Riding on the Edge: A Motorcycle Outlaw's Tale

by John Hall

Ride with author John Hall into the turbulent world of 1960s bike club culture, from the time he joined an upstart motorcycle club from Dixie, and rose to become Long Island chapter president of the Pagans, a club that the FBI called "the most violent criminal organization in America." Follow him into the Pagan heartland of Pennsylvania where he fell in love, got in a roadhouse brawl over a honky-tonk angel, and eventually went to jail for "takin' care a club business." Now after a career as a journalist and college professor, he returns to the violent days of his youth and smashes up stereotypes like he once smashed up bars, resurrecting long-dead brothers, in a style reminiscent of Jack Kerouac and Mark Twain. Hall presents them as they really hard living, hard loving, hard drinking, hard fighting rebels, but also hardworking, patriotic, loyal, and lovable characters, and a band of brothers whose outlandish behavior forged an all-American outlaw legend in the tradition of Jesse James, Doc Holliday, John Dillinger, and Pretty Boy Floyd. Outlaws yes, but outlaws as American as apple pie.

Genres: Motorcycle

301 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Deadlift · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riding on the Edge should be considered a must read for any would be adventurer on two wheels. John Hall is a clearly intelligent, street-wise individual with an above-average personal history into a dynamic and complex piece of American sub-culture and counter-culture. It was not the violence, drunks, boozing, fast bikes, or fast women which remained with me - it was the deliberate injecting of mythology of Old World romanticism which rings truer to anyone who has experienced such a lifestyle.

Hall is unapologetic for the actions of he and his brother but he is also to frame it not only the context of the evolution of the 20th century but in the context of Western Civilization. All the conflicting faucets of biker life is there - the individualism, the collectivism, the zen, the violence, the self-abuse, the conflict, the tribal loyalties and the social peer pressure. He did indeed ride on the edge and live to tell about it - luckily for us he also happens to be able to write like a Norse poet.

[Bridget Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

BEST BOOK EVER! Sure, my dad wrote it, so I'm a little biased. But seriously, bikers, history, and a love story. What more could you ask for?

[Michael Conrad · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a really good read and I enjoyed it. I've actually read it through a few times now. The reason I have rated it so low is there are many questions of the validity of the stories. Many former and current Pagans from Long Island and New York have been on record as not knowing who the author is/was and have said some of his stories on how some members died, or what happened, were not accurate. I have no way of knowing if this is true or not. So I would recommend this book to anyone who loves the culture as an enjoyable read but would caution the reader to take what you read with a grain of salt and just enjoy it.

[L.V. Sage · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite biker-related books. Hall was a member of the Pagans MC during the 1960's, when the clubs were more into riding, drinking, fighting & getting laid. This account is honest, interesting, respectful & even romantic. A nice picture of a time gone by. I highly recommend this book!

[Dachokie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Outlaws of a Different Era ..., October 22, 2010

There are several books available that detail the more sinister side of outlaw motorcycle clubs, but John Hall's story is not one of them. Rather than portraying a criminal history of the Pagans Motorcycle Club, "Riding on the Edge" reads more like a recollection of a roaming band of gypsies' grand adventure with a Jack Karouac or Charles Bukowski edge. While it does delve into some criminal activity, the tale parallels more with the rebellious nature of youth growing up in the turbulent 1960s than the organized-crime element associated with outlaw motorcycle clubs today.

Hall presents the early days of the Pagan Motorcycle Club in Pennsylvania in somewhat of a romantic and innocent manner: a culturally-mixed band of local misfits hitting the road in search of adventure in the mid-to-late 1960s only to find trouble every stretch of the way. The entire book details a fleeting period of time when "outlaw" behavior consisted more of beer guzzling and barroom brawling with local fledgling outlaw clubs who violate Pagan "turf" ... not the RICO qualifying activities of today's outlaw clubs.

Hall proves himself to be an intelligent and gifted storyteller as he tickles the reader's senses with such vivid detail. One can almost smell the grime on the greasy denim vests, taste the stale Iron City swill and clearly see the beauty and beast nature of the various women encountered along his journey. The experiences are exhilarating, raucous, dangerous and often humorous. With the Vietnam War, hippies and burgeoning drug use as a backdrop, Hall paints a last-gasp scenario of life being lived to the fullest before an anticipated end to all the freedom and fun ... more like sex, booze and brawling. Artistically woven throughout the book is the heavy influence of European culture (mainly Dutch and German) that colors the world of Hall and his fellow Pennsylvania Pagans. The constant reference of Dutch lore and colloquial words/phrases oddly tempers the stereotypical image of outlaw bikers being militant Aryan thugs. While Hall admits many fellow Pagans adorned swastikas, either painted on helmets or, like Hall, inked into his flesh; he admits the purpose is more for outlaw shock value rather than adhering to a radical ideology.

"Riding on the Edge" reads as a lamenting tale of times long gone. The locale of Hall's chapter is depicted more as a Pennsylvania version of Mayberry where the bikers were more or less treated as local nuisances than part of a criminal empire. The looming change in society becomes more evident the later-half of the book as the brawling gets more violent, law enforcement gets more serious and drugs become more prevalent. As the book draws to a close, there is definite sense that the fun is over as many of the colorfully-named characters that factored so heavily into Hall's life back then (SweetWilliam, Davey SuperMouth, Gums, the Mortician et al) drop-out, disappear, are imprisoned or die. With the final chapter Hall graciously treats us to an update on several of the individuals that survived the bulk of his adventure, but I was hoping for more details.

"Riding on the Edge" is old-school outlaw life, not the hyper-violent visage of the modern 1%er. It is a truly unique perspective of life during the infancy phase of arguably one of the more secretive outlaw clubs. The tumultuous and degenerate 1960s fueled the anything-goes lifestyle for John Hall and his fellow Pagans, setting up a myriad of wild adventures that Hall vibrantly recollects in his book

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book telling the story of the early days in the New York Pagan's MC. Well written and a good story. If you like Biker books you'll like this one. It starts a little slow in the first few pages, but sucks you in pretty quickly after that.

[Michael Filippini · Rating 3 out of 5]

First off, there is no justification to wear a swastika. It's a hate symbol. Millions of people were murdered under that guise and a whole world war was fought because of a twisted cross. Stop parading around with swastikas. Thank you!

I just can't do anymore war stories I've heard enough of them. The pagans were always the dumbasses of the 1% world and always a pain in the neck for both rival club's and law enforcement alike. For an Independent book it was pretty solid and not too self-boasting. I couldn't finish this book because of the constant ethnic slurs used and racism apologetics. I got to 139 out of 309 then put it down.

At this point, I'm done with the biker game genre. This will be my final read on the subject. Its nothing I don't already know.

Thank you,

Michael Filippini

[Tom Mueller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author John Hall takes the reader on a ride of the 1%er life in the 1960s. He was Pagans MC Chapter President of the Long Island Chapter for a good part of that decade. John is now a Penn State professor of English. Those he rode with and loved formed the crew that forged the lasting Outlaw Legend that lives on.
To say more, I would end up using trite clichés that, having lived the life, can't impart what the author does. Read the inside flap of the book for those. For any who lived the life - or were close to it - this is a must read.

[Iain Parke · Rating 3 out of 5]

One from the opposite side of the country from most of the 60s books which tend to focus on the West Coast/HAMC, this claims to be autobiography of a Pagan chapter president in the early days of the club in the late sixties. Very much a tale of a young gang of toughs hanging out, drinking, riding and getting into fights.

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[Janice · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the book could have been so much more, especially since the author is now an English professor. It just seemed to be an endless listing of events and it did draw me in. I know the author and was surprised to learn of some of the things that went on.