• Under and Alone

  • The True Story of the Undercover Agent Who Infiltrated America's Most Violent Outlaw Motorcycle Gang
  • By: William Queen
  • Narrated by: William Queen
  • Length: 5 hrs and 22 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (261 ratings)

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Under and Alone  By  cover art

Under and Alone

By: William Queen
Narrated by: William Queen
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Publisher's summary

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 listen 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.

©2005 William Queen (P)2005 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

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, best-selling 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

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What listeners say about Under and Alone

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Exciting and Sad

I enjoyed this book very much. I had heard Mr. Queen's interview with Terry Gross on Fresh Air and was excited to see that it had made it to Audible. I thought it was amazing what an under cover agent was willing to sacrifice and to put his life on the line. It was also sad to see how little respect some people have for human life. Could not wait to see what would happen next!!

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Thoroughly enjoyed Under and Alone

What made the experience of listening to Under and Alone the most enjoyable?

I liked having William Queen reading the book to me, it gave the book a deeper dimension.

Would you listen to another book narrated by William Queen?

Probably yes

If you could give Under and Alone a new subtitle, what would it be?

No Hells Angel

Any additional comments?

I wish the book was longer, but thats typical when you enjoy a good story. I also thought that the book was missing something between chapters 5 and 6. All in all, I enjoyed the book and thank William Queen for telling us his account.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

terrific

kept me interested all the way. the author/reader was couragous and passionate in his reading. a wonderful find.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

OUTSTANDING

My wife and I listened to this book on an 8hr roadtrip...we started it late and stopped it a couple of times...so when we got home we had 15min left...So we sat in the car to finish it...ha....You won't be dissapointed...Narration is great too and that does make a difference...

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Mixed emotions

It amazed me that as time went on, you realized who your real friends were,Billy- and proceeded to turn your back on them and put them in prison. You may have started out meaning well, but you also realized that most of those guys work regular jobs and DO have real brotherly love for each other. You used your cunning to embrace these men as your friends- and when your mom died and you were consoled by ONLY these men- that should have been your wake up call that what you were doing was as immoral as many of the crimes that these men had committed. I cant condone murder for the sake of pride or over some woman- but most of the crimes these bikers committed do not rise to that level. And to achieve your success, you had to turn your back on your own family- while judging these men for the way they treat their own. The story was a great listen, but i am also disgusted at the way you turned on friends for the sake of a government that does FAR worse, everyday. I wonder if you will ever have friends like the ones you threw into a cage, ever again. Sad story for all involved.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Love this book

Awesome story and even better narrated by the author. Very interesting listen and captivating story.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Intriguing story

This book had me enthralled from beginning to end! Listened to the entirety in 3 days

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Highly recommend

i really enjoyed the book. Very interesting and always wondereing was going to happen next.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A MUST Read

Finished this book in one sitting. Could not stop listening
Gives you an interesting look into biker gangs and the sacrifices many law enforcement officials make.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

riveting

it's great to hear the story narrated by the author. this book makes a perfect companion to Scott Junior Erickson's.

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