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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
I read very little true crime, but this is such a well known true crime that I wanted to give it a go. It was a very quick listen and I appreciated it was from the perspective of the prosecutor. I'm a fan of more narrative nonfiction crime books like books by Erik Larson and unfortunately I did not connect with this story.
dark
informative
medium-paced
dark
sad
challenging
dark
informative
slow-paced
dark
informative
medium-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder
dark
informative
I never realized how short this book is. I tried reading it when I was in high school and didn't get very far. Flew through it this time as an audio book. I know there were pictures that would have helped, but I was fine listening and doing my puzzle
Meh... this book was okay. I would’ve loved this book if the author wasn’t so biased and arrogant. It seems that in his mind, he’s the only reason Manson and his followers was caught and convicted. He continually undermined the LAPD (which I don’t really care about because police routinely are terrible at their jobs) but it got to a point where I had to roll my eyes. I want to write the author a letter and tell him, he’s not the only person who did their job well on this case and maybe he should’ve credited some other people more than just himself. *eyeroll*
The author was probably a law school “gunner.” Someone who raises their hand every question, plays “devil advocate” with the law professor, and treats their peers as lesser than because “you know I could’ve gotten into Harvard but this school had the better scholarship.” BARF THESE ARE THE WORST KINDS OF PEOPLE.
I also think his bias as a prosecutor came through too often. He definitely sees people in black and white. It was annoying how often he would talk about the Manson girls as heartless evil demons. It was frustrating how little the author acknowledged how physical abuse and misogyny played into the girls following Manson and doing his bidding. And also the mental illnesses and poverty that addled Manson. I understand it’s easier to look at people who do bad things as simply being “the bad guys,” but that’s too simple. And, I can appreciate the horribleness of the Family’s actions. But I can also appreciate that humans come in many shades of grey. And humans do terrible things for many different reasons. I believe that humans are rarely as evil as this author seems to think.
Now to the good parts of the book. There was a TON of information and detail. I didn’t know too much about the Manson murders before this so it was interesting to read all the details. And I’m talking detail here people.
Basically, the book is only good because the material is involved, unique, and fascinating. The arrogant and biased author brings the book down, and the only thing he brings to the conversation is the inside thinkings of the prosecution at the time (probably the least interesting part of the book). I think if I would do it over, I would find a different book that covered the murders written by a disinterested author.
*He even acknowledges the members would never have killed these people without Mansons “guidance” and orders and yet he still fought hard for the death penalty?! WTF! I thought his logic on the death penalty was all types of screwy.
The author was probably a law school “gunner.” Someone who raises their hand every question, plays “devil advocate” with the law professor, and treats their peers as lesser than because “you know I could’ve gotten into Harvard but this school had the better scholarship.” BARF THESE ARE THE WORST KINDS OF PEOPLE.
I also think his bias as a prosecutor came through too often. He definitely sees people in black and white. It was annoying how often he would talk about the Manson girls as heartless evil demons. It was frustrating how little the author acknowledged how physical abuse and misogyny played into the girls following Manson and doing his bidding. And also the mental illnesses and poverty that addled Manson. I understand it’s easier to look at people who do bad things as simply being “the bad guys,” but that’s too simple. And, I can appreciate the horribleness of the Family’s actions. But I can also appreciate that humans come in many shades of grey. And humans do terrible things for many different reasons. I believe that humans are rarely as evil as this author seems to think.
Now to the good parts of the book. There was a TON of information and detail. I didn’t know too much about the Manson murders before this so it was interesting to read all the details. And I’m talking detail here people.
Basically, the book is only good because the material is involved, unique, and fascinating. The arrogant and biased author brings the book down, and the only thing he brings to the conversation is the inside thinkings of the prosecution at the time (probably the least interesting part of the book). I think if I would do it over, I would find a different book that covered the murders written by a disinterested author.
*He even acknowledges the members would never have killed these people without Mansons “guidance” and orders and yet he still fought hard for the death penalty?! WTF! I thought his logic on the death penalty was all types of screwy.
dark
informative
I love a true crime that's purely fact-based, even including small details such as short conversations.
However:
The author incorrectly labels himself a "law enforcement officer."
He consistently describes females by how pretty they are, regardless of significance (usually none).
Put in every agonizing detail about how he helped the case, even including fruitless searches in non-significant areas. Also complaining about the police. The book is so long, it got really annoying halfway through.
Overall a good book, would recommend, though I would warn about the endless pointless information included.
However:
The author incorrectly labels himself a "law enforcement officer."
He consistently describes females by how pretty they are, regardless of significance (usually none).
Put in every agonizing detail about how he helped the case, even including fruitless searches in non-significant areas. Also complaining about the police. The book is so long, it got really annoying halfway through.
Overall a good book, would recommend, though I would warn about the endless pointless information included.