Bikers With Books: January 2014

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Sunday Soul Reads Find, Hell's Angel: The Autobiography Of Sonny Barger

Book Description

Publication Date: October 13, 2009

Due to copyright restrictions, this eBook may not contain all of the images available in the print edition.

Narrated by the visionary founding member, Hell's Angel provides a fascinating all-access pass to the secret world of the notorious Hell's Angels Motorcycle Club. Sonny Barger recounts the birth of the original Oakland Hell's Angels and the four turbulent decades that followed. Hell's Angel also chronicles the way the HAMC revolutionized the look of the Harley-Davidson motorcycle and built what has become a worldwide bike-riding fraternity, a beacon for freedom-seekers the world over.

Dozens of photos, including many from private collections and from noted photographers, provide visual documentation to this extraordinary tale. Never simply a story about motorcycles, colorful characters, and high-speed thrills, Hell's Angel is the ultimate outlaw's tale of loyalty and betrayal, subcultures and brotherhood, and the real price of freedom.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In this most intriguing and insightful look into the highly controversial, five-decade-old Hell's Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC), Barger chronicles the formation, history, and colorful events that have led to the mystique and outlaw image of this free-thinking organization. In 1957, Barger (a technical consultant on several biker films, including Hell's Angels on Wheels and Hell's Angels '69) formed the Oakland chapter, which would become the foundation and serve as headquarters for the entire club. In his own words, Barger shares stories of pool hall fights, motorcycle runs, the importance of loyalty and honor, and relentless battles against the government efforts to destroy the HAMC. He also tells his side of the infamous 1969 Rolling Stones concert at Altamont Raceway. The many photos provide additional glimpses into this wild and dangerous American subculture. A most interesting book that is recommended for popular culture collections.DTim Delaney, Canisius Coll., Buffalo, NY
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Barger, king of the chopper pilots, road variety, is an American icon, and his life story is a history of the biker lifestyle. As president of the Oakland chapter of the Hell's Angels, he has seen and survived hassles with the police, peaceniks, and the Rolling Stones, with their "prissy clothes and makeup" --all of which he recounts. He notes fine points, such as the fact that it was Emmett Grogan, of the radical egalitarian Diggers, who suggested that the Angels work security at the Stones' ill-fated free show at Altamont, California. He nonchalantly admits to criminal acts, such as pulling a gun on Keith Richards onstage. Withal, however, he includes only somewhat more sex and violence in his life story than one encounters in most contemporary biographies. Certainly, specific expressions of Barger's biker attitudes may scandalize the squeamish; for instance, his explanation of why women engaged in group sex with bikers: "For a certain kind of chick, it was an honor to get fucked by a bunch of Hell's Angels." Even if such sentiments prove too straightforward and earthy for some, the book is a dandy cultural document. Barger paints an engrossing picture of a distinctive subculture that receives precious little literary attention. Yet bikers probably live in many a library's community. So read up on them, organize a booktalk on Hell's Angels, and some of them may well offer to bring the refreshments, not to mention some invaluable diversity. Mike Tribby
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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71 of 89 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Hell's Angel speaks the truth. May 18, 2000

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

Back in the late 60's, I was a member of the Green Dragon'sMotorcycle Club in Houston. We were a linked brotherhood with theBanditos MC. During a rally in Dallas, some 50 or 60 Hell's Angels attended. To my pride I was able to meet Sonny Barger, he was at that time with the Oakland Chapter of the Hell's Angel.

He is nothing short of one classy, dedicated to bikes and bikers, and honest to the bone. This book, he brings IT ALL OUT. I was amazed to read how the Angels got started and managed to stay together dispite the law breathing all over them, the public have a definite attitude against them. It was Sonny who kept the brotherhood together. Yes, we all know of the legal problems with the ANgels as well as other biker groups, in this book Sonny is totally honest and forthcoming. He has some very funny stories on state rallys and of course the problem at Altamont. This book is a must read for all bikers and those who WANT TO BE A BIKER. A classic read by Sonny. May God Bless You Sonny and keep doing just what you are doing. Don't change one thing. "The Attorney" Green Dragons MC - Houston

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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars must read for die hards July 4, 2000

By Wayne T. Heiliger

Format:Hardcover

Sonny is one of the most prolific and a true outlaw. I've admired him and his followers since I first became aware of the spirit of Harley Davidson. After Korea, my dad and his partner both bought HD's and traveled the US of A! Although my father wasn't an outlaw,he raised a few. I can say only one thing, Buy the book! To Sonny, Hail the Red & White! To Ole Buzzard {omaha, NE} tow on bro! bigwayne53

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17 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Leader of the Pack June 14, 2000

By Donald Mitchell HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWERVINE VOICE

Format:Hardcover

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. 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.

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Sunday, January 19, 2014

Dead in 5 Heartbeats by Ralph (Sonny) Barger

Book Description

Publication Date: October 13, 2009

Ralph "Sonny" Barger first gained the attention of the book world with his bestselling memoir Hell's Angel. Now he uses what he’s learned from a life insidea subculture few will ever know to create his no-holds-barred first novel, giving readers a taste of thecamaraderie, the pain, and the thrills of what it’s like to live life on two wheels.
Everett John "Patch" Kinkade just wants to be left alone. The former president of the Infidelz, the most powerful motorcycle club in California, Patch has grown weary of the responsibilities and burdens that come with the mantle of leadership. He leaves California for Arizona, determined to start a new life and to put a few hundred miles between him and the tragedy that tore his family apart.
But it isn't long before a new crisis pulls Patch back to his old stomping grounds. Tension between the Infidelz and a rival club, the 2Wheelers, erupts one night in a lethal free-for-all, littering a casino with the corpses of club members and ordinary citizens alike. The newspapers call it a war, and Patch knows he must return to help the club, either by making peace or by charging into battle.Now it's not just his life at stake, but the lives of the rest of the Infidelz as well, and Patch would fight the Grim Reaper himself to protect his brothers. Prepared to destroy any man who crosses his path, even if it means confronting the demons from his past, Patch gases up his Harley, sharpens his blade, and heads out on the highway for what could be his final ride.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Legendary Hell's Angel Barger (Hell's Angel; Ridin' High, Livin' Free) teams once again with co-authors Keith and Kent Zimmerman on this debut novel of motorcycles and murder. Patch Kinkade, ex-president of the Oakland, Calif., chapter of the Infidelz motorcycle club, the toughest MC in the West, has relocated to Arizona in the wake of a busted marriage. But he finds that ties to home and past are not easily severed. The Infidelz have a serious dust-up in a bar with three other clubs-the 2Wheelers, Soul Sacrifice and the Gun Runners ("Fists flew everywhere. Broken ribs. Broken arms. Broken bottles. Broken teeth. Broken pride)"-and after it's over, a new member of the Infidelz lies dead in the parking lot, his murder seemingly unrelated to the fight inside. Ahab, the president of the Oakland chapter, hunts down Patch and asks him to investigate. Soon enough, the reluctant Patch is back in Oakland, facing renegade FBI agents and unexpected treachery and deceit. The authors have an un-ironic, breezy style: "Patch wore no businessman's haircut. The wind was his stylist." Despite colorful nicknames (girls named Blondie and LiLac, dudes called Nine Inch, 12-12 and Eight Ball), thin characterization leads to reader confusion, and degenerate behavior makes it difficult to cheer for the novel's putative good guys. The mystery falls flat, but there's plenty of sex, violence and tricked-out bikes in this "gasoline and adrenaline" ride. Barger's fans should love it.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

When Marco, one of the most respected members of Infidelz, California's top motorcycle gang, is murdered in cold blood, the gang is obligated to respond. They send an emissary to their former president, Patch Kinkade, who's opted for the quiet life in the desert. Patch reluctantly heads back to Oakland, either to negotiate a peace or mobilize his troops. This is the literary equivalent of a Roger Corman biker flick. The good guys are bad guys, the bad guys worse, and the cops worse yet. Plus the chicks--sorry, nothing PC here--are hot, compliant, and irrelevant. The conclusion does include a family-values moment in which Patch "adopts" a fallen comrade's orphaned son, but this is still a biker book: lots of testosterone, lots of thousand-yard stares, and lots of kicks to the groin. Former Hell's Angel Barger's autobiography was a best-seller, and he has a built-in audience of bike-riding yuppies who will love kickin' some vicarious butt while sippin' a bottled water. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Sunday, January 12, 2014

6 Chambers, 1 Bullet by Sonny Barger

Publication Date: April 16, 2013

In this second adventure from bestselling author Sonny Barger, hard–living antihero Patch Kinkade must find a way to bust in to prison if he's going to figure out who is responsible for killing three of his brothers.
Patch Kinkade, the notorious leader of the infamous and feared Infidelz motorcycle club, has faced down a wide array of bad guys in his day. But when three of his fellow club members show up dead in a meat locker––frozen stiff on their bikes, with counterfeit $100 bills stuffed in their mouths – and the funny money leads back to the Russian mob, Patch is ready to add some ex–Pinkos to his hit list.
After shaking down a couple of Russian hooker/con artists, Patch learns that there's a new Russian crime family, the Shalinsky Cartel, trying to establish their turf, and the murdered Infidelz were unfortunate casualties in their ruthless campaign. The Russians' leader is awaiting trial in prison, and it seems that Patch won't be able to get to the bottom of things without going to extreme measures. Soon he's behind bars himself, after cooking up an ingenious scheme to get at the Russian godfather, where he hopes to send a clear message – don't mess with the brotherhood of the Infidelz –with one well–placed shank. Now Patch's well–honed skills, learned inside and outside of prison walls, must serve him well if he's to avenge his compatriots' deaths, and regain dominance for the Infidelz once and for all.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In a triumph of content over style, Barger and his erstwhile sidekicks, the Zimmermans, offer up another face full of road dust (after 2003's Dead in 5 Heartbeats) to feature California "bikerscum" hero, Patch Kincade. This time Patch gets tangled up with eastern European mobsters after four members of his motorcycle club (not, he emphasizes, a gang) are found dead, festooned with counterfeit cash and locked in a meat freezer. Patch is not so much a sympathetic character as he is a lucky bumbler of almost Shakespearean proportions; the double-crosses that mystify him can be seen coming a mile away and it's hard not to laugh at someone who gets himself sent to federal prison on a thousand-to-one shot at getting to a high-profile informant, but you still cheer when he pulls it all off in the end. This is a perfect escape for nostalgic and starry-eyed armchair bikers, of whom there are surprisingly many. Barger is also the author of the bestselling autobiography, Hell's Angel. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Patch Kinkade is a semiretired member of the infamous Infidelz Motorcycle Club. His quiet life in Arizona is disrupted when five members of the Infidelz are murdered in a meat locker with a wad of counterfeit bills stuffed in their mouths. Patch turns detective and learns his associates ran afoul of an Eastern European mob headed by Nicholai and Vladimir Rachov. In order to extract the correct measure of revenge, Patch will need to get into the prison where one of the Rachovs is incarcerated and then get out in order to kill the other one. The second Patch Kinkade adventure is an action novel in which the protagonists are the bad guys, but they are not the evil guys. If you want to experience the life of a hard-drinkin', dope-smokin', violence-prone motorcycle gang member (with a heart of gold), Barger and coauthors Keith and Kent Zimmerman supply the vicarious ticket. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Praise for 6 Chambers, 1 Bullet

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Another homerun for Sonny! January 20, 2008

By Alssweetie

Format:Hardcover

This as many as Sonny's books, was a easy read. The book kept you interested from the first page to the last and even though it's supposed to be fiction, one would wonder how much of Sonny's life influences his writing.

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