Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga (Modern Library) | 
 enlarge | Author: Hunter S. Thompson
Publisher: Modern Library
Category: Book
List Price: $21.95
Buy New: $12.65
You Save: $9.30 (42%)
New (26) Used (14) from $12.65
Rating:  113 reviews
Sales Rank: 5277
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 288
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.4 x 1.1
ISBN: 067960331X
Dewey Decimal Number: 364.106609794
EAN: 9780679603313
ASIN: 067960331X
Publication Date: December 7, 1999
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand new item. Over 3.5 million customers served. Order now. Selling online since 1995. Order with confidence. Code: B20080906212818T
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Product Description
"California, Labor Day weekend . . . early, with ocean fog still in the streets, outlaw motorcyclists wearing chains, shades and greasy Levis roll out from damp garages, all-night diners and cast-off one-night pads in Frisco, Hollywood, Berdoo and East Oakland, heading for the Monterey peninsula, north of Big Sur. . . The Menace is loose again." Thus begins Hunter S. Thompson's vivid account of his experiences with California's most no-torious motorcycle gang, the Hell's Angels. In the mid-1960s, Thompson spent almost two years living with the controversial An-gels, cycling up and down the coast, reveling in the anarchic spirit of their clan, and, as befits their name, raising hell. His book successfully captures a singular moment in American history, when the biker lifestyle was first defined, and when such countercultural movements were electrifying and horrifying America. Thompson, the creator of Gonzo journalism, writes with his usual bravado, energy, and brutal honesty, and with a nuanced and incisive eye; as The New Yorker pointed out, "For all its uninhibited and sardonic humor, Thompson's book is a thoughtful piece of work." As illuminating now as when originally published in 1967, Hell's Angels is a gripping portrait, and the best account we have of the truth behind an American legend.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 108 more reviews...
 Hunter at his best June 17, 2008
G. Walker (Circle, Alaska)
This is a wonderful republishing effort in hardback with a great photo of Hunter on its cover - a tribute to Thompson's literary accomplishment and treatment of the Hells Angels when they were truly a cultural attraction.
Hunter's writing is clear, fast-paced, insightful, hysterial, and damning with just a bit of the Thompson humor to get the real point across. There's not be a book on the Times and the Angels since to match it.
Great addition to the library - thanks, Dr. Thompson - RIP
One of the greatest writers of all time June 7, 2008
shonda little
I fear many young readers don't read Hunter because their sole perception of him stems from the Fear and Loathing movie. Perhaps it makes them overlook him, falsely believing they could only take something away from his genius if they themselves were acid freaks or outlaw motorcyclists. What they don't understand is story development is only part of the delicious masterpieces Hunter serves up. He could make a sentence, one short, lonely sentence brilliant. He could read the inner workings of his non-fictional subjects' minds, both good and bad, as though he held some secret intercom to their brain. Regardless of the story, whether it was some drug binging adventure in Vegas or hot presidential campaign, Hunter's details lacked in nothing. If he wrote it, the reader can close their eyes and be in that distant place in that distant time. I wasn't yet born in the 60s and 70s, but I can see that the residue from that era still heavily molds our society and our government. To move forward, it is important to understand our past. And, Hunter's work serve as an ambassador or a time machine for us to go back and reconcile and comprehend such an unbelievable time.
So, read the book. Read all his books.
Hells Angels: a hard to find modern classic. May 2, 2008
Frank Scanlon (New York City)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
A very high quality production run, hard-bound with illustrated dust jacket etc. of a very hard to find modern classic. Read Thompson as he was before he became a cartoon character like caricature. Succinct and insightful with the acerbic wit front and centre where it belongs. A cracking good read ! Excellent value too in this Modern Libraries edition. Why pay all-kinds of stoopid money on E-bay for a dog-eared paperback when you can have this for little more than the price of lunch for one alone.
Top Notch April 1, 2008
Murdock Cope (NH or FL)
In depth report of the infamous motorcycle gang by the only person with enough gall and wit to pull it off; Hunter S. Thompson. Excellent correspondence of what the Hell's Angels stood for in their prime. If you enjoy learning about the brutality humans are capable of then this is a book for you.
Gripping portrait of the counter-counterculture March 27, 2008
James Seger (The Woodlands, TX United States)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Hell's Angels begins: "California, Labor Day weekend . . . early, with ocean fog still in the streets, outlaw motorcyclists wearing chains, shades and greasy Levis roll out from damp garages, all-night diners and cast-off one-night pads in Frisco, Hollywood, Berdoo and East Oakland, heading for the Monterey peninsula, north of Big Sur... The Menace is loose again, the Hell's Angels, the hundred-carat headline..." With a start like that how could you help but be hooked? This is Hunter before Gonzo.
Hunter Thompson's Hell's Angels is a fantastically written profile of the outlaw motorcycle club from their postwar origins to their explosion on the public conscious in '64-'65. It begins with the Angels gaining nation-wide attention via a fumbled rape trial and follows the surreal path that led to their interactions and then clashes with Ken Kesey and the counter-culture movement.
Hunter takes an odd stance here. He seems to oscillate between respecting their rebelliousness and really looking down on them as worthless losers. This sort of Yin-Yang of the Hell's Angels follows through the book. They are both repellent and attractive and Hunter does a very good job of sussing out why this is in writing that is compelling and often brilliant. Liberally sprinkled with quotes of contemporary articles, song lyrics and scraps of poetry that fit into the text without distracting.
Hell's Angels is a gritty, classic slice of reportage that manages to entertain in the way good fiction entertains with a gripping narrative and larger-than-life characters.
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