Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

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

119 reviews

omair's review against another edition

dark informative sad medium-paced

4.0

WARNING TO THOSE READING THIS BECAUSE OF THE FILM ADAPTATION:
After all of the hype and excitement I had for the film adaptation, I knew I had to read the source material as soon as possible. I had thought I would take to the book far more than the film, which I did thoroughly like, because I went into the film expecting more police procedural and less story of love

and betrayal

.

Yet as I read this book, I found myself agreeing more and more with the decisions the film made. This is not a slight against the book, but further praise for the film. The purposes of the film and the book are not one and the same, and so it is vital to anyone that, like me, is coming to read because/after the film to understand before they begin.

REVIEW THE BOOK INDEPENDENT OF THE FILM (which is what I intend to do)

Killers is as informative of a book as I could've imagined considering the personal story the primary focus is on. The book is overflowing with descriptors that will make you feel sorrow and anger, leave you wondering what humanity is and why it is missing. While only covering a handful of incidences, the cold factual presentation will leave you reeling, as if sensing how small a fraction the sample is compared to the population. All totaled, the official death count may

only be a couple dozen

but Grann will easily convince you that there were hundreds more victims during the Reign of Terror, and he may well be right.

If you can make it through the pain and sadness, there is a beautiful story here of a people's survival. The heart to endure and rally is as much a light as the era is an inky darkness. The book may focus on Thomas White, his team of agents, and their investigation that finally tore down the veil behind which the atrocities hid, but the real heroes are the Osage people.

For as strong as the book is in its cold, clearly well-researched, tone, I also found this to be a slight undoing. The voice can feel rather impersonal at times, leaving the reader as a student of history rather than immersed in the moment. This is why I agree with the decisions made for the film adaptation. Maybe I would feel differently not having known the details from the film first, I can never know for sure. But the progression of the book, and some of the detours along the way, played loose with risking a reader to set the book down only to never return and finish.

Ultimately, I will recommend this read to anyone with an interest in the Reign of Terror, interest in the era, an interest in the realities of White American Exceptionalism, or a morbid curiosity of a casual genocide. Sticking through some of the uneven pacing is well worth it for the resulting reverence of the Osage, and Mollie in particular, all carrying inside of them something no man could ever kill.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Racism, Violence, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Chronic illness, Confinement, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Animal death, Child death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Medical content, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, and Gaslighting

axiomer's review against another edition

dark informative sad medium-paced

3.75

Crime story based on true events. In two thirds of the book the historic events as they were known previously are described novel-like, but not in great detail. In the last third of the book the author describes how his research uncovered more related crimes.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Racism, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Emotional abuse and Violence

Minor: Gun violence

dhelwagen's review against another edition

dark informative sad medium-paced

5.0

First nonfiction book that I’ve read in a while and what a good choice to get  back into the genre. Absolutely heartbreaking story that really makes you think about the history of the US and the dark sides of expansion. The writing and research are well thought out and organized but don’t feel like you’re reading a textbook. You come to know the characters as if they are still alive and grieve for/with them as they pass. Would recommend for anyone trying to get back in to nonfiction or, really, anyone wanting to read a good book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug use, Genocide, Racism, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Gun violence

mj_86's review against another edition

challenging dark informative mysterious sad medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, and Murder

Moderate: Gun violence and Violence

ktkeps's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

otakatoe3's review against another edition

emotional informative sad slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

nrogers_1030's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense

5.0

It's one of those books you don't want to read because you know it's sad, but you know you need to. The injustice that the Osage people suffered is unimaginable. This book shines a light on Oklahoma's dark past.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racism, Violence, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

ceejcook's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious fast-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, and Murder

twistykris's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious sad medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Grief, Murder, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Child death, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

beetree's review against another edition

challenging dark informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Alcoholism, Confinement, and Colonisation

Minor: Child death and Antisemitism