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Under and Alone: The True Story of the Undercover Agent Who Infiltrated America's Most Violent Outlaw Motorcycle Gang Audiobook
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(3.03) - 1,405 listener ratings
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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.
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"Under & Alone, by William Queen, is an autobiography about William Queen, a retired ATF agent who went undercover & joined the San Fernando division of the Mongols, an infamous outlaw biker gang. The undercover investigation went on for over two years before many of the gang's members are finally apprehended & sent to prison. I chose this book because I saw it sitting around in my dad's car & I thought it looked interesting, so I picked it up & just began reading. My favorite quote from the book is, "Shooting pool is a mainstay of the biker lifestyle. So is getting shitfaced on Jack Daniels and being an asshole, but I decided to try pool first." said by Queen. This is pretty much where he must transition from a good-doing, federal agent to a biker with no rules or limits whatsoever. I think he really captures the personalities of his fellow Mongols well, I was able to picture what it would actually be like to be part of a biker gang. I think this was an iteresting book; it's a good quickread. I'd recommend this to people who like books that revolve around crime or law force."
— Bobby (5 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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Under and Alone is the dangerous and fascinating true story of an undercover ATF agent and the psychological price he was made to pay for his courageous work.
— Joseph Wambaugh, bestselling author of The Onion Field -
A riveting story of a one-of-a-kind officer that takes you to the deepest and most dangerous part of undercover work. Highly recommended.
— Joseph Pistone, author of Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia -
Top-shelf adventure . . . packed with great intensity . . . a dark and twisted world, fully realized. Don’t be surprised if it runs to bestsellerdom.
— Kirkus Reviews
Under and Alone Listener Reviews
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" When you have a true life story as suspenseful and engaging as William Queen's, it doesn't always matter if it's written in the most profound way. Queen is an ATF agent, not an author, but whoever his editor was certainly helped patch together this 2 and a half year long investigation into quite an exhilarating book. For anyone curious about the protocol and demands of undercover work, this is a must-read. Queen is regularly thrown into compromising situations involving drugs and violence, and somehow manages to escape unharmed. This is a fast an engaging read, and worthwhile to any true crime fan or those interested in/studying organized crime and undercover operations. "
— Jordan, 1/24/2014 -
" Great book about a deadly motorcycle gang...was engaging and fun to read. "
— aford, 1/23/2014 -
" Good book for a real life write. Some things were a little over the top in my opinion but it def kept me interested, "
— Rcopithorne, 1/22/2014 -
" Was a quick and interesting read. Its good to understand what the gang is really all about, since I reside in an area that was talked about in several places in the book. "
— Daryl, 1/16/2014 -
" An inside look at life in a dangerous motorcycle gang. "
— Marcel, 1/4/2014 -
" This was an easy and entertaining read. I'm intrigued by the biker lifestyle and this gives good insight into their world. "
— Roger, 12/17/2013 -
" loyalty is never black and white "
— David, 12/7/2013 -
" William Queen is okay for one of the fuzz I guess. I still found myself wishing he had joined the motorcycle gang in the end. "
— Jay, 12/6/2013 -
" This was such an incredible story. Myself, I am not fond of people who infiltrate on any organization, but the story really took me in. Excellent read. "
— Ann, 12/2/2013 -
" Wow - what a world. I read this when it first came out. I remember not particularly liking how it ended. "
— Gi, 12/2/2013 -
" Loved this crazy book! Wow! "
— Staci, 11/6/2013 -
" Unbelievable what this guy went through! "
— Vance, 10/30/2013 -
" Jesse Ventura rode with a motorcycle gang? "
— Sarah, 9/13/2013 -
" Not really my thing, not huge on biker gangs or grizzled veteran cops. Despite that, there were a few interesting parts, and I guess I did learn a few things about the way biker gangs operate. It wasn't a very tense book, sort of more like an info dump, but not a bad read. "
— Ubiquitousbastard, 8/14/2013 -
" A must read for any true crime fan! "
— Christa, 8/13/2013 -
" The book was decent, and interesting at the beginning, but I thought that a lot of details were left out of the book, especially details about his everyday life outside of going to the bar with the Mongols. However, it did give some interesting insight into the motorcycle gang. "
— Sara, 7/27/2013 -
" Reads in places like good fiction. William Queen has guts. That's for sure. As a biker myself, at least I used to be, I found this very intersting and quite exciting, although I was never an outlaw biker, of course. "
— Charles, 3/1/2013 -
" Really good authentic true crime/true cop book "
— Gia, 1/14/2013 -
" I really liked this book. Being a gang analyst, it gave me a lot of insight. About a year later, Billy Queen happened to be a speaker at a Motorcycle Gang conference I attended. His recounts of his investigation were just as good in person. "
— Samantha, 11/11/2012 -
" Awesome book! Life as a UC in the Mongol MC sucks. I just wish he would've put more detail about how the indictments went down. I can't wait for the movie to come out in 2010. "
— Bella, 7/5/2012 -
" fast read like a trashy novel. loved this story. "
— Wendy, 6/2/2012 -
" Real men take real chances to clean up the slime and William Queen has documented his share of what he sacrificed and risked to catch some of the worst criminals. A real look at life as an undercover agent. "
— Paulette, 5/9/2012 -
" Loved this book. Didn't want to put it down. Gives some good insight to life in a motorcycle gang. "
— Nancy, 3/4/2012 -
" Great read. Like watching the television show Gangland. "
— Neil, 5/22/2011 -
" Very interesting account of an undercover ATF officer's infiltration of the Mongol's motorcycle gang. First-hand information on the biker lifestyle as well as insight on the psychological conflicts of undercover law enforcement work. "
— Pat, 3/30/2011 -
" Cool book. I have no doubt that most of the shit in there is true. Gives a good insight into the motorcycle gang world. I would almost say this is required reading if you ride a bike. "
— Dave, 3/15/2011 -
" The book was decent, and interesting at the beginning, but I thought that a lot of details were left out of the book, especially details about his everyday life outside of going to the bar with the Mongols. However, it did give some interesting insight into the motorcycle gang. "
— Sara, 3/7/2011 -
" I have always been intrigued by the Outlaw MC world. This book puts you right in the thick of it. I was engaged by this book the entire time. Highly recommended if you have any interest in the Mongol society. "
— Nate, 2/24/2011 -
" William Queen did an excellent job at making me feel like I was living the experience with him. <br/>It was hard to put the book down because I wanted to know what happened next. "
— Paul, 1/20/2011 -
" Great insight into the life as an undercover agent, Queen takes us deep into the outlaw motorcycle gand world. This book shows both the good and bad, an unobjective view of both sides of the law. I wish he added a little more about his experience but I can understand why some was left out. "
— Scott, 1/12/2011 -
" I really enjoyed this book. While the writing itself was not great, the story offered a fascinating look into both the world of outlaw motorcycle gangs and the life of an undercover agent. "
— Christy, 12/8/2010 -
" Motorcycle gangs bad. Undercover agents good! "
— Trisha, 11/7/2010 -
" Loved this crazy book! Wow! "
— Staci, 11/4/2010 -
" I read this in a few days. It was really unexpected that a lot of it took place in Visalia, CA and surrounding areas. "
— Jenny, 10/20/2010 -
" This is the first book that actually gave me nightmares. I woke up one night with my heart pounding out of my chest after having a dream about being in Williams Queen's situation. Definitely worth checking out. "
— Rhasaan, 9/28/2010 -
" Very interesting insight on the conflicting emotions of the author. How this type of lifestyle can suck in even the most civil-minded protector of society. "
— Wanda, 9/22/2010
About Don Leslie
Don Leslie has appeared on Broadway, off Broadway, and in regional theaters throughout the country. He has been heard in thousands of commercials, promos for all the broadcast networks and most cable stations, political campaigns, movie trailers, and over fifty audiobooks.