Hell's AngelThe Life and Times of Sonny Barger and the Hell's Angels Motorcycle Club

Hell's Angel is a slice of rebel Americana that begins in the late 1940s in California, as restless servicemen returning from the war sought to maintain the camaraderie and excitement of being in the military by forming clubs. They answered the call of the open road, and motorcycles (similar to the types of off-road transport they drove in the war) were the vehicles of choice. Thus began a social/cultural phenomenon that continues to burgeon today.§Hell's Angel chronicles the origins and rise of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) through the eyes of its visionary founding member, Sonny Barger. Finally, the Angels have their side of the story laid out by one of their own. Ralph Barger started the Oakland chapter of the Hells Angels in the late 50s with a loose-knit group of high school dropouts and bored social outcasts. Bonded by the love of motorcycles, they formed a cadre of loyal, brave, fun-loving and hard-driving hombres. When other chapters surfaced in 'Frisco and San Berdoo, Barger instilled the tight discipline and tenacity of his Oakland crew in the other charters. With Barger's leadership and guidance, Hells Angels chapters sprouted up and down California, across the nation, and then around the world. There are now just under 100 active chapters, about a third of which are inside the United States.§Hell's Angel is not only a story of motorcycles, it is a tale of loyalty and betrayal, subcultures and brotherhood and freedom. It is Sonny's fight for personal freedom and his right to exist with a band of individuals who choose an alternative life. In many ways, Hell's Angel is a quintessentially American tale.