Great book about the Hells Angels of the 1960's and the media circus surrounding them. Really dispells misconceptions about the gang being cool, rebellious free spirits. This book paints them as they most likely were, violent losers.

There are some troubling things about the authors dealings with the subject matter, which is common throughout Thompson's work, but I am still a fan.

An interesting look at how myth and legend can spur on a group of outlaws like the Hell's Angels.
While Thompson certainly doesn't sugar coat or glorify the actions of the Angels, his treatment of gang r*pe committed often by this group is not great.

Not for the faint of heart. 

This was a thrilling example of long-term subjective journalism, something that Thompson excels at. A deep-dive into the way of life of motorist outlaws in California, this does a spectacular job at rendering not only the facts, but the creed that drove these people towards the way of life they chose. Fuelled by alcohol, drugs and wild sexual impulses, the Angels seem to be a menacing and captivating legion of rebels that will stop at nothing to satisfy their base urges. Thompson manages to reveal the ugly truth beneath the paranoia manifested by ordinary Americans at the 'menace', and when the mask drops all that is behind it is a sick fascination with those that were able to create a life so completely detached from "white picket fence" goals as to be threatening merely through the questions they raised in the minds of idle suburban fathers. 

There were bits and pieces that were very insightful, particularly in the 22nd chapter, but on the whole the reporting seemed to be a bit too unstructured, too intimate. Maybe the story would have benefitted from being a little bit leaner, and the editing on this feels a bit too lenient - there are certainly parts that could have disappeared without fundamentally altering the story. The chapters about their views on women and Black people were hard to stomach, perhaps because of their graphic depictions of violence. Still, I read this quite quickly and it made me curious about "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas", because Thompson really seems to shine when gripping the underbelly of the American dream and throwing it on the butcher's table.