Publisher: Ballantine Books
Authors: Hunter S. Thompson
List Price: $14.95
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Summary: "He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man."
R.I.P. Hunter S. Thompson. We barely knew ya.
Before Thompson really exploded into journalism, creating what is now known as "Gonzo Journalism", he took a writing assignment that led him to enter the world of the 1960's gang of motorcycle rowdies called 'The Hell's Angels'.
What is seen in today's society as a feisty road trip was, in the mid 60's, the equivalent of going into Iraq to chum-up with the enemy. Thompson was just the writer to take on this type of assignment, diving into a scorned sub-culture, and managing to air out the results with enough literary style for the entire world to grasp. In the 1960's, the words 'Hell's Angels' created as much fear in polite society as 'Mideast Terrorists' does today.
Thompson rode with the Hell's Angels for approximately one year, getting to know them and gaining, if not their respect, at least their tolerance. His account takes us through the infamous "Bass Lake" weekend, an event that had half of the State Of California on high alert.
While Thompson doesn't go as far as to portray the Hell's Angels as 'humane', he does present them as 'human'. He wrote, "To see the Hell's Angels as caretakers of the old "individualist" tradition "that made this country great" is only a painless way to get around seeing them for what they really are -- not some romantic leftover, but the first wave of a future that nothing in our history has prepared us to cope with". Included with Thompson's own writings and observations are quotes from many of the members from the gang, often credited without real names because of their borderline intentions or aberrant vocalizing of violence. Beer, $ex, Broads, Battles, and Bikes.
I think you will find it amazing how forward-thinking Thompson's observations are. What he wrote here in 1966 holds as much truth and foresight today as it did then. His projections of human nature are uncannily accurate. Perhaps genius is doomed, so to speak.
What else you will find in this true account of a intriguing trip with a gang of rebels is an entertaining read. Historic and important, the account of this sub-culture's lifestyle is nonetheless a fascinating tale. Thompson's style, though in its embryonic stage in 1966, shines with as much energy and spirit as it did throughout his lifetime. Thompson remains one of the greatest writers of this era.
Of outside interest, on The Criterion Collection edition of the DVD 'Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas' are the extras 'Hunter Goes To Hollywood' featuring Hunter S. Thompson (who as a rule avoided cameras and publicity), a reading of correspondence between Hunter S. Thompson and Johnny Depp (read by Johnny Depp), and 'Fear And Loathing On The Road To Hollywood', a 1978 documentary with Thompson. With Thompson gone, these DVD extras are as much worth the price of the movie, and a must for die-hard fans of Thompson. Also, check into finding a copy of Thompson's last interview, in the May 2005 issue of Playboy Magazine.
All things Hunter, 'Hell's Angels' is a great read whether your interest is in the author, the era, or the culture. Enjoy!
Summary: WIREBIRDS ON FIREWHEELS
Hell's Angels is an all-time enduring classic by the late "Gonzo" journalist Hunter S. Thompson. It is a very interactive, very detailed description of one's affiliation with the dreaded motorcycle outlaws known as the Hell's Angels. The writing style is quite fascinating, for if it were not based on actual accounts or the interpretations thereof, it would be a most fascinating series of pulp fiction stories.
The group, Hell's Angels, is described as a group of unhygienic individuals who have no particular goals in life and who know that the roads they travel will lead to no success. They are highlighted as those who know that they are in financial and social oblivion and that their situations are only going to get worse. They are characterized, with the exception of a rare few, as uneducated bums with no purpose in the long run and who choose to live for the moment by going to bars, drinking heavily, engaging in unspeakable sexual acts, and torturing those who "get in their way" psychologically, physically and sexually.
An intermittent account of how the Hell's Angels, especially the lower-ranking members, are portrayed is laden with paradoxes. Comparisons are drawn between their physical attributes and those of the bikes they ride. On the one hand, the Angels are the sloppiest individuals of the worst kind, yet their bikes are lovely, well-maintenanced machines of thoroughly polished chrome and steel. In one recollection, Thompson mentioned that when off their bikes, they appeared as clueless, spastic, inane and inarticulate dolts, but when they got on their bikes, they became transformed into something quite the opposite, which entitled them to being Kings of the Road. For the clumsiness on foot would be more than compensated for by masterful uses of their motorcycles, including an indescribable ability to skillfully and gracefully go around highly dangerous curves at 120 mph. It is at that point that the reader comes to realize that if he/she were on a California highway in the mid-1960's, especially any of those near Oakland or Berdoo, no one messes with the Angels.
The paragraphs above shed light on the Angels in very notorious ways, and rightfully so. Indeed, the Angels could be quite a perplexing group. Despite the nihilistic tendencies of its several members, the Angels consisted of chapters throughout California and various parts all over the U.S. For these multi-faceted groups to be formed and maintained, the presidents had to be highly systematic, highly organized individuals. Hunter Thompson mentioned the Grand Poo-Bah of these chapters, namely Sonny Barger, who primarily ran the Oakland chapter and was a very astute and intelligent individual much attuned to the activities of and policies enacted in California law so as to know that, in order to reduce, if not eradicate, dealings with police and patrolmen, there was a time and place for Angels' "activities" as well as that for "no Angels around".
Even included are unusual accounts where owners whose stores were along highways the Angels would frequent would be intimidated by the Angels and relinquish their businesses to the bikers for a few hours, only to return and find that nothing was stolen and that the shops were in even better shape than they were before the Angels arrived. Not only did Thompson record accounts that some of the Angels could be good storekeepers for the moment, he also made note that after some of their excursions, they would actually leave behind money on the counter for purchases of beer.
Psychologically complex and dysfunctional, yet functional, could the Angels have ever been during Thompson's adventures with them. Thompson acknowledged that the Angels were to be regarded as hippies but not in the fashion attributed to the anti-Vietnam War demonstrators. In fact, Thompson mentioned that by-and-large the Angels did not like this latter bunch. Interestingly enough, Thompson pointed out that the groups were physically similar but were ideologically dissimilar; what was the present (the mid-1960's) was the only tie that would bind these groups. To sum it up, Thompson would cite the peace demonstrators as those who turned against the values instilled by previous generations and were "rebelling against the past", while the Angels, without the education and marketable skills to thrive in a developing, technologically-driven U.S. market, were "rebelling against the future".
All in all, Thompson had his share of interesting experiences. I will not get into the juicy details, but one might as well receive the message that if you were to deal with people like the 1960's Hell's Angels and wanted to survive, you might as well put philosophical themes of ethics on hold, unless if they are equipped with the rationality needed for self-preservation. I conclude with portions of a paragraph regarding the nature of the Hell's Angels: "Despite everything psychiatrists and Freudian castrators have to say about the Angels, they are tough, mean and potentially dangerous as packs of wild boar. The moment a fight begins, any leather fetishes or inadequacy feelings are entirely beside the point, as anyone who has ever tangled with them will sadly testify...[Y]our chances of emerging unmaimed depends on the number of heavy handed allies you can muster in the time it takes to smash a beer bottle. In this league, sportsmanship is for old liberals and young fools."
Summary: The Good Doctor Does Not Disappoint
Hunter S. Thompson pulls no punches as usual with this candid reflection of the Hell's Angels phenomenon at the peak of its menacing popularity.
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