrage. Jim Miteff was there, drinking it all in. And he chronicled every intoxicating drop when the bobbers of the 40s became radical choppers, when the leather bomber jackets and cuts took on even more adornments, and when the overall rebellion of this way of life was amped up; way up. The photographs in this book were specifically selected from his collection, Beverly explains in the book's cover notes. These never before published images are taken directly from the original negatives that had been in storage for over 40 years. A lot of that buried treasure thing goes on in this lifestyle. We always hear about the still-crated military Harley, found under decayed tarps in some mid-western barn. Or the perfectly stock Confederate Edition Sporty with flat tires that has been lingering in someone's uncle's garage since he died in 79. But the same holds true for the archival material that serves as the growth rings for our little brand of dendrochronology. I would have loved to have been in that pre-digital darkroom when those negatives were first brought to life and I would have loved to have been there when their power was resurrected. Portraits of American Bikers: Life in the 1960s contains 75 full-page (9 x12 ) photos that bring you back to a time when the term anything goes was a daily credo. It was way before helmet laws, boutique dealerships, factory customs, and corporately organized No Colors Allowed signs. Miteff's pictures portraits put you right in the middle of this magical time.
--The Bill Hayes review continues below

And these portraits provide an amazing portal. If you look into the faces and the settings and the sheer wild environment of any given picture for even a fraction of the amount of time that, say, the Wild Hogs DVD lasts, you ll feel and understand more about the real roots of this lifestyle than most media ever conveys. It s hard to select a favorite pic; there are so many compelling images. But after going through the book a few times I found myself becoming partial to the photo on page 127. There, in the fitting black and white of the entire body of photos (the Outlaws MC colors are also black and white), are three Outlaws. One has a German army helmet on (the real thing, forged long before today s vendor-hawked novelty helmets), another has his head shaved in a very pre-punk Mohawk. Two of the three are holding beer bottles. They are all standing around an old Servi-Car trike. The three-wheeler has the Outlaws MC logo painted on the back of its cargo box; on top of that is mounted a tripod-supported machine gun. A 65 Impala is parked in the background. Yes, indeed, a very magical time. Portraits of American Bikers: Life in the 1960s is easily in the same league as such landmark biker-photo books as Andrew Shaylor's Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, Martin Dixon's Brooklyn Kings: New York City's Black Bikers, and Danny Lyon's The Bikeriders. Comparison to the Lyon book is natural, of course, because that book also centered on the Outlaws MC in the 60s. One interesting difference, however, is that The Bikeriders was originally published as a contemporary work in 1968, right after it was compiled (although it was republished in 2003). Portraits of American Bikers: Life in the 1960s gives new life to buried archives, creating the intense feeling of an exhumation bringing life back from the dead; life that was never completely gone, of course, but life and a lifestyle that owes everything to those wild pioneers whose spirits will never die. Beverly Roberts mentions something else in the book's introduction in a particularly poignant passage. She discusses the reasons for this "exhumation". She talks about the timing of the public release of these photos. And she reveals the promises that her father made to his brothers in the Outlaws MC and to her. Those promises have gratefully led to the publication of this book. Those promises, coupled with the incredible photographs of Jim "Flash" 1%er Miteff, show the power and the heritage of the motorcycle club brotherhood in a light that is rare in the media, unapproachable and undoubtedly a little frightening to outsiders, and a true history lesson for us all. --Bill Hayes - Thunder Press Magazine 3/2009





Product Description
Back in the 1960s, using a Graflex Speed Graphics Press Camera, Jim "Flash" Miteff shot several hundred photographs of the Outlaws 1%er Motorcycle Club. The photographs in the book were specifically selected from his collection. These never before published images are taken directly from the original negatives that had been in storage for over 40 years.



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This is my far the worse book out there. I can't wait to write this review (my first review, and in anger). I was hoping to flip through pages of 60's Harley or Triumph, instead, I found 99% of the pictures were group pictures or dude kissing dudes. So very disappointed at this book. No wonder these images were not published for 40 years, until the photographer's son trying to milk every penny from his father's unpublished photo negatives. Now I understand why.

Please DO NOT buy this book.

For good cool HD books, buy HOT MAGAZINE. Its japanese, but its way better in every department.

for a portrait of "american" bikers - there was way too much pictures showing NAZI SWATISKAS and GUYS KISSING. I know wearing the swatiska AND guys kissing was indeed a part of the "shock" 60's Biker culture to some extent - but we don't need to give it so much advertising - as done in this book.

I think abit more focus on the bikes could have easily replaced the more offensive stuff and the Book would have still been true.

my $.02....