Hell's Angels

A rambling account of a journalist's time hanging out with a lot of Hells Angels in the 60's.  Yep, that about sums it up.

I found the overall structure of the book felt almost random.  There was a very, very loose chronology but a lot of the information seemed to be stuck in haphazardly.  A "stream of consciousness" is one thing, but to me the style of this book just felt a little lazy. 

The book presents a lot of information, opinions about the "Hells Angels phenomenon" from a variety of people, and some analysis by Thompson himself.  I think one of my favorite aspects was the insertion of relevant quotes from a spectrum of sources: poets, news articles, literature, policemen and of course from members of the Hells Angels.

My least favorite aspect of the book is the misogyny.  Actually, perhaps "misogyny" is perhaps too generous a word as it is not really hatred, dislike, or mistrust of women.  It is more like a complete failure to recognize the autonomy and person-hood of women.  Certainly this may just be a reflection of the Angel's attitudes towards women.  But I don't think this adequately excuses Thompson's failure to present a female perspective.   Surely he could have found time to interview one of the "mummas" or one of the the alleged "rape" victims.  Or if he felt this would have endangered his standing with the Angel's he could have at least commented on this, or presented some further assessment of the Angel's disregard for the rights of women.

The absence of female perspectives led me to wonder how much the Angel's attitudes influenced Thompson.  He is credited with pioneering Gonzo journalism and as such he can be seen as an integral character in his book.  He immersed himself in the lifestyle and culture of the Angels and so he is able to present us with (almost) an insider perspective.  Overall the technique is effective and makes for interesting reading.  We know he participated in drug use, risk taking on his motor cycle and alcohol soaked partying.  I respect his right to do so and thoroughly enjoyed his account of this lifestyle.  However, I was left wondering if he also participated in the appalling attitudes and behavior towards women.  If so, this is something I cannot respect or take lightly.

After finishing reading the book I did some further digging.  (Google comes in very handy sometimes.)  I found this YouTube video which you might find interesting.  It restored my esteem of Thompson and took the murky sheen off my assessment of his book.  It refers to an incident that occurred after the book was published.  Apparently Thompson tried to intervene to stop an Angel from beating up his wife.

In case you don't catch it, the Hells Angel's representative says"

"If a guy wants to beat his wife and his dog bites him, that's between the three of them...."
You walked right up to him and said "Only a punk beats his wife and dog....
To keep a woman in line you have to beat them like a rug once in a while..."

Shockingly the audience applauds and laughs at this!!

Thompson was a fascinating person with a colorful life.  He "partied hard" in the 60's and 70's and has made an impressive contribution to our record of these times.  He took his own life in 2005 at the age of 67 years old.  According to the wiki page: 

Artist and friend Ralph Steadman wrote:
"...He told me 25 years ago that he would feel real trapped if he didn't know that he could commit suicide at any moment. I don't know if that is brave or stupid or what, but it was inevitable."

For more information:
The Hells Angels Website.  Does this combination of words strike you as bizarre?
Wiki article on Gonzo journalism
Wiki article on Thompson.