We all know the image: a big, burly guy on a motorcycle, clad in black leather and dark shades, with a red bandana knotted tightly around his head. His long hair whips around in the wind. It's just him and his Harley as he coasts down an open road on some deserted highway. But the so-called biker bad boys have come a long way from that typecast, tough-guy image, and cultural historian Bill Osgerby dispels these stereotypes--as seen in classic films like The Wild One, Wild Angels, and Mad Max--in Biker.

Osgerby proves that biker groups are no longer limited to gangs of hell-raisers. For one thing, a lot more women now ride with the wind in their hair as well, and thousands of bikers ride across the country for special charity events. But don't be fooled; the rebellious riders do still exist, and Biker gives equal time to the darker side of being a biker, exploring connections with the criminal underworld and the increasingly violent reality of rival motorcycle gangs.

Loaded with a mix of vintage and contemporary illustrations, old movie stills, posters, and magazine shots, Biker offers a clever breakdown of motorcycle culture, both in real life and popular cultural myth. With a wealth of information--including chapters on "The Last American Hero," "The Making of the Myth," "The Biker Movie," "Bikes and the Counterculture," "Women and Motorcycle Culture," "Global Brotherhood," "Bikers at War," and "The Iron Horse Corral"--Biker is surely a book everyone will get revved up about.

Bill Osgerby is a cultural historian who has written widely on modern American and British social history. His books include Youth in Britain Since 1945 and Playboys in Paradise: Masculinity, Youth and Leisure-Style in Modern America. He has been a hard-core biker for over twenty years.