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Summary: an honest and real book from an honest and real man
Review: Hell's Angel, The Life and Times of Sonny Barger, was a wild and very entertaining read all the way through. It was like Robin Hood on acid. Sonny's book is an honest and refreshing change from other books on the club including Hunter S Thompson's. I hope the upcoming movie does it justice.Dave Walker Bangkok
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Summary: Setting the Pace
Review: You will hear the throaty roar and feel the vigration of a good road machine as you cruise past these pages about a real life leader of the pack. The motorcycle club subculture has been an important theme in Hollywood (from The Wild One to Easy Rider) and in recordings (the song, Leader of the Pack). Everyone who sees the Hell's Angels has an opinion about what is going on, yet few have had a first hand relationship with a member. This book gives you a behind-the-scenes look at what it was like for Oakland's leader of the pack, one of the first branches of the Hell's Angels. I grew up in San Bernardino (Berdoo in the book) which was an even earlier branch of the Hell's Angels than was Oakland's group. Some people I went to high school with joined the Hell's Angels. We all heard many stories about the group, and what went on. We treated these people with extreme caution and gave them a wide berth. The book brings out an ethos of freedom (the open road) combined with a masculine emphasis on being respected and being loyal to friends. At the same time, there is an underlying sense of the frontier marshall, wanting to clean up those who were challenging law and order. Behind that there is a disregard for the rules most of us follow, whether in speed, drugs, theft, or violence. This book is filled with deaths, injuries, and destruction. The Hell's Angels live in a dangerous world, and that doesn't bother them. What would bother them is not following their code of ethics. Having read about all of the things the Hell's Angels are supposed to have done in the last 50 or so years, it is interesting to hear it from the other side. Although you probably won't want to emulate Sonny Barger in too many ways, you'll certainly never forget him. If you love motorcycles (as many of us do), you'll be moved by his loving descriptions of various bikes. He was truly the wild one at the head of the bike pack. I would suggest that you not share this book with impressionable adolescents.
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Summary: Booze (Make that SNOOZE) Fest
Review: Save your money folks. I'll read the book to you: "We're a bunch of cowards, we beat some guy up, we took dope, we beat another guy up, the cops are always hassling us, we beat another guy up..." You get the picture. Sonny is borderline illiterate and that goes for his "Ghost writers" who basically wrote down what he said verbatim. He repeats himself ad nauseum, often within the span of two paragraphs. It's like being stuck next to some old booze hound in a bar that you can't get away from. ...
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Summary: life in a club
Review: Before getting sober I lived on the edge of a number of outlaw clubs. Sonnys book is both a factual accounting of life in a club but also shows the brotherhood associated with club life. I ride today with a clean and sober club. I have read and reread this book passed it along to brothers of mine heck even my fatherinlaw has read it twice. What an insightful accounting of the HELLS ANGELS
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Summary: fistfights, gangbangs, ratpacking, speed & smack, jail
Review: Bizarre to read an autobiography by a 62 year old man who still seems to think that 6 to1 odds are cool and brotherly-as long as you are one of the six beating, kicking, and stomping some hapless soul while he is down and more than likely passed out. These are the most possessive, materialistic, hung-up-on-appearances products of post war America. They make suburbia and what has come to typify the fifties look downright metaphysical. At least the Jones's didn't kill each other over their station wagons. The characters, some of whom I saw trying to hustle teeny boppers in the Haight in '67 and '68, range from the lowdown to the mean. People like this tend to travel in packs. This, as Barger naively reveals, is not the only trait shared by these 'angels' (sic) with dogs. This book should, at least, help debunk the romanticization of these cro-magnon motorcyclists that plagues those in dire need of heroes, any heroes. The book contains some real howlers-but ones of pity, not mirth. Barger writes that it was an 'angel' (sic) who teamed with Owsley, whose name he gets wrong, and made the psychedelic revolution possible. He asserts that the "hippies' didn't mind the 'angels' (sic) taking their women. Ha. They soon learned that a supposed 'ride' meant not coming back. Again, it is hard to believe that 62 year old man believes this crap. It was necessary to pass a 'law' banning bullets in fires. Barger comes off like a baby sitter to bunch of self destructive hyperactives. They asked for it at Altamont: "they were messing with our bikes." The only regret Barger shows for the tirade is that pool cues were not fit tools for beating but they should have had pipes or baseball bats. All in all this book is poorly written, or dictated, as it jumps all over and is nothing but a paean to juvenile delinquency, by a delusional man, as lived out in total fantasy by other delusional grown men who kill themselves and each other in a variety of mayhem. If I said such a thing to one of their faces it would be 'necessary' for any and every 'angel' (sic)to punch, kick, and stomp me for 'disrespecting' them. I guess I should fear for my life should Amazon publish this. lt is a quick read as there is practically no substance to the book.
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Summary: live to ride ,, ride to live
Review: This book makes for some great reading,, especially if you ride a scooter. The open way it is written should shed some light to the non 2 wheelers on what the lifestyle is about. The one thing I would have liked to have seen is that it was more chronicaled from the start to the present. Rather than jumping from one year to 6 years or so and then back. Having ridden Harleys for more than 22 years independently I can still relate to what is written in this book. read it with an open mind and you will be enlightened!
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Summary: How about "Diary of a Loser"?
Review: For better or for worse - mostly, I think, for worse - Sonny Barger is a name that is known to a large number of Americans. What is perplexing, especially after reading this book, is why he has been so mythologized, elevated to the level of a hero. Here is a man whose proudest moment was apparently the time he pulled a gun on Keith Richards, who named one of his motorcycles Sweet Cocaine because he was high when he built it, who brags about "taking people out" - his euphemism for killing - and who has, not without reason, spent a significant portion of his adult life in prison. Barger makes no apologies; on the contrary, he consistently seems perversely proud of these dubious distinctions. He even includes a copy of his rap sheet in the appendix. The stories of the Hell's Angels, like the true stories of other criminals, can be interesting to read, but "Hell's Angel" is not even particularly well-written. After reading this book, I find the fact that so many regard Sonny Barger as a hero more mysterious than ever. In all his life, if Sonny Barger has done anything kind, compassionate, or even helpful, much less heroic, he doesn't mention it. Barger is a drug abuser, a petty criminal, a mindless thug. Okay, so good guys make for boring reading. But this book isn't interesting, and calling Barger a hero, or an American icon, doesn't remediate this book's myriad flaws.
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Summary: Great book!! A++
Review: This is already one of my favorite autobiographies. I picked it up yesterday and could not put it down until I was through. There are no dull moments and you get the feeling that the author is honest, open and proud about his adventures! Although the author sometimes goes from one story or subject to another, it does not get confusing for the reader. A must read for anyone who loves good autobiographies!
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Summary: The Quintessential Biker
Review: For many years now, I have been a part of that heavily stereotyped group of individuals who are collectively known as "bikers"; in those years I have seen many strange things, many wonderful things and many terrible things happen. There have been lots of surprises along the way-- not the least of which was the release of the autobiography of the Maximum Angel himself, Sonny Barger. Had there been a bet going around as to whether or not this famous chief of hellions would have broken his long-standing silence concerning the brotherhood that he had such a powerful hand in creating, I would have bet the farm-- and lost it. In his book, Sonny reveals himself in a way that is forthright and candid, and while he might sometimes offend the sensibilities of those who are alien to the biker scene, he manages to do this with an offhanded aplomb that somehow makes his message less disturbing. I managed to get my dear old gray-haired mom to read this one, thinking that she would finally "get it", as she has never quite understood my fascination with motorcycles or the characters who live and die on them. As it happened, the words of the Prez DID enlighten her as to how we view our world-- and how our world views us. To read this book is most educational, to say the very least. Sonny makes no apologies for his past; as is characteristic of him, he pulls few punches. Although the book is not gratuitous insofar as his recollections of certain rather sordid incidents are concerned, at least we do get a true and accurate view of the thought processes that are typical of most bona fide bikers. This should be of little surprise, however, as those thoughts are coming straight out of the head of a man who has had more to do with the hame and hue of all that is part of the biker scene than any other living individual. Sonny proves himself to be the quintessential biker in many, many passages throughout this book, but one of my favorite moments came when he was describing what it was like to do a long stretch of time in Federal prison. In the autobiographical works of various convicted felons such as former LA mafia family member Jimmy "the Weasel" Frattiano and others, the discussion of what it was like to do time often entailed a description of how they managed to endure the separation between themselves and their loved ones. In Sonny's case, however, there came a point where he-- while mentioning having to do just under five years in one of our fine Federal hotels-- made a statement to the effect of him not being able to just sit around, crying for his motorcycle. People, I want to tell you: any man who, while sitting in prison, tries to avoid crying over his motorcycle is a dyed-in-the-wool BIKER, and make no mistake about it! This book is seriously recommended for those who wish to learn the answers to most of the questions worth asking about the biker scene in general and the Hell's Angels in particular. Anything Sonny does not mention in this book is basically not worth knowing-- so don't ask!
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Summary: Great book by an American icon
Review: Very interesting read with lots of pictures, short character bios of fellow Angels, and personal touches in events that explain what being an Hells Angel means to him. Of course, there's nothing truely incriminating to be found that would harm him or a brother. Sonny and the Zimmerman's have come up with a 'must' read, whether you love 'em or hate 'em. Now, go to Sonny's website for more information, pictures, and support merchandise. Support your local Red & White...
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