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The Assimilation: Rock Machine Become Bandidos - Bikers United Against the Hells Angels
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Product Description
From years of bloody conflict to probationary Bandidos membership, this memoir recalls the life and times of an outlaw biker from Oklahoma and his quest to add to the Bandidos Nation. The Rock Machine, founded by Salvatore Cazzetta, had every intention of standing up against the Hells Angels. Heavily outnumbered, the Rock Machine appealed to the worldwide Bandidos Motorcycle Club, who rivaled the Hells Angels in terms of membership and strength. In January 2000, the Rock Machine ceased to exist and became a probationary Bandidos chapter. Winterhalder was assigned this transition and, at 46 years of age, was considered an elder statesman in the outlaw biker world. He was the founder and former president of the Oklahoma Bandidos and a confirmed biker for 25 years. Furthermore, he possessed a keen knowledge of jurisprudence and was an astute businessman who owned and operated a multi-million dollar construction management company. Starting with the arrest and unsuccessful deportation proceedings, and leading to more intrigue, assassinations, and double-crosses, Winterhalder found his life spiraling further and further out of control.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #57422 in Books
- Published on: 2008-06-01
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Hardcover
- 312 pages
Editorial Reviews
From Booklist
As a leader of the Bandidos motorcycle gang, Winterhalder facilitated the assimilation of the Toronto-based Rock Machine gang into the Bandidos. Before his retirement from the club in 2003, Winterhalder was instrumental in running the Bandidos, an international motorcycle club formed in the American Southwest in the 1960s and affiliated with the Outlaws in their ongoing contretemps with Ralph “Sonny” Barger’s Hells Angels. In furthering the Bandidos’ interests, Winterhalder managed the incredibly delicate process of accepting the embattled Rock Machine into the larger group, thereby saving those Canadian chopper pilots from the extreme duress applied to them by Maurice “Mom” Baucher’s Montreal-based Angels chapter. Providing another perspective on matters Barger has weighed in on in many books, Winterhalder makes an important contribution to the documentation of a quintessentially American subculture. --Mike Tribby
Review
"Winterhalder makes an important contribution to the documentation of a quintessentially American subculture." —Booklist
"Engaging, witty, and conversational." —Quill and Quire
"Intriguing. . . . Winterhalder certainly has the credentials to speak with authority about motorcycle clubs in general, and the Bandidos in particular. . . . In an extremely incisive and informed dissection, Winterhalder moves out of the shadows to give his take on the [Shedden, Ontario] slayings." —The Globe and Mail
"Details Winterhalder's efforts to take Canadian bikers into the Bandidos' fold amid a bloody war in Quebec." —Hartford Courant
"Extremely compelling. . . . I read this in one sitting and would recommend this to anyone with an interest in motorcycles or even an interest in organizations that may be straddling the law. " —Crimespree
About the Author
Edward Winterhalder is a former high-ranking world leader of the notorious Bandidos Motorcycle Club until his departure from the club in late 2003, and is now one of the world's leading authorities on motorcycle clubs. He is the author of Out in Bad Standings. He lives in Owasso, Oklahoma. Wil De Clercq is a freelance writer whose connection to the outlaw biker world dates back to the 1960s. He lives in St. Catherines, Ontario.
Customer Reviews
The Assimilation
In the book The Assimilation, the authors provide a definitive glimpse into the outlaw biker phenomenon, the 1%er culture. At one time or another we've all seen them, displaying the regalia indicating the intense loyalty to their motorcycle clubs, the various 3 patch colors screaming their presence to the wary public. Every marking, every patch, every pinned item has its own special meaning. And if you don't know, don't ask.
The Assimilation will tell how these outlaws from society take their clubs and their patches dead serious, and that means dead in the literal sense. The combined deaths of 160 bikers in the Canadian biker wars between the infamous Hells Angels Motorcycle Club and their sworn enemies the Rock Machine MC form the basis for this riveting true story.
Like the Hells Angels, the notorious Bandidos MC are a powerful worldwide organization with chapters in many countries. With clandestine outlaw biker politics working at a fever pitch at that time, the Bandidos planned to assimilate the Rock Machine into the fold, as indicated by the title of this work.
Enter Mr. Winterhalder. As a member of the Bandidos MC, he traveled to Canada to represent the Bandido's interest. Interspersed with a first hand rendition of these events is an interesting view of Mr. Winterhalder's life and a matter of fact telling of how he came to be in the position of representing one of the most powerful outlaw motorcycle clubs in the world.
To anyone interested in the subject of outlaw motorcycle clubs, I highly recommend this work as an "inside look" written by a man who spent 25 years living the life of a 1%er, and at one time held the rank of national secretary to one of the most celebrated outlaw motorcycle clubs, the Bandidos MC.
the assimilation: Rock Machine Become Bandodos
If you've read The Road to Hell: How the Biker Gangs are Conquering Canada you will know the story Ed tells. This is a book that comes from one of the losers in the battle for Canada's riches. According to Ed, the Bandidos tried to be a part of the quest for a Charter in Canada, but lost their bid to the Hell's Angels. The truth of the matter is; The Rock Machine split between the two clubs.
Ed, or somebody , did a good job of writing this book. I found it easy to read
I'll read it again!!
One of the best books I've read on biker material. Author gives you an in depth look of the goings on in the little known world of bikers. I enjoyed his first book as well. This one does not disappoint!!! Looking forward to more books by this particular author!!
