A review by achi1
Killers of the Flower Moon: Oil, Money, Murder and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann

dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

5.0

The movie starring Lily Gladstone brought me here, so I already have a basic knowledge of the events during the Reign of Terror. That said, it’s a completely different experience to read and absorb all the details about the case. As a more reflective person I suppose it’s one of the reasons why I almost always prefer the book to a more visual experience with tv or movie adaptations. There are many details the movie either glossed over or omitted completely, such as the extent of the exploitation that went on in disguise of the so called guardianship scheme, or the grand scale of systematic killings of native people. It’s infuriating to read. 
A quote from the grandson of one of the likely victims summarises this generational trauma in its essence, 
 "they ripped out too many pages of our history[…] A murdered Indian's survivors don't have the right to the satisfaction of justice for past crimes, or of even knowing who killed their children, their mothers or fathers, brothers or sisters, their grandparents. They can only guess—like I was forced to."

I’ve always enjoyed investigation journalism books. This is especially a brilliant and educational one. A must read. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings