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miniemay's review against another edition
2.0
I was struck by the writer’s callous descriptions of terrible acts. Did I know going in that this was going to be a difficult read, yes. Did the tone of the book lead me to believe that the author has become numb to the atrocities, immensely so. I was incredibly disappointed in the way he talked about women especially.
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Gun violence, Racism, Blood, Racial slurs, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Child death, Murder, Pregnancy, Child abuse, Misogyny, Suicide, and Torture
gilroi's review against another edition
4.25
I posited: not much in reality, but the intervening decade required white people to reckon with the idea that America was not pure, and politics were inherent to every action one takes. Of course, this lesson is hard to stick with; isn't it easier to pretend there was a mythical time when the world was innocent, and nothing was political? To misquote a peddler of this misery: A softer, gentler time.
If you want to read a book that will tell you what really happened in the Manson murders, or the secret truth of the Manson trial, this book will not help you. Tom O'Neill refuses to twist facts to suit theories, and this is to his credit. His research is in-depth, he doesn't make definitive connections where he lacks the evidence, and he doesn't make knowing assertations to the very notable coincidences and connections he uncovers, either. O'Neill does his best to humbly and without bias report what his findings uncover, and he mostly succeeds where matters of humility and bias are concerned. He succeeds completely in his in-depth research of anything and everything related to the Manson Family before and after the murders, regardless of where his research takes him.
There is a nonzero chance that the Warren Commission, the Manson trial, and MK Ultra, have some limbs in common in a centipede of government corruption happily swept up and hidden by the US Government. There is a nonzero chance Manson was some kind of government informant, and this was actively covered up during the trial. There is a nonzero chance Manson was not actually some kind of master puppeteer, and really just drugged his followers to the gills to get their compliance and manufacture their consent. There is a nonzero chance that Charles Manson was actually a competent musician and / or lyricist. There is a nonzero chance Vincent Bugliosi is a lying sack of shit.
But can the book prove these things definitively? Tom O'Neill wisely admits that no, he can't prove it beyond a shadow of a doubt. He shows us his research-- his incredibly in-depth and informative research-- and ultimately lets us decide. (Well, he can and does prove that Vincent Bugliosi is a lying sack of shit, but those are my words, not his.)
So what does this book definitively prove? It proves that America before 1970 was not a world of innocence and dreams. Things were neither softer nor gentler. The CIA was a deeply corrupt organization that seems to have spent half its time covering up its own villainy; the FBI was just as bad; police forces were happy to help them when they weren't busy falling over their own shoelaces in displays of staggering incompetence. People in power knew they were in power, and would do whatever they liked to hide that fact.
This book will teach you about the horrifying abuses of the 60s, and how they interlocked because government was an atrocious boy's club that would not have blinked an eye at the murder, rape and abuse Manson trucked in, if he'd only been a government employee.
Graphic: Murder, Pregnancy, and Violence
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
ipoppycat's review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Sexual content, Suicide, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Murder, Self harm, and Violence
linklotz's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Drug use, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Racism, Suicide, Sexual violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pedophilia, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Antisemitism, and Torture
Minor: Pregnancy
amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition
2.75
Graphic: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Violence, Gore, and Murder
Moderate: Pregnancy
Minor: Rape, Abortion, and Domestic abuse