However, the bulk of this book is actually kind of dull. I'm not sure how he did it, but Thompson actually wrote a book about the Hell's Angels and made it pretty boring.

One gets the feeling that either the Angels didn't trust or like Thompson well enough to truly let him into their cirle or Thompson was (understandably) too afraid to get close. Either way, there is too much pedantic, researched information and statistics (do we really want statistics in a book about the Hell's Angels?) to make the book exciting.

The Angels come across as truly monstrous, vile people. Kind of latter-day Vikings. They literally do rape and pillage and assault innocents. Not only that, but they see no harm in it. A foul bunch, to be sure. Even Thompson, at the end, flat out condemns the group as brutes who deserve extermination. This, of course, after receiving his legendary, near-death beating from a group of five Angels.

If you want a really good book about a journalist getting in and detailing life with a bunch of hoodlums, check out "Among the Thugs", by Bill Buford(sp?). It's about British football hooligans. They're just as dangerous as the Angels, but a lot funnier and more entertaining. Buford also is a better writer than Thompson and he really makes the personalities come alive.

Interestingly enough, "Thugs" also ends with the author receiving a vicious beating. Although in Buford's case it was during a riot, and his attackers were Italian police wielding billy clubs.

Check it out. It's much better than Angels. More viceral. And truly exciting.


HELL'S JOURNALIST   January 23, 2000
 14 out of 15 found this review helpful

Feared by his superiors and sometimes colleagues. Loathed by the literary pundits who couldn't stack up against him. In 1965, Hunter S. Thompson shed light on one of the darkest subjects of the 60's. The Hell's Angels Motorcycle Riders. Thompson shows little remorse for infiltrating the place[s] where no other journalist dare tread, and even chronicling the experiences in a book he had to have permission to research and write, from the very subjects of the book. That permission went beyond legalities. Thompson was governed by another rule. The Hell's Angels' Rules. Readers will be shocked, surprised, and maybe sickened while they delve from the safety of time passed into the world of the most notorious two- wheeled gang in history. However, readers will also get a history lesson. A lesson obtained with real blood, sweat, and fears. Thom Ryan


One of the best books I have read all year   May 17, 1999
 13 out of 13 found this review helpful

The book Hell's Angels, by Hunter S. Thompson, is one of the best books I have read all year. The one thing that effected my liking to this book was not the description, it was not the plot, and it was not the excessive sex, drugs and alcohol. It was the fact that Hunter Thompson was living with the actual Hell's Angels for almost two years, for the sake of journalism. Hunter Thompson is by far no saint (as you might know if you read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas), but some of the things that were done in the time period that Thompson was living with them were down right sinister. Behind all the rape and the pillaging and the absolute destruction of human beings were the Neanderthals, that would strike fear in the heart of any decent, hard working American. The book goes into great detail about the ways that the press can manipulate a story, and the way that can mislead the reader, and the results of this. The worst thing about this is that a lot of the Angels had things happen to them that they were completely innocent of, but just the mere fact that they were Hell's Angels made them the enemy. In no way am I condoning any of the actions that some of the Angels partook in, but there is a large difference between committing the crime, and being friends with the people that committed the crime. I recommend this book to anyone who has ever wondered what lies on the dark side of society, and to any one with a strong stomach. Thompson is an excellent writer and does go into (sometimes obscenely excessive) detail.