Description: "After forty years in the Hells Angels, George Christie was ready to retire. As the president of the high-profile Ventura chapter of the club, he had been the yin to Sonny Barger's yang. Barger was the reckless figurehead and de facto world leader of the Angels. Christie was the negotiator, the spokesman, the thinker, the guy who smoothed things out. He was the one who carried the Olympic torch and counted movie stars, artists, the Grateful Dead and police chief captains among his friends. But leaving isn't easy, and within two weeks of retirement he was told he was "out bad," blackballed by his fellow Angels, prohibited from wearing the club patch, even told he should remove his Death's Head tattoo. Now, Christie's set out to tell his story. Exile on Front Street is the tale of how a middle-class electrician gave up a comfortable job with the Department of Defense and swore allegiance to the Hells Angels. In this action-packed, hard-hitting memoir, he recounts his life as an outlaw biker with the world's most infamous motorcycle club"--
Brief description: GEORGE CHRISTIE was born in Ventura, California. He served as a Marine reservist after graduating high school, and after completing his service became an electrician and communications troubleshooter for the Department of Defense. He "prospected" for the Hells Angel Motorcycle Club in 1975, becoming a full-patch member in 1976. Eventually founding the Ventura Chapter and serving as its president for over 30 years, George would go on to carry the Olympic torch for the 1984 Olympic Games. He also served as the club's international spokesman for more than two decades. He has owned several businesses, including a custom motorcycle garage, a widely renowned tattoo shop, and a bail bonds and legal referral business he ran in tandem with his daughter's legal practice. He lives in Ojai, California.
Review Quotes: "Christie articulately defends his outlaw code, which he adhered to at great personal cost. Although he resigned from the Angels in 2010, his past, as he engagingly writes, continues to haunt him." --Publishers Weekly