Book review: The Road to Hell : How the Biker Gangs Are Conquering Canada

I was offered this book following my review of Under and Alone as it followed the theme of Back patch clubs. Ordinarily I wouldn't have bothered as most of this type of literature is sensationalist and deeply routed in supposition. Road to Hell however seemed to be a different prospect, written by two Canadian Journalists who were attempting to chart the rise of the Hells Angels in Canada. The book has been very thoroughly researched and contains quotes from many police reports, retired police officers and persons allegedly affiliated to Back Patch Clubs.

The Road to Hell is not a walk in the park, it does not comprise light reading and it would have been useful to have a diagrammatical chart to show the relationships between people, clubs and organisations mentioned in the book (with a timeline). What is staggering is the amount of information crammed into this book. From a due diligence perspective, hats off to the authors, they have covered some seemingly innocuous details that come back later in the book and prove to be errors of judgement on either the side of the law or the bikers. The authors have done an extremely good job of condensing a decade of activity on both the sides of the law and the bikers. Including inter club relationships, inter police department relationships and the relationships in‑between.

Initially the book establishes some characters, specifically the main members of the Canadian Nomad chapter of the Hells Angels and a biker‑turned‑agent Danny Kane. The book also pays attention to key Law enforcement officers , specifically the handlers of Danny Kane. The Characterisation is impartial without any real negative side comments the authors don't write phrases like " The Angels sat with a wolf‑like grins, eyeing their prey" they do refer to certain side comments that are made or a general attitude towards a situation. The authors describe some very provocative situations where the Angels aggravate the Royal Canadian Mounted Police by frequenting their local café and sitting at their usual tables, or during a mass patch over of rival clubs the taunts from both sides. There is quite a bit of tit‑for‑tat described in the book and the authors are fearless when describing the sometimes school boy level errors the Law enforcement agencies make and this is where the book comes into it's own. The book describes events both sides of the fence in equal measure ensuring that success and failures from both the Law and the Bikers are captured. There is a general overview of the biker wars with only pivotal events getting any real attention; this keeps the sensationalist elements to a minimum. The books complexity comes from the constantly changing departments within the law enforcement agencies and the migratory habits of the Angels. I personally had difficulty remembering many of the relationships and the names mentioned. I did however find the distinction between Anglo Canadian and French Canadian interesting, the book alludes to a difference of success although never explicitly stating why, as a reviewer I can only presume it is a cultural Canadian thing of which Authors have presumed we all have knowledge.

The general picture painted of Biker Back Patch clubs is one of Freedom, Rebellion, raping and pillaging. This book dispels those myths very early on. Instead we are presented with a study of a hugely successful business entity and some very ambitious individuals, Drugs and murder being key to these ambitions. The Hells Angel in Canada are praised by the enforcement agencies for their organisation, loyalty to the patch and their ability to influence once sworn enemies into partnership. The law admit their failings to a certain extent and describe the Angels as a cut above. You can't help feel the frustration of certain officers as they are repeatedly inhibited by the bureaucracy of law.

The book falls down on the erratic chronology, the book starts in the nineties and on occasion (randomly it seems) the book will leap back to that timeline at the mention of a new character. It makes the read frustrating, complicated and ultimately makes you want to get to the end of the book quickly. There are vague attempts at luring the reader on by hinting at the outcome of future events, but these pay lip service to the multi threaded plots throughout. All in all the book is information rich and does offer a huge insight into how the Hells Angels as an Organisation spread across Canada unabated. As quoted in the book itself;
"The Hells Angels are a bundle of contradictions. They control much of the country's cocaine trade but will expel members for abusing drugs. They profess to be anti‑authoritarian rebels but enforce some of the strictest, most restrictive club rules of any organisation. They openly wear their gang colours and yet run one of the most secretive underground empires."

7/10 (marked down for complexity)