The Bookworm: Hell’s Angles: A Strange and Terrible Saga

Hell’s Angles: A Strange and Terrible Saga by Hunter S. Thompson. 273 pages. Ballantine Books. 1966.

But in a society with no central motivation, so far adrift and puzzled with itself that its President feels called upon to appoint a Committee on National Goals, a sense of alienation is likely to be very popular — especially among people young enough to shrug off the guilt they’re supposed to feel for deviating from a goal or purpose they never understood in the first place. Let the old people wallow in the shame of having failed. The laws they made to preserve a myth are no longer pertinent; the so-called American Way begins to seem like a dike made of cheap cement, with many more leaks than the law has fingers to plug. America has been breeding mass anomie since the end of World War II. It is not a political thing, but the sense of new realities, of urgency, anger, and sometimes desperation in a society where even the highest authorities seem to be grasping at straws.

I was so sure I’d finish Hell’s Angels during my time in Iowa that I packed the next book in my “to read” queue. Well, I only read about 20 pages; I didn’t finish it until yesterday, over a week after I returned from the Hawkeye State.

Needless to say, Hell’s Angels is a good read and a classic example of Gonzo journalism. Technically it’s pre-Gonzo since it was written before “The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved” (1970), but Hell’s Angels features many long segments of narrative reporting, as well as short anecdotes, which Thompson plays a prominent and subjective role. Yet, it’s not all out Gonzo, as Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is. Hell’s Angels was written as a serious, in depth investigation to understand and unmask the rolling thunder that terrorized California during the mid-1960s.

As the “About the Author” blurb says, Thompson’s research of the Angels “involved more than a year of close association with the outlaws — riding loafing, plotting, and eventually being stomped.” He drank with them at the Oakland chapter’s hangout, the El Adobe; bought a motorcycle — a BSA, which the Angels didn’t really approve of — and rode with them; attended their notorious parties, including the multi-day, psychedelic soirees with the Merry Pranksters in La Honda; and accompanied them on their Fourth of July run to Bass Lake. He tagged along, all to get the inside scoop on what many Californians, especially local and state law enforcement agencies, felt was an uncontrollable social and cultural menace.

He did an excellent job, I think, providing a vivid and detailed outline of almost every aspect of the Hell’s Angels experience.

On a personal note: I saw a Hell’s Angel when I lived in Santa Cruz. I was sitting in traffic on Ocean Street, waiting in the queue at the Water Street light. My window was down and I could hear the distinctive motorcycle rumble approaching from behind. The rider was splitting the lanes, which is legal in California. He passed and I caught a glimpse of his “colors” on the back of his sleeveless denim jacket: the winged death’s head with a HELLS ANGELS patch on top. I can’t remember the chapter name patch, but I think it was either FRISCO or OAKLAND. (There’s a chapter in Santa Cruz, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t a SC patch.) It was just a fleeting encounter, but it was one of those giddy California experiences: I’d seen a genuine Hell’s Angel from where it all began.

New words I learned: All descriptions thanks to my iMac dictionary. Chancre: “a painless ulcer, particularly one developing on the genitals as a result of venereal disease.” Whist: “a card game, usually for two pairs of players, in which points are scored according to the number of tricks won.” Alarum: “archaic term for ALARM.” Abulia: “an absence of willpower or an inability to act decisively, as a symptom of mental illness.” Perfidy: “deceitfulness; untrustworthiness.” Histrionic: “overly theatrical or melodramatic in character or style.” Charwoman: “a woman employed to clean houses or offices.” Argot: “the jargon or slang of a particular group or class.” Monomania: “exaggerated or obsessive enthusiasm for or preoccupation with one thing.” Unlimber: “detach (a gun) from its limber so that it can be used.” Bastinado: “a form of punishment or torture that involves caning the soles of someone's feet.” Cudgel: “a short thick stick used as a weapon.” Phalanx: “a group of people or things of a similar type forming a compact body or brought together for a common purpose.” Swivet: “a fluster or panic.” Opprobrium: “harsh criticism or censure.” Rapine: “the violent seizure of someone's property.” Overweening: “showing excessive confidence or pride.” Verity: “a true principle or belief, esp. one of fundamental importance.” Stevedore: “a person employed, or a contractor engaged, at a dock to load and unload cargo from ships.”