Customer Reviews

Running with the Devil: The True Story of the ATF's Infiltration of the Hells Angels

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

there are a number of fairly recent books on the topic of outlaw bikers, and in this mix, this book is just so-so. the story itself is pretty fascinating, considering a group of atf agents were able to infiltrate the hells angels mc, but the actual telling of it is pretty lackluster. this reader immediately drew comparisons to billy queen's 'under and alone' which describes his infilitration of another motorcycle club.

queen's telling, however, was a gripping FIRST-PERSON account and the personal experience is noticeably absent from droban's story. and while she makes efforts to paint scenes in an effort to give the reader context, they feel embellished, flowery, and insincere in places. in many ways, it doesn't feel as if the author is well-versed in her subject matter and is just discovering the culture herself. her entire chapter detailing an upcoming confrontation with arguably the largest mc in the world, only to consistently mispell their name, is almost unforgiveable. it certainly lacks an air of credibility on the author's part.

one thing that i thought was interesting though, is that this book was written by a woman, and as such, there are more curiosities in what goes on quietly in the women's world of the 1%er culture. at least more so than i've seen in other books. unfortunately, the same voice seems to fall a bit soft when describing a testosterone-on-overdrive culture. and while this isn't a criticism on point of view, it IS a criticism of tone.

still, this book tells more of the story of operation black biscuit than 'angels of death', so the curious will still get something out of it. if you're just looking for something to read in the category and don't know where to start, i'd probably recommend queen's 'under and alone' first.

I wasn't sure I should order this book after I read the reviews. But, I did and overall it was a good book. Yes, it does have some errors, like calling the Nazi Low Riders a biker gang. (They are a white, prison based street gang) But, those are few and forgivable.

The book does a good job of showing the difficulty in running what by its' nature has to be a mostly, "Seat of the pants," operation with the strings being controlled by a huge Goverment agency. Not a recipe for success, but the agents in Operation Black Biscuit did the best they could with what they had. The book did a good job of showing this to the reader.

I have a unique perspective on the biker subculture, crime, and society in that I was raised around bikers and biker gangs, yet today I am a 20 year Law Enforcement veteran. I have seen those bikers that lived the life, but actually were good people. But, most I met were out to take what they could get, as cheap as they could, even if someone else was victimized. This book showed that, even when the "victim" was another gang/club member. What a way to treat, I mean "honor" a fellow member.

In the end Operation Black Biscuit did not get the type of convictions you would think. And, many in the biker subculture are quick to point this out. I would like to have seen more info in the book on the who, what, when, where and why that happened. The popular answer is because of over zealous, sloppy, power happy Goverment agents and the agencies they represent. But, the answer is not that easy. The answer lies in the fabric of our society itself, in that how do you play by the rules established in the name of fairness in order to take down those who claim to not play by our rules. Just once, we should do it according to their rules.

This, and any other book about the biker subculture that I have read always will raise the question of why do those who claim to be wanting to live life outside of the everyday rules of society, quickly hide behind those same rules when they are applied to them ? Ex- Hells Angel turned informant Anthony Tait posed that question in his book, but nobody has really delved into it. If you think this isn't true, just try to use their copyrighted logo.

So, overall the book was fun andd interesting to read and it is well worth the time and money that I invested. However, it and other books like it leave questions that I think need to be answered. Not just because we need to effectively deal with those in the biker subculture who victimize the innocent (not all do), but because I would find it interesting to read about.

I'm the first to admit that I'm not a fan of true crime but the subject and the setting of Running with the Devil made it a must read for me. From the first page to the last, the fast paced writing kept me reading. The information gleaned from interviews of those actually involved with the operation (unlike so many other books covering the same subject) added depth and tension so often missing in true crime. The actions of the ATF agents gave the plot twists than the most engaging fiction. Highly recommended!

You could wear out a highlighter if you highlighted all of the ridiculous errors in this book

Author says that Bullhead City is across the river from Las Vegas. Technically correct, but:

36 miles downstream

Vegas is miles from the river

Bullhead is across the river from Laughlin

The shootout between the HA and the Mongols happened at the Laughlin Harrahs, not the Las Vegas Harrahs.

"prospect and sponsor are used interchangeably". No. The sponsor is a patch holder who vouches for the prospect, the prospect intends to be a patch holder.

If you can't believe the simple, easy to check lies presented as facts, how can you believe anything presented as fact?

I was pumped up to start reading this book when I got it in the mail this week. Boy was I disappointed.

First of all, the story doesn't really know where to go. The author tries to lay this out like a documentary using dates to frame her chapters. It tries to show on just two or three pages what transpired over the course of a month or so.

Secondly, aside from "Bird", the characters are not developed. You really do not get a feel for anyone else.

Petty drug deals, gun sales and talks of how the Hells Angels normally would do business, really don't carry the story. I came into this book expecting to read about murder, assault and a voyeuristic view into the club. I was instead, left with a huge disappointment.

If you are looking for a brief summarization of a court case that never amounted to anything major, read this book. If you are looking for a book that goes into depth about the inner workings of the Hells Angels and the day to day workings of a motorcycle club, skip this book.

The book was surpringly interesting. I personally have already read about Jay Dobyns work in the book Angel of Death that came out over a year ago, and at first, feared that I was going to read information on a story I already knew about. There are details that weren't mentioned in the previous book, and the momentum stays pretty steady throughout. I was a little annoyed of all the nicknames of the agents and that they kept calling Dobins "Bird" throughout the book until the end because just about everyone with interest in outlaw biker clubs knows of Dobyns work, and that his and most of the other agents involved names were made public for a while now. However, if your new to the story, you will find the book interesting with little dry areas. I personally found the book better than some have rated. This story is yet another example of how federal cops that put their life in there work, get put into unessesary danger due to government burocarcy, selfishness, and penny pinching. I have a feeling the story of Dobyns life is far from over.

I thought this book would be much better from the hype I read. No so as it is long and boring. Not much action, constant repeating and not much of a story. Maybe they could not tell much because of secrets not being allowed out. Yeah, that's it!

SA Jay Dobyns, the lead ATF agent in this investigation, has written a book on it which is out in FEB 2009. That, no doubt, will provide the best insight on what went down.

This book was an opportunistic effort by the author, who had bystander access to some but not all of the information (which is why it reads like a high school senior's final paper) and spun what she had into this three-star ho-hum.

"Into the Abyss" is far better - and Dobyns' book will seal the deal.

This book details the ATF's extensive attempt to infiltrate the Hells Angels. The operation put the undercover agents through hell and produced nothing. The agents discovered that the Hells Angels displayed far more loyalty and genuine caring for them than their supervisors did. The operation was poorly run and poorly planned. Millions of dollars of taxpayer's money spent with no results. This book does provide a limited "insider's" view of the Hells Angels, but provides a better illustration of federal law enforcement's paranoia and obsession with biker clubs.

Okay, so truth be told, I bought this book thinking I would get some "birdseye view" into the world of the Hells Angels and as I am about 3/4 of the way through it, I am coming up a little dissapointed.
Up until now, it's been an odd account of what seems like more ATF officials than the Hells Angels.
I do have to say, that it seems to be getting better now, but I really don't have much hope!!
And yes, there are several pages of photos in there ... sadly 98% of the faces are blurred, which I understand, but why put them in the book?? It makes no sense!
Anyway, I will update my review once I finish, but I have to say that I don't think that it's worth the money I paid for it, I should have waited until it had been out a while and bought someones used copy for $3.