Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann

147 reviews

bickleyhouse's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative tense medium-paced

5.0

This is a hard review to write. Not because I didn't like the book, because I did. I really, really liked it. I had been looking forward to reading this, and in when it was returned to the library, and there were no holds on it, I jumped at the chance.

David Grann has done a magnificent job of chronicling a series of crimes that I had never heard about. This was not something I ever heard about in any history classes (or at least I don't remember it). Mr. Grann compiled hours and hours of research, much of which required him to travel and find people, interviewing them to find what they remembered.

In the early twentieth century, crimes were perpetrated against the Osage Native Americans, all to steal the rights to the oil under their land. In the late nineteenth century, the Osage were forced to leave their lands in Kansas and were relegated (as was done to so many Native Americans) to a small plot of land in Oklahoma. Ironically, that land turned out to have the richest oil reserve in the country underneath it, and the government had to pay the Osage for it, which made the Osage some of the wealthiest people in the country. White men couldn't stand that, so they (one, in particular) set out to finagle a way to steal that money from them. 

David Grann has written an excellent narrative about these crimes. It is a jarring story, which, at times, caused me to be ashamed to be a white man. The bigotry and rampant greed, with not even a hint of morality, is disgusting and shocking. But I guess when you don't consider a race of people to even be people, morals aren't required.

Grann even helped to solve a couple of the crimes that had remained unsolved, through the years, through his relentless research. It was, of course, too late to bring any justice, as the people involved were long dead, but it provided some answers to lingering questions.

Through this narrative, we also get a glimpse of the beginnings of the FBI, under the leadership of J. Edgar Hoover. I found that to be fascinating as well. The Feds had to be brought in because the local and state governments were just as involved in the corruption as the individuals who were committing the crimes.

I now plan to watch the movie that came out last year, to see how it compares.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Violence and Murder

leefox's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious sad slow-paced

3.75

“The blood cries out from the ground.”

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Blood, Violence, Gun violence, Racism, Grief, Hate crime, Murder, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Domestic abuse

robertgetch's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

5.0

Fantastic book, covering the real historical story of the Osage people and what white Americans and the U.S. government did to them. It is mysterious and excruciatingly dark.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, and Death

The book has particularly graphic descriptions of violence towards Native American people.

megboone3's review against another edition

dark informative sad slow-paced

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cultural appropriation, Genocide, Death of parent, Racism, Racial slurs, Bullying, Death, Hate crime, Murder, Classism, Emotional abuse, Grief, Violence, and Colonisation

Moderate: Gun violence

Minor: Medical trauma

yeld_o's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Rape, Gun violence, Racism, Hate crime, and Genocide

xoshee's review against another edition

emotional informative mysterious reflective medium-paced

5.0

Incredible book detailing the events of the 1920s Osage murders in Oklahoma and the subsequent creation of the FBI. David Grann takes a creative approach to this investigative nonfiction, resulting in an immersive and emotional read. Even so, Grann takes special care to properly cite all references and quotes used throughout the book. I started this book with zero knowledge on the Osage murders and did not feel lost or that I needed more background information at any point, Grann covers it all in great detail without being dry. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Gun violence, Hate crime, and Death

aparizo704's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Violence, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Racism, Grief, and Gun violence

Minor: Alcohol, Death of parent, and Child death

czarnecki362's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad fast-paced

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Violence, Gun violence, Body horror, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Blood, and Murder

melanyjve's review against another edition

challenging dark informative mysterious medium-paced

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Racism, Violence, Gun violence, and Toxic relationship

ronanmcd's review against another edition

dark informative fast-paced

4.5

I finished the book. However, I have what's likely the flu, and am doped up to the eyeballs so here are some probably incoherent notes. 
There can never really be justice on stolen land. These murders are within living memory, just about. And then they were well within living memory of manifest destiny, land grabs, the trail of tears etc. It's all a very American story, and not at all unfamiliar. But it's no less shocking or saddening.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Genocide, Murder, Violence, and Gun violence