Book Review: Hell's Angels Motorcycle Club

By Sandy Amazeen Oct 9, 2007, 2:30 GMT

First exposed to the Hell’s Angels as a ten-year-old, Shaylor was intrigued by the sights and sounds of those leather-clad men who seemed to radiate violence and self-confidence. It was an image the photographer never forgot as he returned to this largely misunderstood group, gaining inside access to “the most difficult club in the world to enter” and produced the only book focusing on England’s membership. Forwarded by Hell’s Angels co-founder Sonny Barger, this new compact edition of over 300 photographs includes some new images. The portraits of these typically older men share striking similarities as almost without exception, they have a penetrating stare and big guns liberally covered with tattoos, usually of the Hell’s Angels Deathead. Shaylor has successfully brought the mysterious inside life of the brotherhood to light through the images of their bikes, clubhouses, HAMC events, families and final farewells to the departed. Hell’s Angels is a neatly done, eye-opening book that actively dispels some of the many misconceptions surrounding this group who take their oaths of brotherhood seriously.