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1.51k reviews for:
Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders
Curt Gentry, Vincent Bugliosi
4.05 AVERAGE
1.51k reviews for:
Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders
Curt Gentry, Vincent Bugliosi
4.05 AVERAGE
Good grief! Helter Skelter shocked me in many ways! I had no idea that so many people were murdered or how batshit crazy and evil the Family was.
Charles Manson was not only an evil, little man but was extremely manipulative and cunning. He was a con man, a racist and a misogynist. He had the ability to read others from being in the prison system for years before he started the Family at Spahn Ranch which is located in the South Los Angeles area.
He would figure out the weaknesses and issues with a person and manipulate that into controlling and isolating them. He took these skills along with drugs and sex to influence and control women and men coming into the Family.
I do believe that some of the women and men that came into the family were already foul to begin with and Manson just pushed them over the edge.
"You can convince anybody of anything if you just push it at them all of the time. They may not believe it 100 percent, but they will still draw opinions from it, especially if they have no other information to draw their opinions from." - Charles Manson
Was this the best true crime book that I’ve read? No, it’s not.
Helter Skelter is not light reading nor does it lack in details. There are so many details in the investigation and trial.
I just took my time with the book. Know this going in if you decide to read this book.
I still enjoyed all of the investigation details and the prosecution’s case against Manson and the Family. I was amazed at how lazy and imcompetant the LAPD was back in 1969. I'm glad they've gotten a bit better!
I’m glad I finally read Helter Skelter since it’s fascinating and creepy read. I've always wanted to read this retelling of a brutal, historical period in America during the 1960s.
"Whenever people unquestioningly turn over their minds to authoritarian figures to do with as the please-whether it be in a satanic cult or some of the more fanatic offshoots of the Jesus Movement, in the right wing or the far left, or in the mind-bending cults of the new sensitivity-those potentials exist. One hopes that none of these groups will spawn other Charles Mansons. But it would be naïve to suggest that that chilling possibility does not exist." - Vincent Bugliosi
Charles Manson was not only an evil, little man but was extremely manipulative and cunning. He was a con man, a racist and a misogynist. He had the ability to read others from being in the prison system for years before he started the Family at Spahn Ranch which is located in the South Los Angeles area.
He would figure out the weaknesses and issues with a person and manipulate that into controlling and isolating them. He took these skills along with drugs and sex to influence and control women and men coming into the Family.
I do believe that some of the women and men that came into the family were already foul to begin with and Manson just pushed them over the edge.
"You can convince anybody of anything if you just push it at them all of the time. They may not believe it 100 percent, but they will still draw opinions from it, especially if they have no other information to draw their opinions from." - Charles Manson
Was this the best true crime book that I’ve read? No, it’s not.
Helter Skelter is not light reading nor does it lack in details. There are so many details in the investigation and trial.
I just took my time with the book. Know this going in if you decide to read this book.
I still enjoyed all of the investigation details and the prosecution’s case against Manson and the Family. I was amazed at how lazy and imcompetant the LAPD was back in 1969. I'm glad they've gotten a bit better!
I’m glad I finally read Helter Skelter since it’s fascinating and creepy read. I've always wanted to read this retelling of a brutal, historical period in America during the 1960s.
"Whenever people unquestioningly turn over their minds to authoritarian figures to do with as the please-whether it be in a satanic cult or some of the more fanatic offshoots of the Jesus Movement, in the right wing or the far left, or in the mind-bending cults of the new sensitivity-those potentials exist. One hopes that none of these groups will spawn other Charles Mansons. But it would be naïve to suggest that that chilling possibility does not exist." - Vincent Bugliosi
I went into this book knowing of only the Charles Manson name and the fact that he was a prolific murderer. This book by Mr. Bugliosi is incredibily detailed and includes the thorough re-telling of the crimes, the Manson family, backgrounds of those involved, the court cases and verdict, with a brief wrap up of where those involved were currently. if you are looking for an eye opening, stomach wrench read, this is it!
Bugliosi really set the standard for the true crime legal procedural. I read this when it was first issued in paperback in the 70s, as a sophomore in high school, and it has held up surprisingly well 40 years later.
Yikes
This book was long and sadly a bit boring. I had a hard time keeping interested in what was going on because it just seemed to drone on and on...
This book was long and sadly a bit boring. I had a hard time keeping interested in what was going on because it just seemed to drone on and on...
If you are going to read one book about Manson, the family, the crimes, and the trial, let this be the one. Incredibly detailed and full of important information without having any dull moments at all.
challenging
dark
funny
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
dark
sad
slow-paced
I was really fascinated by this book. We'll never know exactly how things were in the 'Family' and will never get any true answers to who/why these murders were carried out.
This started off with intrigue and drama but as it continued on it introduced too many people, droned on about legal proceedings and arguments, and conflated the timeline between the lead-up to the murders, the murders themselves, the trial, and the time during which the book was written. It is comprehensive, but it is also WAY too long. I was extremely disheartened to get to the "end" after 598 pages and find that there was an additional hundred pages of epilogue, follow-up, afterword, and more for EACH of the bit-part characters involved. It also seemed like the author wanted to a) show how brilliant they were in trial b) slam Kanarek, defense attorney for Manson, and c) elaborate on every single detail of the case ad nauseum to support points a and b. In the end, this resulted in a disjointed, confusing, long-winded account that needed an editor.