Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders (1974)

dry, but interesting. ( )

WARNING: This book should not be read alone, in the dark, before bedtime...This was the darkest book I've ever read, but it was expertly written, as well it should be having been written by the prosecutor himself! Mr. Bugliosi keeps the reader on the edge of their seat with his startlingly detailed account of the (Tate-LaBianca) Manson trial. I thought I was somewhat familiar with this case and the monster that is Manson (yep, he's still alive; chilling, right?!). I was WRONG. There was so much more to this case than I ever knew! Not only were the murders more gruesome and horrifying than I had imagined, Manson himself was a more disturbing character too. From manic monster to misguided guru, Manson had a face for every occasion and his behavior was rarely predictable. Only the most gritty, intuitive and experienced of prosecutors could have seen through the smoke and mirrors. Thank God (literally) that prosecutor was Mr. Bugliosi. Anyone else probably would not have understood or presented Helter Skelter, and Manson might still be on the street alongside his vapid but violent followers. At least that's how Mr. Bugliosi presents the facts, and I'm inclined to believe him. I gave this book 4 stars because it is quite long. I found myself bogged down in some of the trial details and jargon, but Mr. Bugliosi does a fair job at explaining everything for the average layperson. I'll say this too - I hope that California laws and the LAPD have dramatically improved since Tate-LaBianca...there were so many balls dropped and so many stipulations as to put the court at the mercy of every whim of whomever was speaking! And given the circus put on by the defense lawyers...well, let's just say I now understand why people make so many jokes about lawyers. Wow...

All around a fantastic, fascinating read for those interested in criminal psychology, the justice system, or even just wanting to know more about one of the most infamous criminals of all time. ( )

Fascinating, packed with detail, and completely gripping. ( )

This book took me a while to read but not because I didn't like it, I just got really busy. I thought this was a really good true crime book. I have only read two others and they was [b:In Cold Blood|168642|In Cold Blood|Truman Capote|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1424931136s/168642.jpg|1940709] and [b:The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America|21996|The Devil in the White City Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America|Erik Larson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1312066724s/21996.jpg|3486041]. This book is fairly different. They do both share the qualities of reading sort of like fiction but in this book, since it is written by the prosecuting attorney, [a:Vincent Bugliosi|28828|Vincent Bugliosi|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1299068352p2/28828.jpg] , this one is a bit more clearly a nonfiction story. I did think it was very well written. It is very dramatic and quite gripping. The action starts almost immediately so it isn't hard to get into the story. It did feel slightly self-aggrandizing by Mr. Bugliosi at times. At some points, he would make it seem like he was the only one that could anything right. Yes, the police and other attorneys made some mistakes but they weren't horrible. There are also some ideas in this book surrounding things like drugs and mental health that make it easy to tell the story took place a while ago but that's pretty understandable. I do like the way the story was structured, in chronological order. I also think this book did a very good job taking a very long period of time and an incredibly lengthy trial and making it a length where you felt like you had all the details while reading the book but that it wasn't too drawn out and boring, because this definitely could have become a very dry read if it had been a little too long. I did think maybe the afterword was a little lengthy. I liked the parts where we got to hear about where the former were and what they were doing with their lives and some of the details about what happened legally immediately after the trial but some of the other more tangential details seemed like they were just there to add some length. I am certainly glad I read this book and I definitely think I'll read more true crime now. It's such a different style of true crime than the other two I had previously read and I think I prefer this more modern true crime a bit more. I've also always been really intrigued about cults which made this an even more fascinating read for me. This absolutely filled a craving for some interesting reads about grittier true crime and even though I had some small problems with it and it took me a while to finish it I did end up really loving it. ( )

I want to understand how cultures bind themselves together. Specifically, I'm interested in the tribulations that countercultures face in surviving over time, and why so many degrade into cults. This “true crime” story by the Manson Family prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi satisfied none of my curiosities. The only thing I gained was a sense of the normative understanding of the Tate-LaBianca murders and court proceedings. Very little about the Manson Family practices or beliefs were explored.

I’m not saying Manson is innocent, but I inherently distrust prosecutors and should have known better than to read a book by one. I hear that more recent histories of the Manson Family actually critique the “Helter Skelter” narrative as their starting point, so maybe I’ll be better equipped to read one of those someday if I care enough.

Not Recommended. ( )