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1.49k reviews for:
Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders
Curt Gentry, Vincent Bugliosi
4.05 AVERAGE
1.49k reviews for:
Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders
Curt Gentry, Vincent Bugliosi
4.05 AVERAGE
This book was full of facts and I felt like it was on repeat. The same details were told over and over. I wasn't a huge fan of the book, but it was interested to find out more about the murders.
Really fast read. Gave lots of details but kept the reader engaged.
dark
slow-paced
a 670 page non-fiction has a lot of room to become repetitive, but every page was informative and necessary. this book is truly a crash course on all things manson
dark
informative
tense
medium-paced
challenging
informative
medium-paced
dark
informative
slow-paced
I read Helter Skelter from February through July 2025, taking a long pause in between because it put me into a bit of a reading rut. The book is dense, but not unreadable, and certainly not a "can't wait to see what happens" kind of book. The author, Vincent Bugliosi - lead prosecutor in the Manson family trials - offers a perspective few others could. That's what interested me most. The murders themselves, and the power Manson held over his followers, are horrifying. I spent a lot of time looking up the people involved, listening to interviews, and putting faces to the names. Overall, Helter Skelter is a detailed and worthwhile read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
challenging
dark
informative
sad
tense
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Racism, Rape, Murder, War
Moderate: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use
fast-paced
informative
fast-paced