Under and Alone: The True Story of the Undercover Agent Who Infiltrated America's Most Violent Outlaw Motorcycle Gang by William Queen Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Under and Alone: The True Story of the Undercover Agent Who Infiltrated America's Most Violent Outlaw Motorcycle Gang
Book Review: Awesome book
Summary: 5 Stars
This was a great read. I do not read as much as I use to but was fascinated with the title at an airport bookstore so I purchased it. Needless to say, I completed it roundtrip from East Coast to West Coast and the time flew by. Book Review: A good, quick, entertaining read.
Summary: 4 Stars
William Queen was an ATF agent who spent two and a half years living under cover as Billy St. John, a member of the San Fernando Valley Chapter of the Mongols, an international motorcycle gang. In his two years working the case, he "patched in" (became an official member of the gang) and worked his way up the ranks to an executive position, gaining unprecedented access to the inner workings of the gang, including its finances and official records. His case eventually led to the indictment of 53 Mongols on counts ranging from illegal possession of firearms to drug trafficking and murder.
While it's interesting to see how Queen worked himself out of predicament after predicament, weaving lies together to cover himself, you know he's going to make it out alright simply by the fact that he lived to write the book. So there's not a much tension in those moments in retrospect. To me, the interest of the book is in learning about the outlaw biker culture, and in the moral dilemma Queen faces when he has to testify against his "brothers." While he knows he's doing the right thing, he's also grown close to many of his fellow gang members, and he can sense that they really care for him too.
The writing sometimes lapses into the sort of gun-ho speak you find in war novels, but the story tears along at a ferocious pace and is in the end a quick, easy, fun read. And Queen should be commended for the sacrifices he made and the danger he repeatedly put himself in to serve his country.
Book Review: Under and Alone
Summary: 5 Stars
I saw a friend reading this book in Sturgis at the 2005 bike rally. When he put it down for a break, I picked it up and read the preface. I was drawn in from that point on. I started reading and could not put the book down. Managed to get through the first chapter before my friend took it back. How the government was able to infiltrate a bike club and climb their ranks for two years being undercover really fascinated me. I highly recommend this book to bikers and others who are fascinated by this lifestyle.
Book Review: S.I.D. 622
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is a "must read" for any law enforcement officer that is assigned to an undercover detail no matter what the extent!! Anyone that has done undercover work will immediatley recognize some of the expierience's that William Queen went through no matter if you are in the local, state or federal field. Very motivating for any U.C.Book Review: Amazing look into todays outlaw motorcycle world
Summary: 5 Stars
Absolute must read for those interested in this genre, or anyone who ever plans on being in the same zip code as someone belonging to a violent motorcycle gang.
This ATF agent becomes a full fledged member of the Mongol bike gang for 2 years to build a case. It is a unvarnished description of a violent and perverse group of people.