Outlaws. One-Percenters. Visigoths on wheels.The sordid saga of outlaw biker culture began after World War II when thousands of combat veterans, many ex-Air Force, formed motorcycle clubs for the sheer purpose of drinking and raising hell. But after an out-of-control party in a northern California town in 1947 made national news, the beasts escaped their cages and roamed American highways, looking for small towns to terrorize. Or so the myth says.
WILD RIDE: How Outlaw Motorcycle Myth Conquered America tells the sprawling story of how a sub-culture of miscreants led to a billion-dollar industry that influenced fashion, pop culture, and rock 'n roll. Opening with a helmet law rally in Sacramento, WILD RIDE takes readers through the formation of the Boozefighters, the first "outlaw" biker club, the Hollister Incident, THE WILD ONE, the Hells Angels, biker films, EASY RIDER, organized crime, the Harley-Davidson saga, and the appropriation of outlaw trappings by rich urban bikers (RUBs). The book also includes the unforgettable profile of a Vietnam vet-turned-outlaw biker who spent 25 years living on the fringes until a breakdown at the Vietnam Veteran Memorial led him out of his personal darkness.
WILD RIDE tells a story that could only be found in America.
WILD RIDE: How Outlaw Motorcycle Myth Conquered America tells the sprawling story of how a sub-culture of miscreants led to a billion-dollar industry that influenced fashion, pop culture, and rock 'n roll. Opening with a helmet law rally in Sacramento, WILD RIDE takes readers through the formation of the Boozefighters, the first "outlaw" biker club, the Hollister Incident, THE WILD ONE, the Hells Angels, biker films, EASY RIDER, organized crime, the Harley-Davidson saga, and the appropriation of outlaw trappings by rich urban bikers (RUBs). The book also includes the unforgettable profile of a Vietnam vet-turned-outlaw biker who spent 25 years living on the fringes until a breakdown at the Vietnam Veteran Memorial led him out of his personal darkness.
WILD RIDE tells a story that could only be found in America.
