Phil Cross: Gypsy Joker to a Hells Angel

This is a great book. The life that this guy has lived is amazing to say the least. The people that he's met and the places and things he's seen are insane. It's also well written which isn't always the case with biker written books.

This is undoubtedly the slickest book in the biker personal memoir genre, complete with tons of photos, many in color. Like the bulk of the text, the pictures depict the author and his friends in their most innocuous moments - material carefully curated to minimize the author's involvement in any criminal activity and showcase his happy marriage, his serious health problems, and his worldwide tourism.While the author mentions in the appendix having had literally too many fights to keep count of and friends who were killed by other bikers, most of the action in the book involves accidents on runs. The author talks about being on the FBI's 10 most wanted list but glosses over the reason why. His crime(s) and those of his fellow bikers get less play than his real estate dealings, his travels to Europe and Asia or his medical history.Overall it's a nicely put together book and if you don't mind a whitewashed version of the outlaw life you'll find it an easy read. But if you're looking for kick-ass biker action, there are better options out there.

He's pretty much a blow hard, but it's an entertaining read, at least for about 3/4 of the book. Definitely a look at me book, but I suppose that's what a biography is. Unless you read a criminal who has flipped book, then you're not going to get much info inside the book.

For those of us who know about motorcycle clubs only via "Sons of Anarchy", this book is the autobiography of someone who has actually lived the life for over 40 years. Phil Cross was, and still is as of the time of publication, a member of the Hell's Angels MC in northern California. This book represents a highly detailed and generally good-natured look at his life experiences. There are a ton of vintage photographs of bikers and bikes and locations across America and the world.This won't be the best-written autobiography you'll ever find. The listed co-author is Phil's wife, and there's not exactly a journalistic veneer to the enterprise. While that would ordinarily be worth deducting a point or two for the purpose of this rating... honestly, it just doesn't matter, here. Phil's experiences in the MC dating back to the late 1960s are entertaining enough that you'll enjoy listening to a world-class raconteur more than you'll be quibbling over phrasings, or paragraph or chapter structure. While not necessarily all of the stories are 100% true (as winked at in both the afterword, and in the very, very carefully written disclaimer on the copyright page), they probably pass the test of being "true enough".Phil has certainly seen some times. He was on the stage at Altamont during the infamous Rolling Stones concert in which an audience member was killed. He describes numerous fight and motorcycle wrecks for the years, and describes too many friends who were killed, in fights or in wrecks. It does get a bit hard to follow him at times -- these are intensely personal stories, and he also makes liberal use of nicknames to describe his ever-changing array of friends and club brothers; it's often hard to relate to a lot of his stories, simply because the who's-who gets confusing.Along the way, Phil also contracts hepatitis, as the result of an ill-advised visit to a tattoo parlor, and survives a bout with cancer. The book portrays him as a fighter, in both the literal and the figurative sense. In the end, the years fly by, but Phil keeps going no matter what life throws his way. While missing the complicating plot structures and theatrically tragic events of a typical "Sons of Anarchy" season, this is still a pretty compelling book about a uniquely American lifestyle.

I was inspired to read this book, after visiting the Tabott Motorcycle Museum in Carmel Valley, CA., and seeing the beautiful bike that Cross had donated. Cross doesn't give much information about why he started out in the biker lifestyle, but this really isn't an introspective memoir; it's more anecdotal accounts of Phil's life as a biker, his membership in two clubs, his many wrecks (only a few described), run-ins with the law, imprisonment, buddies, hanging out with celebrities like Willie Nelson and John Belushi, and the numerous fights he engaged in. He dedicates some ink in the book to his wife, though it's written in the least romantic way that one can write. Don't look for emotion here, but then he's a Hell's Angel, what was I expecting?So, though I truly don't understand what "motorvated" Cross in his life, it was entertaining. One horrifying account about a skydiving accident made me wonder about the effect that might have had on him, but as mentioned prior, Cross doesn't reveal too much of an emotional nature. Many of the stories were of the head-shaking variety, and there was one off-putting comment-Cross' derogatory description of a fellow prisoner (woman) at Terminal Island, who was pregnant - which was unnecessarily cruel enough to lose a star in my review. Look, you can be a tad decent, even if you are a 1 percenter outlaw biker! Otherwise, this was a fascinating read from an interesting "F.B.I.'s Most Wanted" character.

This is no disrespect meant to the author, he has published a book about his life so fair dos, but as a read very little happens. I think the life stories told, probably you had to be there as they just follow on one after another without a feeling that anything is happening, maybe too little detail or maybe just too honest? But for me each episode and encounter just fizzles out.

The book is an interesting inview on MC life, an entertaining read.Although it is sometimes hard to read, because of the writing style. The author seems to be jumping through the time-line, leaving some gaps in the story... This must be to the lack of professional writing skills.Otherwise it is a good book about motorcycle club world.

I really enjoyed this one, honest, funny and an interesting insight into this man's life. The photos are great too

Love HA and everything about them!

Good book well worth the read , would like to know what he’s doing these days and what went on with Steve at the funeral