[.ca] Wild Ride: How Outlaw Motorcycle Myth Conquered America (ISBN 1575001454)

Yes,Peter Fonda's Photo,with helmet,included....:
Best is the 14 or so pages on how "Dr." Hunter S Thompson got offer to write first 'book' on Hell's Angel's,truly from their perspective,(not police blotter reports).Outrageous mixer at Ken Kesey's ranch with Neal Cassady,(Dean Moriarty of "On the Road")..Gordon Alpert,LSD proponent,(now Dam Rass).. & music by for runner of Grateful Dead band. Will be adopted as collateral read for "deviant sub-cultures" & "americana folklore",an Easy-& enjoyable ride/

Why...:
Unfortunately, the author of "Wild Ride" did not take the time to learn anything about motorcycles and exhibits little more knowledge about motorcyclists. From the first page, he tosses out arcane technical observations without knowing the meaning of the terms. Reference after reference is made to both bikes and riders with no regard to substantiation for, had the author cared to verify his material, he would quickly discovered the information he cites is erroneous. I will admit that I did not read the entire book. After the dismay of crawling through the first couple of chapters, I checked random parts of the rest of the material only to discover more of the same. My bookshelf is heavy with books about motorcycling. I have four decades of riding experience, many of those years astride Harley-Davidsons. I know that my reaction to the author's misinformation is not picking at nits, it's an observation of careless journalism. Two thumbs down...

Save your time:
Very little new information. You won't find much in this book that hasn't been written elsewhere numerous times. Author also has some sort of vendetta for off road motorcycling. He really needs to research his sources better to avoid such pitfalls. Should have checked this out of the library, but they didn't have it.

In the top 1% of the books about the "one Percenters":
Hunter Thompson's much beloved bible 'bout the Angels, and them like 'em, and those that wannabe, is a ... hard act to follow. But I truly liked this book. Unlike a lot of the other books out there on the subject, which are just "retreads" (sorry 'bout that) of what we've all read and seen before, this effort actually brings us up-to-date. And it does it in a matter-of-fact, objective, but very readable way. In too many books about the "Outlaw Biker/Culture," the author gets in the way - trying to impress us with his, or her keen observations. Mr. Reynolds just lets the subject/subjects speak for themselves, and that to me made it all the more interesting. I've been riding since I was 14, and readin' even longer - and I highly reccomend this book

An intellectual peek:
Read this book recommended by a biker and being a woman did not want to however very good, for me, historical journey. Who cares about a biker club's beginning or past? Now I do thanks to Reynolds. Knowing about this American sub-culture's beginnings helps very much to understand from a psychological point of view. Technical info about the mechanical horse is frivolous and unnecessary compared to the characters en pointe and the facts that tell the story are verity. I'd like to see Trash's story unfold on film one day ...