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The Road to Hell

How the Biker Gangs Are Conquering Canada /
Feb 12, 2016GlenAbbeyWarrior rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
The Road to Hell is by far, one of the best books I've read about the history of the Hell's Angels in Canada. Starting in 1977 when the first chapter was founded in Quebec, the HA, despite their American origins have become as Canadian as maple syrup, spreading like a virus across the country. Documenting their rise and supposed fall, the book shows just how ill-equipped and unprepared the police and crown attorneys were in dealing with this menace, which they initially brushed off as a bunch of badly dressed hooligans. Giving us an in-depth look at the investigations of the 1990s and early 2000s that eventually led to hundreds of arrests in Quebec (also known as Operation Springtime), we see that sometimes the police have to make deals with the devil in order to get crucial inside information. Relying on -- and paying handsomely -- sources that commit murder will make some readers uneasy, but with the level of sophistication that the HA bring to their criminal enterprise, it becomes a necessary evil. There are some truly inspiring stories here of detectives, prosecutors and ordinary citizens that have stood up to these domestic terrorists. Published in 2003, I found myself Googling the names in the book to see what eventually happened to them. As an addendum, a good documentary you can watch online that will get you up to speed is 'Walk the Line' on the CBC Fifth Estate website.