First printing of Lyon's influential work, with an original vintage print of his photograph "Route 12, Wisconsin," the book's iconic cover image. The Outlaws were formed in the 1930s in Illinois, so they are among the oldest of the 1% outlaw clubs, and the largest in the Midwest. The Bikeriders is one of the few, if not the only, non-sensationalized books having to do with outlaw motorcycle clubs. NOTE: All of these books - hardback - softback and paperback are in perfect condition and many are mint - like new!

First pd in 1968, The Bikeriders explores firsthand the stories and characters of the Chicago Outlaws Motorcycle Club. It was announced in August 2022 that Nichols would also direct the film, with Jodie Comer, Austin Butler, and Tom Hardy being cast. I once had motorcycle fever, so in 1966 I and a half dozen others founded a motorcycle gang sometimes referred to as a club.Often compared to Robert Franks' "The Americans" or Larry Clark's "Tulsa" for its' grit and immersion in the subject, Danny Lyon’s book of photography was sort of a companion piece to Hunter Thompson's "Hell's Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga" - firsthand New Journalism reporting about life on "The Edge", seemingly casual but with a whiff of latent violence in every breath, ready to catch a spark and ignite.

The pictures are intriguing and together with the stories, the reader gets a clear view into the lifestyle of the motorcycle club at such a pivotal time in American history.This book is responsible for a good share of popularising their high speed abandon and raucous camaraderie. You want to see just what its like just step out into a nice big old fat ocean all by yourself in a little rowboat and see just how microscopic you are. On a Lucero fan note, I'm noticing on this read through that Benny isn't even a central character in the text, but he's the most Lucero fan character, a born loser with a sort of charisma that makes him hard not to like. Alliances were formed with clubs, sometimes referred to as gangs, of cycle groups in the area and those that often visited Indiana, for some reason. In October 2018, Jeff Nichols revealed he had been thinking about making a biker film set in the 1960s for five years, although he did not at that stage have a script, and mentioned the idea on the set of his short film Long Way Back Home to Michael Shannon, who reportedly told him "You've been talking about that damn idea for so long.