Hell's Angels (1966)
Hell's Angels is a 1966 gonzo book written by Hunter S. Thompson.
For almost a year Hunter S. Thompson rode with the California Hells Angels, drinking with them, riding with them, and watching the myth the press had built collide with the men underneath it. This is his first book, written before the gonzo label stuck, and it already carries the voice: pugnacious, funny, alert to hypocrisy on every side. Thompson tracks how a few hundred outlaw bikers became a national panic, and what that fear revealed about the country doing the fearing. The bond with the club did not last, and he is honest about why. It reads like the raw ore of everything he wrote after.
Quick answers
What is Hell's Angels about?
For almost a year Hunter S. Thompson rode with the California Hells Angels, drinking with them, riding with them, and watching the myth the press had built collide with the men underneath it. This is his first book, written before the gonzo label stuck, and it already carries the voice: pugnacious, funny, alert to hypocrisy on every side. Thompson tracks how a few hundred outlaw bikers became a national panic, and what that fear revealed about the country doing the fearing. The bond with the club did not last, and he is honest about why. It reads like the raw ore of everything he wrote after.
When was Hell's Angels published?
Hell's Angels was published in 1966.
Who made Hell's Angels?
Hell's Angels was written by Hunter S. Thompson.
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A few thoughts on Hell's Angels
Gimme Shelter, the Maysles brothers' film of the The Rolling Stones at Altamont, catches these same Angels a few years on and the moment the outlaw romance curdles on camera. For the club as ongoing drama, Sons of Anarchy carries Hunter S. Thompson's fascination with brotherhood, violence, and private codes into serialized fiction.