Bullies: A Friendship Hardcover – 8 Mar. 2016

Read this book. Be warned, it is not a self-help book on overcoming childhood trauma. It is a nonfiction account of what happens when the author (Abramovich) reconnects with his childhood nemesis (Trevor), who daily tormented him in elementary school. In smooth, well-written prose Abramovich reports what he finds when he flies from New York to Oakland. Trevor works as a bouncer in a bar -- no surprise there -- but Abramovich is surprised when Trevor immediately accepts him as an old friend. Their childhood fighting is no impediment to friendship, rather it is the basis for camaraderie. Abramovich is invited into Trevor's world of bikers, booze, and belligerence, where "conversations could take sudden turns toward the freakish, or flat-out insane."The book goes on to explain what happens when the chaotic meets the bizarre. With brief historical digressions, Abramovich describes the City of Oakland, some of the challenges it has overcome, and some that it still faces. Abramovich aptly describes present day Oakland as dysfunctional. Trevor seems quite at home. He accepts Oakland's dysfunction as canvas for his own expression. Trevor does not judge a situation as right-or-wrong, he just lives with it, as Abramovich illustrates when he notes that Trevor's common practice is to answer disjunctive questions with an always-correct affirmative answer, Q. "Does he always ride like that or is he just showing off?" A. "Yep." Trevor has surrounded himself with a group of bikers, encourages everyday people to put on boxing gloves, and confronts chaos with chaos. Abramovich faithfully reports what he sees.There is no resolution -- the work is nonfiction -- life just goes on. However, there is closure. Abramovich's childhood bully has not changed, but Abramovich's perspective has. Confrontation is life, and it will continue.

This is less a story about dealing with bullies and more a portrait of Oakland, told through the story of the East Bay Rats, a local motorcycle club. From their clubhouse on San Pablo, they led a reign of generally merry (though often criminal) anarchic mischief in downtown Oakland during some of the city's more troubled days.The Rats are a good lens to look at the city. Like Oakland itself, there's now an implicit pressure for them to grow up and be more respectable. I lived in Oakland from 2014 to 2016 and some of what Abramovich describes in this book - couch fires on San Pablo, mass protests in downtown - already feel like a different city than the one I experienced. Change is hitting Oakland hard; it's the most expensive rental market in the country right now. And while change is resulting in some drop in crime (pockets of the city, including West Oakland where the Rats are based are still violent), there's culture being lost too. Abramovich stops short of celebrating the Rats more anarchic moments, but doesn't dismiss it either. It's part of what made Oakland unique, and it'll probably get lost among the glut of condos being put up.That being said, the opening image of the book as a Sherman tank bulldozing Victorian homes in the 1960s. This is always a city that has been unafraid to destroy its past.I'm not sure I would have loved this book as much without the personal connection to Oakland, but if you've spent time there, it's a short and enlightening read. The characters are memorable and Abramovich's access to the Rats and willingness to wade in is admirable. It's a story without easy answers, either for the Rats or for the city in which they live. But there's a lot to chew on.

The way I remember it, we drove him to the horse track parking lot so he could try to learn how to ride. JJ lent him his KLX650 and showed him the basics. Alex got on the bike, reved it, dumped the clutch, flipped it and started crying. After we had recomposed ourselves... its funny how hard it is to stop laughing sometimes... we loaded him back into the car and drove him home.

Entertaining without being "Hollywood" style. It reads like a well written magazine article that you can't put down.

A heartwarming story full of violence. It's not just a book about Trevor and the EBR, but about Oakland and its history. As a person who grew up in East Oakland, I really enjoyed this book. It's a quick read, but it's packed with history and lots of local stories about the EBR that locals have been hearing for years. Check out some of the hangouts mentioned in this book (Ruby Room, Radio Bar) and meet some interesting people.

As an East Bay esident I found it very informative to read about the authors impressions of Oakland. I bought it after hearing him interviewed on the Leonard Lopate show but had no idea it contained all the info about Oakland and it's history. The story of Trevor and his life and culture was also very informative.

This book was a true story of the connections we make in our youth no matter how complicated. Expertly told, with a large dose of Oakland's history mixed in. I found this book to be difficult to read at times, but ultimately a satisfying read with the respect of true friendship at its core.

Started out as a description of the relationship between two very different men then morphed into the history of Oakland, CA .

What a wonderful book. From the core of the story --the grown-up victim of a bully and the grown-up bully himself come together to find that it was never so simple as all that--the book expands, chronicling what happens to an array of men who don't fit into the system very well, who reject the system just as they are rejected by it. Some have better reactions than others. Some of those reactions are brutal. some are very funny. As is this book. All of it is brilliant.

I had no idea what to expect from this, just preordered it as soon as T posted about it. I started reading it the night it arrived and didn't put it down I ended up blown away by the access and realness of the story. A very accurate portrayal of what's going on in Oakland, and the EBRMCs, written about in a way that I otherwise would not have known about had it not been for other unlikely friendships. Highly recommend this and looking forward to whatever Abramovich writes next.

Amazing book on the history of Oakland, the East Bay Rats Motorcycle Club, and dude stuff. A+++++!

Started out good, but then fizzled out about a third of the way in, but just kept going and going....

I devoured this book. Fantastic expansion of the original article.

Awesome book and insight to an unconventional mc.

Great story and loads of great local history if you are from the Bay Area!