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Title: Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders by Vincent Bugliosi, Curt Gentry ISBN: 0-393-32223-8 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: December, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.67 (129 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A frightening, destructive close to the idealistic 60's
Comment: "If this was not a proper case for the death penalty, no case ever would be." In that one sentence, Vincent Bugliosi sums up exactly how horrific, senseless and sadistic these murders were. This is definitely not a case study for the squeamish, and Bugliosi leaves no stone unturned in his prosecution, as well as his investigation, of the Manson murders.
Co-author Curt Gentry narrates the first half of the book in the omniscient third-person, informing readers of the stark facts. On August 9, 1969, 10050 Cielo Drive went from being Sharon Tate's "love house" to a slaughter house where 5 victims (Tate, her friends Jay Sebring, Abigail Folger, Voytek Frykowsky, and an unknown bystander, Steven Parent) were stabbed repeatedly, and in some cases, shot. The most horrifying image is the death of Sharon herself, who was nearly nine months pregnant, and in her most vulnerable state. The following night, August 10, Rosemary & Leno LaBianca were the victims of the massacre. Aside from the graphic nature of the crimes, messages had been printed in blood. Among them was a mispelled one: "Healter Skelter".
Gentry gives details on the LAPD investigation. At times, the police come off as the Keystone Kops with their obvious mistakes (for instance, an officer presses the gate buzzer at the Tate residence, obliterating the bloody fingerprint originally left there). In other instances, some officers are shown to be thorough in their interviewing techniques and investigations (most notably Dianne Lake, a former member of the Manson family).
When Gentry begins to unravel the horrors of one Charles Manson, a small-time pimp and criminal who had spent most of his life in federal prison, the narration is at its most compelling. Eventually, one of the perpetrators of the "Helter Skelter" murders, Susan Atkins aka Sadie Mae Glutz, blabs to her cellmates once too often, and (thankfully) gets the killers arrested. Bugliosi gets assigned to the case.
Bugliosi apologizes for the abrupt change in the narration, since he picks it up in the first person singular. However, his ability to relate the details of the case, the personalities of the killers and victims, the forgotten clues, interviews with understandably frightened witnesses, and his analysis of the dynamics of the Manson Family will soon make the reader forget this change in the "voice". Bugliosi is a trial lawyer who puts 150% into his work, and to read his account of why he had to prove motive, how he got the maximum amount of information from his witnesses, etc., is to read a masterpiece. It's rare to see any lawyer that dedicated to his job. Bugliosi not only has an eye for details that are seemingly unimportant at first, he also has the ability to articulate the main points of the case in a manner which is easily understood by someone unfamiliar with criminal law--a rare combination. The trial was almost as bizarre as the murder, with the defendants behaving as if they were unruly students in a classroom, and laughing at inappropriate times. The most unforgettable moment would have to be Manson's attempted attack on the judge, as his co-defendants admiringly looked on. Those 3 women, as well as the other Manson family members (including the prosecution witnesses), believed that Charlie had magic powers. Considering that he and his four co-defendants were found guilty and got the death penalty, only to have the death penalty overturned by the U. S. Supreme Court, it would seem that maybe Manson DID.
In the afterword, Bugliosi goes on to name other unsolved murder cases in which the Manson family members are suspects (there are possibly about 40 victims in all, or even more). His eloquent trial arguments are a reminder of what could have happened if this case had been assigned to a lawyer who DIDN'T always have his eye on the ball. The scariest thing about these cases is that Manson could have easily walked, given the initial lack of concrete evidence. Bugliosi is probably the all-time champion prosecutor when it comes to circumstantial evidence cases. For another one of these books, check out another one of his books, "Till Death Us Do Part". His final argument is so concise and thorough in the way it covers every possible issue, it must certainly rank among one of the finest arguments in U. S. history.
Rating: 5
Summary: The most frightening book ever written
Comment: I recently saw members of the Manson "family" interviewed on television, and I have no doubt that the remorse displayed by Leslie Van Houten and Patricia Krenwinkel is real, and that they now see the reality of what Manson was and still is, but I also have no doubt that they owe society a great debt, and must stay in prison for the rest of their lives.
But Manson? Manson is a different story. I don't get scared easily, but because he remains so paranoid and because of his virulent psychopathology, he is a truly frightening individual, and "Helter Skelter" is the best assessment of his life, psyche, and crimes ever written.
"Helter Skelter" is a blow by blow account of the gruesome Tate/LaBianca murders written by the man who, as the prosecuting district attorney, had the disturbing job of being forced to immerse himself in this grisly case for over two years in order to convict the killers. As a result, no one knew, and indeed still knows, the intimate details of this story better than Vincent Bugliosi, and that is why there was no one better qualified to write this book. It is a compelling story which is almost too horrific to be true, but the blood, gore, and savagely mutilated corpses testify to the harrowing sadness of the reality that these crimes really did occur. Indeed, no horror movie could be as frightening, as gory,or as disturbing as the Manson murders, and this book paints a compelling and graphic portrait as to why the perpetrators of these crimes should never be paroled from prison.
Rating: 5
Summary: Vince Bugliosi Takes on "Christ" - and Triumphs
Comment: In the early months of 1976, my high school sociology teacher told us of a fascinating and horrifying book called "Helter Skelter" that had commanded his rapt attention for months. Published in 1974, "Skelter" was Vincent Bugliosi's riveting true-crime rendering of the notorious Manson family and their murderous crime spree in August 1969. Bugliosi, significantly, was the prosecuting attorney of Manson and his malignant minions and he succeeded - brilliantly - in ridding our society of these senseless savages.
I was seventeen years old then, and although I was no stranger to the extremes of human aberrations, I was mute with horror at some of my teacher's revelations. (Sadie Mae Glutz's weird name - and the equally goofy name she gave her newborn son - were the least of her post-partum peculiarities.....Manson family females had to wait until the slobbering canines devoured their meals before they could nourish their own inner children......) Several months later, as a freshman newly transplanted at the University of Kansas precisely seven years after the abominable crimes, I purchased a paperback copy of "Skelter".
The prodigiously gifted prosecutor has created a spellbinding re-creation of the events surrounding that long-ago August weekend. Moreover, he has delved into the pathology of Manson and exposed the mass murderer for what he is: a manipulative, savvy, cold-blooded and narcissistic individual - someone who does not deserve to taste freedom - ever.
If you think you know everything about what it takes to convict a criminal - especially someone who (cleverly) avoided the crime scene - "Skelter" reveals the protracted, painstaking and dedicated efforts put forth by Bugliosi to convict these deviants. In those pre-O.J. days in L.A., Bugliosi was fortunate to have a jury who listened - without bias - to the truth, to the overwhelming evidence, and to a talented prosecutor's stunning summation. Happily, Bugliosi was victorious, but his accomplishments didn't end with the 1971 verdicts......
Read "Skelter" and learn about the vast research and skill employed by the prosecutor to vanquish his foes (which included a Judge Ito-like milquetoast who referred to Manson's chief assassin as "poor Tex" and nearly derailed the conviction of Charles Watson).
Yes, "Skelter" is much ado about Vincent Bugliosi - and rightly so. The prosecutor will forever have my respect, loyalty and admiration for removing these vicious killers from our midst. However, there are valid sociological lessons to be derived from his narrative. Most of Manson's followers (including the would-be messiah himself) endured difficult childhoods. However, a whole lot of us endure wrenching situations. Many seductive and charming people use these traits to lure vulnerable people to their licentious lair - but that doesn't give us license to commit unspeakable crimes. In the end, neither Manson nor his "family" elicit sympathy - not from this reader.
In March of 1978, after suffering a nervous breakdown and subsequently enrolling in an out-of-town college that fall, I was accosted on a daily basis by every Hairy Krishna, Moonie, self-professed religious zealot and would-be spiritual savoir on the campus. I couldn't speak very well back then, but I still refused these transparent ministrations - forcefully. Yes, I was disenfranchised. Yes, I was unbearably lonely. Yet I remembered something a wise priest once said, "Remove yourself from the occasion of sin, lest you fall into sin."
We should all, no matter what our religious preferences may or may not be, steer clear of false prophets. In the pantheon of sin, Manson was among the very worst of offenders. Not only did he lead his starry-eyed disciples into evil, he exploited them for his own aggrandizement. To be a destroyer of humanity (a transgression that can never be repaid - not in this life) must surely rank among the worst crimes of all.
My eternal thanks and gratitude go to Vincent Bugliosi for providing the victims and their families a most precious gift - justice. It can never bring back their loved ones, but as Doris Tate (Sharon Tate's mother) said, "After the convictions, we slept through the night for the first time since Sharons' death." The value of justice can never be adequately measured, just as the lives of those innocents lost can never be restored.
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Title: Manson in His Own Words by Charles Manson, Nuel Emmons ISBN: 0802130240 Publisher: Grove Press Pub. Date: July, 1988 List Price(USD): $12.50 |
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Title: The Family by Ed Sanders ISBN: 1560253967 Publisher: Thunder's Mouth Press Pub. Date: November, 2002 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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Title:Helter Skelter ASIN: B0001AVZM6 Publisher: Warner Home Video Pub. Date: 20 April, 2004 List Price(USD): $19.97 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $14.98 |
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Title: In Cold Blood by Truman Capote ISBN: 0679745580 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 01 February, 1994 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: Outrage : The Five Reasons Why O.J. Simpson Got Away With Murder by Vincent Bugliosi ISBN: 0440223822 Publisher: Island Books Pub. Date: 10 March, 1997 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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