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  • No Angel

  • My Harrowing Undercover Journey to the Inner Circle of the Hells Angels
  • Written by: Jay Dobyns, Nils Johnson-Shelton
  • Narrated by: Mel Foster
  • Length: 12 hrs and 27 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (147 ratings)

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No Angel

Written by: Jay Dobyns,Nils Johnson-Shelton
Narrated by: Mel Foster
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Publisher's Summary

Getting shot in the chest as a rookie ATF agent, bartering for machine guns, throttling down the highway at 100 miles per hour, and responding to a full-scale, bloody riot between the Hells Angels and their rivals, the Mongols---these are just a few of the high-adrenaline experiences Jay Dobyns recounts in this action-packed, hard to imagine, but true story of how he infiltrated the legendary Hells Angels.

Dobyns leaves no stone of his harrowing journey unturned. At runs and clubhouses, between rides and riots, Dobyns befriends bad-ass bikers, meth-fueled "old ladies", gun fetishists, psycho-killer ex-cons, and even some of the "Filthy Few"---the elite of the Hells Angels who've committed extreme violence on behalf of their club.

Eventually, at parties staged behind heavily armed security, he meets legendary club members such as Chuck Zito, Johnny Angel, and the godfather of all bikers, Ralph "Sonny" Barger. To blend in with them, he gets full-arm ink; to win their respect, he vows to prove himself a stone-cold killer. Hardest of all is leading a double life, which has him torn between his devotion to his wife and children and his pledge to become the first federal agent ever to be "fully patched" into the Angels' near-impregnable ranks.

His act is so convincing that he comes within a hairsbreadth of losing himself. Eventually, he realizes that just as he's been infiltrating the Hells Angels, they've been infiltrating him. And just as they're not all bad, he's not all good.

Reminiscent of Donnie Brasco's uncovering of the true Mafia, this is an eye-opening portrait of the world of bikers - the most in-depth since Hunter Thompson's seminal work - one that fully describes the seductive lure criminal camaraderie has for men who would otherwise be powerless outsiders. Here is all the nihilism, hate, and intimidation, but also the freedom - and, yes, brotherhood---of the only truly American form of organized crime.

©2009 Jay Dobyns and Nils Johnson-Shelton (P)2009 Tantor

What the critics say

"A fascinating look at the Hells Angels and the price one man paid for infiltrating the gang." ( Booklist)

What listeners say about No Angel

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Excellent!!

I really enjoyed the book but wish it was a different narrater, definitely worth the read though.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Hated the ending

This book was a great listen but the ending was so disappointing. Had me sucked in and I was totally let down at the end.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Easy and interesting listen.

I enjoyed the story, and narrator for this book. His voice is easy to listen to and I didn’t struggle to understand anything he said. The story itself flowed nicely and I liked the way it was tied up for me.
Sometimes heartbreaking but always interesting.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Fantastic ! it's like you are right there

5 star all around ! I didn't want this book to end you can picture the whole story

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Interesting, learned a lot about the culture

I almost gave up on the book because the narrator is hard to get used to, and I couldn't keep the characters straight. By the end I enjoyed the narrator, but still couldn't keep the characters straight. I just gave up and enjoyed the story!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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This is a great book... dude!

Dude! This is perfectly narrated and kept my attention to the last sentence. I literally just sat there and binged the last 4 hours! Dude!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Loved the book!

It’s a fascinating experience from start to finish. I loved how raw and real Jay is with his emotions. I couldn’t imagine going through all of that.

Great book, highly recommend !

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Best Book Ever

I loved this book it was so detailed, honest, exhilarating and humanizing. Jay Bird and friends went through a terrorizing and real experience which they should be honored and praised for and its sad what occurred after it ended. I hope everyone enjoys this book as much as I did. God bless the Dobyns family!

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Amazing all around

Great story and one that was easy to listen to. There couldn’t have been a better narrator either. Perfect choice.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
  • Cal
  • 2021-11-05

Not bad

Story is interesting but predictable, the narration could have been much better. Very dry, not much inflection.

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  • Chris
  • 2012-12-27

"I would avoid this one..."

I loved "Under and Alone" and was hoping that I would get more of that with this book, but it was not to be. One of the reviewers mentioned that the author was totally full of himself and the plot lingered on with meaningless commentary. Having not listened to the book yet, I thought that this review had to be harsh and I gave it a try. The review was totally right on. Some of the egotistical comments almost made me stop listening and move on to something else. I hung on and must say it was a disappointing ride. No doubt, what he and his fellow agents did to infiltrate the Hells Angels was extremely brave and commendable, but the book itself is totally lacking anything of substance to keep your interest. One or two chapters could have covered it.

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22 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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  • Kenneth
  • 2009-06-12

A waste of time.

"My harrowing journey"??? Nothing happens for most of the book. To make an attempt at some intrigue, he attempts to make the murder seem like it really happened - by not telling you it was fake. Then in the next chapter describes how it was setup.
The team penetrated a rural charter that did not even have enough memebers to be a real club.
Maybe he just needed a better author to help him with the book - Spent way too much time trying to fill space with boring details - YAWN. Hunter Thompson had a more "harrowing" experience with the Hells Angels.


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19 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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  • J
  • 2010-02-09

Waste of money and time.

I feel like intelligence has been sucked out of me for having listened to the first few hours of this garbage. I finally had to shut it off. This dude is so self-serving and egotistical I fail to see how anyone could believe a word out of his mouth. DONOT waste your time and money on this as it is trash at best. In my opinion this author is completely untrustworthy and or so far out of touch with reality this book should be sold as fiction.

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14 people found this helpful

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  • Christopher Brown
  • 2011-11-23

I don't think so

seems pretty boring. Jay seems to be a big DRAMA QUEEN 0r he left alot out....I am not sure which. There are many better books. Try "Dead man walking", "Without a Badge" or "Take Down"

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13 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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  • Clay
  • 2009-05-25

Trashy but entertaining

This book contains alot of trashy language which I expected with the subject matter. I also tend not to believe most of the author's stories because he goes into way too much detail. I mean-how could he remember every little thing he ate at the Phoenix Waffle house 5 years later. I think the Hydroxy Cut screwed with his brain!

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11 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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  • Bryan
  • 2010-03-25

Too long a book

The book started off strong but ended weak. Many chapters lasted too long and/or weren't needed to forward the story. Overall I think the book could of been cut in half and would of been a much better read. (I would of added a star if it had.)

I'm afraid I didn't get a well painted picture of the Hells Angels as much as I did of Jay Dobyns's own internal conflicts with his undercover duties. This would be fine but the same points such as how bad he was to his family were brought up time and time again with little new insight.

Toward the end of the book, Mr. Dobyns became a very unlikable character who I would barely root for. I did find myself feeling sorry for him getting caught up in the politics of a government agency when he put his life on the line though.

Where this type of subject matter has always interested me, I found the book "Under and Alone: The True Story of the Undercover Agent Who Infiltrated America's Most Violent Outlaw Motorcycle Gang" by William Queen to be a much more interesting read.

Sorry Byrd.

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  • Eric
  • 2010-12-04

A fun ride

Great book and Great reader. The reader's voice just sounds like a badass old tough biker. You'll want to jump on a Harley after this listen. Very interesting book and a great story. Just a lot of fun and a great story. Shows how tough working undercover can really be.

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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Phil
  • 2009-04-29

no angle

A fun read that puts a human face on a dark subject

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4 people found this helpful

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  • Chris Craig
  • 2014-11-23

Captivating Read

Would you listen to No Angel again? Why?

Probably not but that's nothing against the book itself. I just don't really reread books because there is so many new choices out there.

What did you like best about this story?

It's honest look at the path that was taken and the challenges that the author dealt with.

What about Mel Foster’s performance did you like?

Mel is an excellent narrator. I would listen to a book that I normally probably wouldn't listen to just because he is the one narrating it.

If you could give No Angel a new subtitle, what would it be?

Ummm, I don't know?

Any additional comments?

This was a great read and I was a little depressed when it was over.

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3 people found this helpful

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  • Anonymous User
  • 2018-03-28

Good well told and interesting story

As an attorney I liked Dobyns’ fact based narrative style with his occasional commentary on the depicted events and characters. It was interesting hearing about the inner workings of the notorious Hells Angels, but what I enjoyed most was Dobyns’ periodic self-evaluation of his struggle to apply himself 100% to the success of his job and the effect it had on himself and his family, which is something I could relate to, and I think a lot of people can relate to. Overall I thought the story was well told and worthy of a five star review. Well done Jay Dobyns.

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2 people found this helpful