5 comments about Wiseguy.

1. good fellas was based on this book and this book was really based on a rat there is no good guys only foolish not so good not so attached to humanity type guys. the outline of the book and the movie stayed the same just like with casino



2. If you've seen the movie, then you've read the book. And that's a testiment to the movie producers because this book is awesome.



3. GREAT book. It's great to read about Henry Hill, of whom the movie Goodfellas was made. A must for any fan of Goodfellas!



4. If you've seen the movie GOODFELLAS and remain curious about the book...then definitely check out Nicholas Pileggi's "Wiseguy."
   
   This is the whole story of "Henry Hill," the lower level mobster who could never be made (he was not a full-blood Italian) but was such a great earner that he made his own place in the Mob.
   
   I'm a huge fan of GOODFELLAS and it's great to see how Scorsese & Company bring the book to life. You'll often run across lines of dialogue straight from the narrative that ended up in the movie. And the book is fascinating and chilling reminder that this stuff really happened.
   
   But the book also fills in the story that the movie could only touch on. Henry's military service was completely left out of the film but is discussed here, a funny chapter about how he applied his mob money-making methods while serving his country. The book also discusses their biggest heist in detail, something not shown in the film (Henry hears of the heist while taking a shower and we never see or hear about how they pulled it off). Pileggi does a great job of weaving in New York and Mafia history as Henry tell his story.
   
   All in all, "Wiseguy" is definitely a book for anyone interested in the Mafia, a lean, fast-moving biography that sheds much more light on the GOODFELLAS phenomenon.



5. If your a mob freak like me any mob book is a great buy. This is a classic among mob books. One of the best rats tells a great book. This doesn't dissapoint. buy it, you won't be sorry.

5 comments about Hell's Angel: The Life and Times of Sonny Barger and the Hell's Angels Motorcycle Club.

1. Having grown up in the San Francisco Bay Area during the '60s and early '70s I became aware of the Hells Angels when members of the San Jose chapter trounced a friend of mine for coming back into an Angel hangout (bar) after they'd suggested (strongly) that he leave.
   
   A Hispanic car club, the "Royal Coachmen" (also out of San Jose) was shut down by the Angels when its numbers became a concern for the HAMC. Even then the Angels wielded a great deal of "underground" power and influence, as so well described in Barger's book.
   
   "Hell's Angel" is very subtle as to the shift of the club's direction which is described by Barger upon careful reading. Back in the day the Angels were unsophisticated in their tactics and techniques, and loosely organized. They were also very rough around the edges. Today the club is an incorporated organization with global wide chapters and affiliates, a strong legal network for its members and properties/enterprises, and very much the focus of international law enforcement on a daily basis.
   
   However, I knew the Angels had changed dramatically since the 60s when in Los Angeles on business in the early 90s I ran into two full patch members of the club at a nightspot on Hollywood Blvd. They were clean cut, well groomed, and their "colors" looked as if they'd come out of the dry cleaners that day. As I was leaving and was a bit ahead of them I held the door to the club open and both offered "Thank you" as they passed by.
   
   Yep, the early days as described in detail by Ralph "Sonny" Barger are now long ago lore where the Red & White is concerned.
   
   Barger makes no excuses about the criminal activities he's been involved with and convicted of. His is a well written, graphic memory of the Hells Angels with a look into the future of this organization coming from the man who created it. A "must read" for any law enforcement officer who deals with the 1% outlaw biker subculture - and who wants to be successful as an OMG investigator in terms of background and research.
   
   Finally, with Ruben "Doc" Cavazos' new book on himself as a Mongol and international president of the Mongols - one of seveal arch rivals of the Hells Angels - it is interesting to compare Barger to Cavazos in terms of their backgrounds, upbringing, and commitment to their chosen ways of life at the head of two of the Big Six outlaw motorcycle clubs globally.
   
   Say what you will, Cavazos is no Sonny Barger when it comes to old school outlaw values and traditions, and he is certainly not even in the same class when it comes to organizational abilities and vision.
   
   Hunter Thompson pegged Sonny Barger best in his own legendary best seller on the Angels - a companion book to Barger's tome that is likewise must reading for the best possible view of the brotherhood that is the Hells Angels.



2. Since he was old enough to wander out onto the streets of Oakland, California, Ralph "Sonny" Barger has done things his own way, viewing the world from his unique, American blue collar perspective. In his work Hells Angel, Sonny shares his life and opens the door to the world of the Outlaw Biker. It's as though the whole biker thing evolved as Sonny evolved, and these days Mr. Barger is held in the highest esteem as the premier elder statesman of the biker world.
   
   And why shouldn't he be? He's certainly earned it. After a life of living on the razor's edge, including drugs, beautiful women, police harassment, hard prison time, fast motorcycles, and keeping a club comprised of some of the most notorious and colorful individuals on the same page, anyone who considers himself a biker knows who Sonny is. If he doesn't, then he's not really a biker, he's one of the legion of wannabes that puts on a make believe patch, somehow trying to emulate what Sonny Barger and a few other hard cases started back in the day.
   
   I read this book coming away with the feeling of what it might be like to view the world from the Outlaw Biker perspective. I learned that many these free spirited men served their country with distinction, have conservative values of family and friends, and actually live the kind of freedom that so many in the non-1%er world fear, yet envy from the safety of their easy chairs.
   
   This book provided what I was looking for and more, and after reading it for the third time I still come away with the same feeling. Hats off to Sonny Barger for giving us a non-apologetic and in-your-face rendition of his turbulent life and times, and a glimpse of the Outlaw Biker world. This book is highly recommended.



3. The microcosm birth of the Hell's Angels motorcycle club evolved in the Fontana/ San Bernardino, California area on April 1957. Ralph Robert Barger,(Sonny) who was only 19 years old, was the founder and leader of the Hell's Angels San Bernardino motorcycle club.
   
   Sonny Barger's book, "Hell's Angel" is the only authorized, genuine story about the, sometimes, but not always, controversial motorcycle club founded by the author himself.
   
   In reading, "Hell's Angel," the reader might disagree, agree and perhaps even sympathize with the story and history of the Hell's Angels' motorcycle club. More often than not different law enforcement agencies classified the Hell's Angels as a `criminal organization' for usurping the American legal system.
   
   It is up to the reader to make his or her own assessment whether those law enforcement agencies were correct in their judgment of the Hell's Angels; or if they were prejudiced in their appraisal of the motorcycle club (MC).
   
   Many believe the original Angels were members of the U.S. Army's 11th Airborne Division; an elite group of paratroopers trained to rain death on the enemy from above, drifting in behind the lines of battle.
   "They called themselves the Hells Angels because they flew on silk wings into hell itself, bringing a brutal hope for peace with 20 pounds of TNT strapped to each leg. The nickname was a badge of honor, a mark of invincibility, a wartime emblem pointing out the toughest of the tough. It was a totem to ward off the worst."
   
   "A handful of those original Hells Angels, and many other returning soldiers who had awakened to the nightmare of war, found it difficult to settle into the half-sleep of the American Dream. After living on the edge so long, they found only a depressing fatalism and monotony in jobs, family, mortgages, and college, suburbia and cookie-cutter houses with white-picket fences." And so they joined the MC.
   
   According to Sonny Barger, "The Hell's Angels is an organization; a group of people, who get together to ride motorcycles and have fun, and go to parties." "... Just because certain people in the Hell's Angels have committed crimes in the past does not make the organization a criminal organization."
   
   Under Barger's guidance, the Hells Angels chapters came together, hammering out bylaws, codes of conduct, outlawing the practice of using drugs, choosing patches, colors, tattoos and clubhouses. The Hell's Angel's made sure that no one used their "Patch" who had not been accepted in the MC, or who were not worthy of their motorcycle club. The MC is a close-knit motorcycle club who not only fights to preserve the dignity of their "Patch," but take care, protect, and stand by one another to the fullest.
   
   There were other motorcycle clubs, throughout the United States, who not only rivaled the Hell's Angels but tried to outdo them as well. However, law enforcement organizations did not excoriated those motorcycle clubs as they hammered the anvil of law enforcement against the Hell's Angels.
   
   The Hell's Angel reputation crashed into the public consciousness in 1954 when Marlon Brando starred in "The Wild One," a Hollywood sensation inspired by the rumble at Hollister.
   
   All the while, the Hell's Angels boldness more than irritated all types of law enforcement. And in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the government tried to pin an official organized crime label on the group, trying to prosecute the Hells Angels under laws originally designed to combat the Mafia. The alleged violations of racketeering, influence and corrupt organization (RICO) laws, however, were never proved, with two hung juries that were unable to decide on 38 of 44 separate charges.
   There were many high-profile accusations, arrests and acquittals - suggesting either the Angels are slippery or that police like to arrest them despite flimsy evidence. Many believe the truth lies between both theories.
   
   George Christie, longtime president of the Ventura, Calif., chapter, who is considered Barger's second-in-command and likely successor; admits the Hell's Angels are "not monks." Nevertheless, he insists that if they were as bad as police allege, they would've been jailed and disbanded years ago." George Christi adds, "...cops chase Angels because Angels are easy to chase. Finding real criminals is much tougher, and would require investigative initiative beyond pulling over every biker wearing the infamous winged death's-head."
   
   For their part, the Angels continue to deny all criminal charges, and in 1998 happily celebrated their 50th anniversary.
   The Angels have grown, in the past 50 years, to include many chapters in the United States, a presence in many countries and a worldwide membership estimated in the thousands.
   
   I recommend, to the interested reader, Sonny Barger's book, "Hell's Angel" before reading any other books, or magazine articles on the subject of the famous motorcycle club; The Hell's Angels.



4. and a book about Satanic Architecture. But I didn't see any pictures of the Devil's House so I was disappointed. Anyway these guys are pretty scrungy. I wouldn't want the job of washing their underwear. Boy I bet they stink.
   
   The author was on a lot of drugs so I don't know how true his recollections are. Anyway .....
   
   I remember when I was living in West LA during the Iranian Hostage Crisis. One day Iranian supporters - mostly from Beverly Hills mansions - marched down Wilshire Blvd in support of Iran. They were beat up by a mob of motorcycle gangs, little old ladies from Pasadena, and irate Mexicans before they got very far. The cops stood by and laughed and cheered. The one time the Law and the Angels were on the same side. But I thought that was pretty cool.
   
   I liked the parts in the book where they stomped Anti-War hippies in Berkeley and beat up fans at a Rolling Stones concert.
   
   There is some justice and pay back - and so I guess they are kind of tarnished angels. But as bad as they are, they are a hell of lot better than the rich jerks that ship US jobs overseas just so we can all eat poison Chinese vitamins. (Some day the Chinese will make poison Harleys with tires that explode after 10 miles).



5. Ordered two books from Amazon. This review is for the 1st of the two. Order was relatively low priced. Delivery and shipment was good. Still reading and loving the book.

5 comments about Catch Me If You Can: The True Story of a Real Fake.

1. 'Catch me if you can' is a fairly entertaining, badly written fiction book that served as a base for a very entertaining, well directed fiction movie. It's not an amazing true story as the blurbs proclaim.
   
   Don't reach for this book if you want to read a true-to-fact autobiography. 'Catch me if you can' is a ghostwritten, highly embellished in style and content, largely implausible narrative that diverts from what probably really happened as much as the Spielberg movie diverts from the book. In words of Abagnale himself:
   
   'I was interviewed by the co-writer only about four times. I believe he did a great job of telling the story, but he also over dramatized and exaggerated some of the story. That was his style and what the editor wanted. He always reminded me that he was just telling a story and not writing my biography. This is one of the reasons that from the very beginning, I insisted the publisher put a disclaimer in the book and tapes.'
   
   I have yet to find this disclaimer in my copy. I like fiction and don't mind reading it as long as the author (or the publisher) doesn't try to sell it as a true story. Reading 'Catch me if you can' I had an increasing feeling that I was being conned. I swallowed all the tall tales of his forgeries, swindles and impersonations hook line and sinker, but the devil, as usual, is in details.
   
   Funnily my suspicions were aroused only when I found out he was fluent in French despite the fact that a few pages earlier he used an interpreter to communicate in that language.
   
   The description of his incarceration in a French hellhole of a prison is unbelievable to the point of ridiculous, but still the time is extended from 6 months he purportedly served to about one year.
   Then he's rescued by a Swedish policewoman Jan Lundström. Fine. I understand that all names in the book have been changed but Jan is a male name in Sweden. At this point I couldn't suspend my disbelief any longer and I put the book down unfinished.
   
   A few words about the style of writing. It's about as overdone as the facts it's supposed to desribe and nearly unreadable.



2. I gave it 4 stars only because I reserve 5-star ratings for books I could not have lived without reading, so to speak. But it is a fascinating account, and if you like knowing that it's a big world out there with people doing interesting things, you'll probably enjoy this book. Abagnale is obviously intelligent and likes to have fun -- an infectious combination. I'm interested now in reading his follow-up, The Art of the Steal: How to Protect Yourself and Your Business from Fraud, America's #1 Crime. I suspect his advice will be more helpful than the dispirited, obfuscating "instructions" of the credit reporting agencies!



3. I read this book right after seeing the movie in theaters because of how much I liked the movie. The book is a great addition to the movie because you will get to read a lot of the stories that didn't make it into the movie and read the non-hollywood version of the actual events.



4. "The parental drive Frank wants from Carl feels less evident, missing the sensitive looks and words as played in the movie by Hanks and DiCaprio."
   
   don't you realize how silly it is to complain that stuff happens in the movie(fictional) and not in the book (factual).



5. This is a fun book. Abagnale's intelligence and wit come through, though the writing is a bit stilted and the material quite dated. But Abagnale's ability to exploit appearances and to exploit the level of trust necessary for society to work is fascinating and very funny. Perhaps his most interesting con is his relationship with women. This is the ultimate con game, I'm afraid, and the book would have been far better had he explained his con in this regard and had he come to terms with it. Also, the book ends quite abruptly and is unsatisfying in explaining how Abagnale ultimately came to terms with himself.

3 comments about The King of Sting: The Amazing True Story of a Modern American Outlaw.

1. This is a book I'll read again. Exciting and fun, couldn't put it down. My son (15) and I were fighting over it!!! Definitely worth the money. This is a great story and very well told. Craig's life has been a heck of a ride so far!!



2. My favorite crime book of alltime was The Godfather, after that I enjoyed several other crime books like "Catch Me If You Can" and "American Gangster"...The King of Sting is the best true crime book I have read in a couple decades..that bares repeating THE BEST IN A COUPLE DECADES..wow, I planned to read this over a week or so...I could not stop reading this book, finished it in two days...even left work early to keep reading.
   
   The Glazer guy in my opinion, IS the most interesting 'outlaw' of our time..I relate to him as a normal guy cause in his shoes I might have done the same insane things he did...posing as lawmen,ripping off other hoods,becoming a real undercover agent,going to Hollywood to sell his story,getting back into stings, seeing his best friend and partner,Woodbeck killed, and that last sting,I could not believe it except for the writer proving it with court records....how did that miss being a national news story back then in the mid 80's...spy vs. spy...the guy even made prison pay off for him by landing a producing spot on the Ali movie Champions Forever...I will order that too...and he got that gig in prison...reads like a big time movie..for real....hope Hollywood is listening or reading...please turn this page turner into a movie before I die or better yet before Glazer does...from this book, he earned it...to sum up this was a huge suprise read for me, I got wind of it from a friend of mine who knew Glazer in Kansas City and told me to buy The King of Sting...I promise if you like crime, this is THE BOOK...



3. From the first page Glazer sucks you into his real-life (crime) drama and you won't want to put the book down until the last word. He tells his story in a cinematic fashion so that you feel like you are right there with him, sweat dripping down your neck, as he takes down drug dealers, fools the FBI, impersonates the DEA and runs for his life over and over.
   
   This book is truly amazing and I have been recommending it left and right. The idea that you can be whoever you want in this world is proven true by Glazer and luckily he lives to tell his incredible tale. The true feat is that with every high of a sting gone well, you can feel the ominous weight of what must be eventual consequences for this modern day cowboy. Read this and be captivated!

5 comments about My Bloody Life: The Making of a Latin King (Illinois).

1. I'll keep this short: My Bloody Life was not a very thoughtful book. I don't want to disparage the efforts of the author, who clearly had a fantastic story to tell. But I got the sense from reading the book that the story was told because he felt that someone needed to tell it, not because he felt he understood it in some greater sense. There are moments of clarity where he states or alludes to some grand narrative of life that the events fit into, but those moments clash with each other indicating that he's not really sure what that narrative is.
   
   I read this book along with classmates in a teacher education course, and we discussed whether we thought it was educationally valuable to read this book as opposed to some other one. We decided that it was probably beneficial for what I termed the "oh crap" factor of surprising folks that didn't know what gang life could be like. At the same time though, the class agreed that reading this book might give readers the impression that every gang is like this one and that every kid in a rough neighborhood is gang-affiliated. Please don't walk away with that understanding.



2. A great book! Once you start reading the book you can't stop. Open your eyes to reality and helps you not to judge people and see what they act like that and why is the reason behind the life style they had taken.



3. I was definitely interested in reading this book, but the fact that the "spanish" written in the book was more like spanglish, incorrect grammar, with spanish definitions completely inaccurate made me believe that this was not truly an autobiographical memoir. But when the author proceeds to state that Puerto Ricans were being deported back the island during this time of his life in the book. That is when I finally said ENOUGH!!! Puerto Ricans are AMERICAN CITIZENS BORN TO A COMMOM WEALTH NATION THAT BELONGS TO THE USA!! Before an author begins to write a "true autobiographical/memoir" get your facts straight! A proud Puerto Rican knows his/her facts! Interesting book to read, but please, take it with a grain of salt, and remember; all that you read is not always true!



4. This is one of the best books I've ever read. once you start reading, you just don't want to stop you want to find out what will happen in the next chapter. It's such a great real story.



5. For all of those people who ask -- Why gangs? This book exists. This boy who really didn't even want to be a gangster gets pulled into the undertow and becomes one of the most violent. If all teens could read this, gang activity might keep slowing down.

5 comments about Assata: An Autobiography (Lawrence Hill & Co.).

1. I'd only heard her story in snippets; she was a Panther, a revolutionary and a wanted woman. She has been lauded and lambasted and I believed that she was someone that I needed to learn more about. My education started by reading her biography.
   
   From a literary standpoint, the book is beautiful. Well written, easy to follow and interspersed with her own poetry. For it's beauty however it is still a difficult story to read. Because it is a story of a woman whose eyes, mind and heart were wide open to the possibilities of freedom and equality but was faced repeatedly with inequality, injustice, persecution and racism. Most times her story was horrifying, particularly her imprisonment, sometimes she kept it light, when speaking of her childhood, her friendships, etc. But through all times, I would suggest that her story remains relevant and inspiring and makes the reader thirst for more knowledge of her and the movement for which she sacrificed so much for.



2. Even if you have never heard of Assata you should pick up this book. It's the autobiography of a woman who now lives in exile in Cuba, telling her story of how she was arrested in the U.S. and charged with murder. When you pick up this book you can easily read it cover to cover. You will love her style; the book reads as if she is speaking to you one on one and telling you what happened. Her story is something that will show readers a view of society and government that they may have not seen or heard of before - the other side of the Black Power movement in the 1960s-1970s. The book speaks out on the corruption of the justice system and the government. Follow up after the book with materials and resources on her website for more information. Assata's few published books are difficult to find but well worth the read. She is a strong figure that is still active in making change in our society today. As a person who had not know much about the Black Power movement I was absolutely blown away by Assata's book, her work, and her continued vigilance and courage.



3. This book is a must have for revolutionary minds of the next generation. Assata illustrates the life and times of the struggle. She also reveals what black women had to go through and endure. This book is worth the purchase. Young brothers and sisters need to feed their brains with this one.



4. This is by far the best autobiography I have read so far. It was an easy read and extremely expressive. In many ways it is disturbing if you think of what the character goes through. The explicit racism, abuse, pain that Assata had to endure is decribed really well. You get to in fact life in her era, in her life when you read this book. I literally could not put it down and read it in 2 days.
   
   It pretty much gives you and idea of how things were in the 70's, what black people went through especially women, what the black panther party was really all about, the dirty system we call law, explicit racial comments and treatment etc. If you like stuff like that, then you'll love this book.



5. Wow...When you read this book you feel in another era , in another world but the sad part is that is not, it is our world and what hapened to this woman was real.I recommended to everyone regarding your ethnic gropu, but specially to blacks and whites in this country.

5 comments about Blue Rage, Black Redemption: A Memoir.

1. This is the life story of Stanley "Tookie" Williams, the legendary founder of the Crips street gang turned America's foremost street peacemaker. This book greatly expands and clarifies the story told in "Redemption", the excellent cable movie starring Jamie Foxx
   
   "Blue Rage, Black Redemption" is an incredible piece of well-written literature in its own right---notwithstanding the ultimate fate of the author---and it is a damning indictment of a cold, callous society. It describes the unchecked poverty, violence and broken schools of South Central that spawned the Crip phenomenon. And it describes Tookie's Herculean efforts to redeem himself from within the walls of San Quentin.
   
   [The added material in this reprint by Tookie's friend Barbara Becnel is especially welcome in the context of today's ongoing debate over capital punishment in California.]



2. tookie lets you know a lot in this book on how it all got started. i always wondered how in LA it was many gangs but mostly bloods and crips. this book lets you know about the crips. but, then you can pretty much figure things out with the bloods. this is a good book to read to me. he started it him and some other guys. then new comers take it to another level. usually how it always go.



3. The other reviews are correct in that you have to read this book with an open mind. It appears all the reviews for this book were written by followers and friends of Tookie. Like I said, you have to really keep an open mind when reading it, knowing that it was written by a murderer who claims redemption but doesn't admit to his crime. Even the things he does admit, and profit from, lilke forming the Crips, he never fully achieves redemption. If so, then he would have cooperated with law enforcement to help dismantle the very gangs he preaches to children about not joining. He has not even so much as given up any other gang-bangers that he witnessed committing crimes. Its clear to see where his loyalties still lie. If I had to do it again, I would borrow the book to read so I wouldn't have to spend my money on it.



4. This book is seperated into two sections. The first half being, Blue Rage and the second, Black redemption. Their's different titled chapters compiled into each section. The first half of the book is about Stan's life from being a child in Lousiana until he gets arrested in South Central Los Angeles in 1979 for the four murders he was convicted of commiting. The second half is about his educational and spiritual transition in prison along with certain events and situations.
   
   Stanley's views are extremly intresting and worth thinking about with an open mind. Things like his views about what "dys-education" is, religeon, brotherhood, spirituality, drugs, cultural education and it's importance.
   
   His thoughts about his friend's Buddah, Evil and Treach are sad, and even uplifting at times. His educational studies on death row with Treach and Evil along with his exercising disiplines are very thought provoking also.
   
   We outside of prison seem to be getting a school-based education for the sake of financial success. Stan can't do that. His transition is based on studies we need to perform here in our daily lives along with our children.
   
   This book is not your typical urban-entertainment about being a gangster or a rap song compiled into book-form. This is a very articulated insight into the cycle of poverty, racism, violence, redemption, edification, transition and enlightenment.
   
   A must read for everyone.
   
   Rest in peace Stan. I miss you.



5. If you read this book with an open mind, you would learn that the Crips gang started out as just uniting other gangs around South Central. Stan was a mischivous little boy who I believe had potiental to do great things if only he was given the opprutunity. He says that living in South Central you had to have the mentality of "Survial of the fittest". And that's where the fights with other males really began, I believe. Much of the information about his case is left out but there are clues that connect someone else to the crimes. Hint: The people who let him keep his weights at their house after not having a permenant place to stay. Right before his grandmother died she said she had a feeling that Stan needed to get outta LA because something bad was going to happen.
   I'm going to stop there and hopefully this information has interested you enough to read this wonderful book that will hopefully open your eyes to a positive light.

No comments about Lady Q: The Rise and Fall of a Latin Queen.

5 comments about Doc Holliday: The Life and Legend.

1. Doc Holliday books always suffer from the well-known fact that Doc left absolutely no written record of his own. He is, as has been noted, known only through the eyes of others. Some of his contemporaries, like Bat Masterson, are probably accurate in their appraisals. However we can never know much more about Doc himself unless something that he wrote shows up. And, it probably never will. The letters from him to his cousin are probably all gone. So we are left with a bunch of facts that we can rearrange and interpret all we want, without any guarantee that we are any closer to the truth. The author of this latest book does a good job of arranging and stacking what is known about Doc, and does a nice job of interpretation. I liked his ideas about Doc's gravesite, but wonder about the pictures...a couple of them don't seem to be of Doc (are they generally accepted to be, or not?). The author also does a nice job of questioning, appropriately, some truths that have been more or less accepted with little proof over the years (like Doc riding alone across the High Plains). A final comment: this book is dry, but is written in such a way that readers can make their own interpretations about Doc and his motivations, character, etc. Overall, a good, worthy addition to the Doc library; unless something new is discovered, this book will give you everything there is to know about Doc Holliday.



2. This is a truly masterful work. I bought it as I was interested in Holliday and the development of the West. What I found was an historical book with much about the society, economics and culture of the mid-19th Century South, as well as the rapid migration to the central and Southwest. Facinating and exceedingly entertaining and informative.



3. I was given this book as a gift. I enjoyed the movie Tombstone back when I was in college, and Doc Holliday certainly is a colorful Western outlaw. So I was really looking forward to reading this book to get the facts behind the legend. While I think the author did an admirable job researching the book, I felt his text was too dry much of the time. I couldn't understand how an author could take an exciting outlaw who interacted with so many famous characters and write out the story in a way that made me picture a monotone college professor speaking. Back in the 1990s I read John Myers Myers biography of Doc Holliday and I remember enjoying it much more. Maybe it wasn't as well researched or documented, but it was definitely more lively.



4. This book arrived on time, and was in as good of condtion as promised..if not better.



5. Excellent research by the author , considering the lack of documented historical records.He certainly captured the spirit of lawlessness that prevailed at the time.

5 comments about Outlaw Biker: My Life At Full Throttle.

1. Absolutly the worse Autobiography I have ever read. An unbelievably boring and uneventful biker story. Do not waste a nickel on this book.



2. Dick Hayes's story "Outlaw Biker: My Life at Full Throttle" is perhaps one of the few realistic, centerline stories of a man who adopted the 1%er lifestyle and the motorcycle that goes with it as his way of living life. He is not a Sonny Barger nor a Ruben Cavazos, but rather a run-of-the-mill guy / biker who lived the bulk of his life on the fringes of society with all that entails...that's why he calls himself an outlaw biker.
   
   In the macro picture he's your average 1%er and he describes how really unromantic the daily doings of a outlaw rider are despite the few, primarily criminal, "bright spots" - all that ultimately lead to either the hospital, the courts, or prison from what Dick describes.
   
   As with nearly all bios and auto-bios coming from this slice of the criminal culture, little if any remorse is extended to the victims of the outlaw biker world's dependence on drug dealing, theft, firearms trafficking, sexual slavery, assault, murder, rape, domestic violence and all those other society-killing activities that keep him and those like him rolling on two wheels.
   
   This exclusion of individual responsibility is yet another affirmation coming from the 1%er sub-culture of why Hunter Thompson ended his book on the Hells Angels with this advice from "The Heart of Darkness", the classic tome of Man at his very worst -
   
   "The horror! The horror!...Exterminate all the brutes!"
   
   Cleanly written, easy to put down and pick back up again, kudos to his co-writer for bringing it to life in print.



3. I really enjoyed reading Deadeye's book. As I read it I felt like I was sitting next to him in a bar listening to him tell stories. There were parts of it that made me laugh out loud and there were parts that made me think that this guy is insane. He has definitely lead an interesting life. My book club was lucky enough to meet him. By talking to him in person you would never guess that he has done so many "bad" things. I am looking forward to his next book.



4. This book is about an interesting character but, not really a biker book.
   Not bad but, not outstanding.



5. First off, the book is not terribly well written. It's almost as if the stories were simply dictated and typed out.
   
   As a biography, it's relatively weak. There is little insight into the author/main character and some of the material seems to stretch credulity. The author seems unable to examine his own lifestyle in any detail or with any real honesty.
   
   Some of the stories are interesting for a while, but it's not a very good book and you'll grow bored with it in a hurry.