The Bikeriders

Rating:
Summary: Authenticity
Review: An amazing collection of incredible photography from an almost undocumented era in American motorcycling. Powerful, moving, deeply authentic.

Throughout history, there have always been people who felt that they had nothing left to lose. People who had come to the conclusion that polite society was just a whitewash over something that was rotten to the core. Often, they decided this during very hard childhoods, as they found themselves betrayed by parents who were themselves just too screwed up to love their children.

Arriving at 18, mad at the world, a fast bike and a wide-open horizon look pretty good to these people; and if you don't care whether you live or die, you ride that bike fast and crazy and you grab whatever goodies life has to offer, legal or not.

I was deeply saddened and powerfully moved by the images in this book. Again and again I got the impression that these are people who are riding away from something as fast as they can, in the ultimately futile hope of outrunning whatever it is. I'd be willing to bet that the pirates of 300 years ago had a similar look in their eyes; a look of sadness and desperation, mixed with the ferocity of an incurable anger.

The photographs are works of high art, and from the perspective of a lifelong motorcyclist, it is wonderful to see choppers that were actually built by their owners rather than bought out of a catalog by people who are "squares" 5 days a week. These images remind us of why we motorcyclists got the reputation we're trying to live down; and despite my sadness for the messed up lives I see here, like everyone else I have to look at this book. Nothing is quite as fascinating as the freedom, the tragedy, the passion and the sadness that comes from having nothing to lose in a society that judged mercilessly without wanting to know what they were judging.

Give a copy of this book to your white-collar buddy with the store-bought $35,000 bar bike; it might give him a little more understanding of who he thinks he's trying to be.

Rating:
Summary: An absolutely essential document
Review: If you're interested in bikes, the biker lifestyle, or how the 'outlaw' subculture developed, you must invest in this book. Danny Lyon rode with the Chicago Outlaws in the early sixties and his photographs form a unique visual documentary about the life of the early bike rebels. The photographs are superb; the accompanying texts revealing and fascinating. If nothing else, this book illustrates the origins of the Harley-Davidson 'chopper' and the prevalence of British bikes in motorsport 40 years ago. Simply one of - if not the - finest books on motorcycle culture ever published.

Rating:
Summary: The Bikeriders
Review: More a photography book than anything but also has interviews with the people who grace these pages. Chronicles the early years of the Outlaws MC, the pics in this book are amazing. The bridge being ridden across in the photo "Crossing the Ohio River" which is considered by many to be the greatest motorcycle photograph ever is about a five minute ride from where I live. Every time I ride across that bridge I think about that pic. The Bikeriders is one of the few, if not the only, non-sensationalized books having to do with outlaw motorcycle clubs.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent history of the early Mid-West outlaw bikers.
Review: This is a cool book. Great pictures and good copy although I would have liked more details. In that it was primarily written about the Mid-West, it focuses on the OUTLAWS MC and the roots of the club. It's always good to find information about other 1% clubs (since the HELLS ANGELS MC has always been the major focus of most "outlaw biker books"), however more details on other clubs would have been a plus. It does remind one that there was a time when the OUTLAWS and ANGELS could ride and party together and didn't feel a need to shoot each other on sight. It's also helps us remember that the early outlaws bikers didn't all ride Harleys. While I believe the book's a little pricey, if you're into Outlaw Bikers, this should be in your collection.

Rating:
Summary: THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF IT KIND, EVER!
Review: This is one of the best books ever done on the sixties biker culture. It is filled with testimonials and pictures, the kinds that you don't see anywhere else. It's fantastic that this book has been re-released because originals are next to impossible to come across!

Rating:
Summary: A classic.
Review: What a great book! Danny Lyon is a national treasure... this book redefined documentary photography, practially inventing the participant/observer stance.