Hell's Angels: Hunter S. Thompson (Penguin Modern Classics)

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Allen's characters tend to be teenage, whereas the heroes of the bike books are usually in their early or middle twenties. Terry and Scraggs left the house about ten, taking it easy on the two-mile run through downtown Oakland, keeping the engine noise down, aware of the stares from passing motorists and people on street corners, observing stop signs and speed limits, then suddenly accelerating a half block from the house of Tommy, vice-president of the local chapter, where the others were waiting. Even though by this point in his career he had published numerous articles for various journals and newspapers and was recognized as a journalist, the book was his first true exposure to a national audience.

A deputy sheriff summoned by one of the erstwhile dates said he "arrived at the beach and saw a huge bonfire surrounded by cyclists of both sexes.His pleasures in life were bashing heads, kicking the shit out of anyone too weak to defend himself, and laying anything from twelve to sixty that captured his passing fancy. 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. Could the man or woman who is thoroughly awakened possibly do the crazy things which are now expected of him or her every moment of the day? The main reason I remember them is I wondered what that white pregnant girl was doing with a bunch of suede dudes.

While not only simply portraying the other side, Thompson also documents the changes that style of life did to him personally. While Allen's views had always been reactionary, his earlier books at least depicted youth in conflict with authority. On the morning of the Monterey Run, Labor Day 1964, Terry the Tramp woke up naked and hurting all over.It has the usual "over the place" style of Thompson and as a historical document gives a great insight into an outsiders view of the Angels in the 1960's. Little Jesus, the Gimp, Chocolate George, Buzzard, Zorro, Hambone, Clean Cut, Tiny, Terry the Tramp, Frenchy, Mouldy Marvin, Mother Miles, Dirty Ed, Chuck the Duck, Fat Freddy, Filthy Phil, Charger Charley the Child Molester, Crazy Cross, Puff, Magoo, Animal and at least a hundred more . The rebellious, high-octane spokesman for the "biker lifestyle without boundaries," Barger now rides his customized Harley in Arizona, seeking "the Zen of the highway. In this way, youths who are crossing the boundary between 'childhood' and 'adult life' can momentarily assert their 'individuality', before swooping one set of oppressions for the more subtle, but equally severe, restrictions of adult life.