A Wayward Angel; The Full-Story of the Hell's Angels by the Former Vice-President of the Oakland Chapter

by George Wethern and Vincent Colnett

• ISBN13: 9781592283859
• ISBN10: 1592283853
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2004-08-01
• Publisher: The Lyons Press

Summary

The Hell's Angels. The name conjures up images of toughs on Harleys terrorizing the law-abiding; of wild brawls and wild sex; of drugs and cruelty, beatings, and even murder. Their lifestyle, we think, is horrifying, but it's also perversely fascinating, for there's an alluring freedom in such nihilism. Still, nobody knows what it's like to be an Angel except an Angel-an Angel like George Wethern, for many years the vice president of the Oakland Chapter. Until he found himself in reluctant service to the courts, Wethern was the quintessential Angel, tough as they come, one of the most important drug dealers on the West Coast-a man who loved bikes, fights, women, and drugs; a man who knew the deepest secrets of Angel life. Arrested, strung out on drugs, in despair, he testified in several major trials against Angel members-and then went into hiding. In A Wayward Angel, we witness killings, drug deals worth millions, "picnics" that are nothing short of orgies, the inner codes and inner workings of the club and its bizarre initiation rites. It is a vivid portrait of the chaos of postwar California, the awful early collision of the drug scene and the alienation of modern life, a story as American as can be. This is a powerful book, and not for the squeamish; but it's fascinating and important, terrifying because it's real.

Author Biography

GEORGE WETHERN was for many years an active member of the Hell's Angels, until he was arrested on drug and weapons charges. He turned state's witness, and is currently in hiding under an assumed name.

VINCENT COLNETT is an independent journalist and writer.

Table of Contents

We all know about the Hell's Angels: toughs on Harleys terrorizing the law-abiding

wild brawls and wild sex

drugs and cruelty, beatings, and even murder

Their barbarism, we think, is horrifying, but it's also perversely fascinating, for there's an alluring freedom in such nihilism

Still, nobody knows what it's like to be an Angel except an Angel - an Angel like George Wethern, for many years the vice president of the Oakland Chapter

Until he found himself in reluctant service to the courts

Wethern was the quintessential Angel, tough as they come, one of the most important drug dealers on the West Coast - a man who loved bikes, fights, women, and drugs

a man who knew the deepest secrets of Angel life

Arrested, strung out, in despair, he bought a precarious freedom by testifying in several major trials against

Angel's members - and then disappeared into the witness protection program

A Wayward Angel is a powerful book, not for the squeamish, and a vivid portrait of the chaos of late twentieth-century California, the awful collision of the drug scene and the alienation of modern life - a story uniquely American, terrifying because it's real

We witness killings, million-dollar drug deals, "picnics" that are nothing short of orgies, and the sometimes bizarre inner workings of the biker club

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.