Under and Alone: The True Story of the Undercover Agent Who Infiltrated America's Most Violent Outlaw Motorcycle Gang | 
| Author: William Queen
Publisher: Fawcett
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Rating:  205 reviews
Sales Rank: 88586
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Pages: 272
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 6.7 x 3.8 x 1.1
ISBN: 0345487524
Dewey Decimal Number: 364.1066092
EAN: 9780345487520
ASIN: 0345487524
Publication Date: March 28, 2006
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Product Description
In 1998, William Queen was a veteran law enforcement agent with a lifelong love of motorcycles and a lack of patience with paperwork. When a “confidential informant” made contact with his boss at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, offering to take an agent inside the San Fernando chapter of the Mongols (the scourge of Southern California, and one of the most dangerous gangs in America), Queen jumped at the chance, not realizing that he was kicking-starting the most extensive undercover operation inside an outlaw motorcycle gang in the history of American law enforcement.
Nor did Queen suspect that he would penetrate the gang so successfully that he would become a fully “patched-in” member, eventually rising through their ranks to the office of treasurer, where he had unprecedented access to evidence of their criminal activity. After Queen spent twenty-eight months as “Billy St. John,” the bearded, beer-swilling, Harley-riding gang-banger, the truth of his identity became blurry, even to himself.
During his initial “prospecting” phase, Queen was at the mercy of crank-fueled criminal psychopaths who sought to have him test his mettle and prove his fealty by any means necessary, from selling (and doing) drugs, to arms trafficking, stealing motorcycles, driving getaway cars, and, in one shocking instance, stitching up the face of a Mongol “ol’ lady” after a particularly brutal beating at the hands of her boyfriend.
Yet despite the constant criminality of the gang, for whom planning cop killings and gang rapes were business as usual, Queen also came to see the genuine camaraderie they shared. When his lengthy undercover work totally isolated Queen from family, his friends, and ATF colleagues, the Mongols felt like the only family he had left. “I had no doubt these guys genuinely loved Billy St. John and would have laid down their lives for him. But they wouldn’t hesitate to murder Billy Queen.”
From Queen’s first sleight of hand with a line of methamphetamine in front of him and a knife at his throat, to the fearsome face-off with their decades-old enemy, the Hell’s Angels (a brawl that left three bikers dead), to the heartbreaking scene of a father ostracized at Parents’ Night because his deranged-outlaw appearance precluded any interaction with regular citizens, Under and Alone is a breathless, adrenaline-charged read that puts you on the street with some of the most dangerous men in America and with the law enforcement agents who risk everything to bring them in.
From the Hardcover edition.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 200 more reviews...
 Uncompromising and Brutally Honest April 21, 2005
Michael J. Raymond (Tucson, AZ)
80 out of 88 found this review helpful
A "great" book written by a true American hero. Queen exposes these bikers for what they are, criminals, family men, brothers, motorcycle enthusiasts and, most of all, too human. While some are absolutely evil, most seem to be guys who have been lured by the outlaw lifestyle and all its rewards without willing to accept its punishments as well. Remember, the motorcycle gang came into being primarily with true American heroes of WWII, looking for adventure after losing the pumped up lifestyle of war. William Queen goes under cover and remarkably infiltrates the Mongrol MC. Ultimately he becomes "patched in", a full fledged member of this criminal enterprise. The stories he tells are heartbreaking at times, brutal at others, but all the while Queen never lost sight of his goal of exposing them for what they do. He experiences what has become the all to often dilemma for these type of law enforcement agents. These are indeed his brothers and he is knowingly working to put them in prison for the rest of thier lives. Queen taps into his own sense of betrayal, outrage, sadness, and fear, as the investigation continues. Quite a remarkable investigation and a remarkable book.
ABOVE AND BEYOND THE CALL OF DUTY April 12, 2005
Tim Janson (Michigan)
61 out of 68 found this review helpful
Motorcycle clubs have been romanticized in this country for over fifty years and while 99% of them (and my brother-in-law is a member of a club) are decent, hard-working everyday guys and girls, it's that 1% that has always piqued the interest of the general public and the reason there were so many movies dealing with gangs like the Hell's Angels in the 1960's and 1970's. The public has an infatuation with them much like with the Mafia.
Bill Queen is nuts...has to be to do what he did and live amongst these people for over two years, doing drugs and commiting crimes just to prove his worth to the gang. And he didn't just risk his life then, but even now he is a target for those he helped bring to justice. It is most interesting how Queen notes that these men are so much like the Mafia in that there is true love and friendship among the members, and yet they wouldn't hesitate to kill their own if they stepped out of line. It's a kind of almost hive relationship that most people just cannot fathom.
Wow, what an incredibly riveting tale. Bill Queen certainly gives new meaning to the word guts.
to my old freind Billy St. John... April 20, 2005
Terri (SFV, California)
58 out of 60 found this review helpful
As the ex-wife of one of the main characters in the book, I can tell the readers that William Queen told the whole truth and nothing but the truth...it was 100% accurate and in no way exaggerated. Only on a few minor occasions did his recollection of events differ slightly from mine, but only the smallest and most unimportant of details. This book was amazing and well written - good job Billy! I cannot describe the feelings that ran through me as I read this book, as I read page after page of events that I remember like yesterday. I was also taken back to the phone call I got from Billy on May 19th, 2000, telling me who he was and what was happening. How I didn't belong with those people. Even though I had to re-live all the feelings of hurt and betrayal I felt the day my life changed forever, I am thankful now to be out of that life and where I am today. Not only was this man a hero in the eyes of many, but he changed my life. Billy, in the event you ever read this review, I just wanted you to know that.
 a slam of motorcycle clubs August 15, 2005
Kenneth Barrett (Monument, CO)
13 out of 42 found this review helpful
Although the author does his best to berate and slam motorcycle gangs (notably the Mongols and Hells Angles) he comes across as more of a creep and criminal himself. Reading this book made me realize that the only really dangerous outlaw street gangs our society suffers from are the ATF and the police. The character and ethics displayed by those agents portrait in this book are despicable. Personally I would feel safer in the hands of one of these gang members than in the care of one of these aloof, self righteous, judgmental, and (unfortunately) powerful officers of the "law".
I feel sorry and am very sympathetic of those poor souls trapped by this unethical and deceitful agent of the ATF. Prior to reading this book I held motorcycle clubs such as the Hells Angles and Mongols in distain, now however I feel differently. These groups are victims of over zealous, self righteous men that use the "law" as their weapon of choice.
Excellent April 16, 2005
S. Headley (Indiana)
12 out of 14 found this review helpful
Great book, with a large amount of information. One thing in particular I liked was how the emotional and psychological impact of the undercover assigment was expressed. Excellent, fast reading.
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