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What are readers saying about Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders?
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-02-10 06:22:39.
(Language: English)
 
I love Bugliosi. I know this is ridiculous to say at this point, but i really hate charles manson.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-01-02 04:42:56.
(Language: English)
Helter Skelter, the MOST FAMOUS OF ALL books regaurding Charlie and the Manson Family, was the first book I ever read about Manson and likewise my introduction to the entire "Manson Murders" ordeal. I suppose it's safe to say that this book does not bode Charlie and his crew in the most shimmering of lights but lets face it Vincent Bugliosi seems to pretty accurately portray the lsd-infused insanity of a time when satanic murder hippies were totally the norm. God Bless Drugs!
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-01-02 12:24:28.
(Language: English)
Riveting!
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Christina posted a review at 2010-05-22 02:30:56.
(Language: English)
Bugliosi takes the reader on a compelling, well-organized and fantastically written journey through the Manson trial. He does an excellent job of describing events and facts objectively, perpetually qualifying observations and suspcions unearthed during the discovery process with any associated (or lack of) circumstantial evidence. He deftly avoids getting the reader bogged down in legal minutiae or terminology, explaining necessary legal aspects without becoming overly pedantic. In this book, we get to know not only Manson and his three female co-defendants (chilling in their dedication to Manson) through excerpts of transcripted interviews and various anecdotes of law enforcement and others' experiences with them, but Bugliosi as well. He emerges, through the steady compilation of facts, interviews and legal strategy as a fierce and dedicated prosecutor with an almost, but not quite, overzealous moral streak. Somehow he accomplishes this without climbing up on a white house or being irritatingly heroic. Bugliosi manages to present a case fastidiously and meticulously without ever letting the narrative get boring or drag on unnecessarily. This is one of the best true crime books I have ever read.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-03-21 09:50:31.
(Language: English)
chilling
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A Reader posted a review at 2011-04-26 05:39:39.
(Language: English)
This is the best true crime book I've ever read, its straight down the line and factual (the added bonus is I didn't finish it in 48hrs like I do a lot of books)
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-07-14 02:04:03.
(Language: English)
I found this book very interesting and disturbing. It's all the details you would want to know about the Charles Manson case. To think that one man could convince people to carry out such horrendous crimes. That he had such skill in story telling and making people follow him blindly. I enjoyed reading all the details of the case and how evidence would come up and start up new leads. Bugliosi did an excellent Job of walking us through the crime, and all the way through to the Trial. I could not put the book down. It's a definite page turner, and has many photo's of the victims, the killers and the evidence. Not for the squeamish, very detailed.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-07-04 12:08:41.
(Language: English)
after more than 30 years, just the thought of this book still gives me the creeps.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-02-03 01:14:07.
(Language: English)
I began reading it because I knew little about it. I continued because the writing was so good and I stopped because even though I wanted to know more about the crazy messed up motives, this was a long and creepy book.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-10-15 08:40:40.
(Language: English)
"And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads." (Passage from Helter Skelter) Revealing the story behind the Manson family, conspiracy, and investigation, a twenty-fifth anniversary edition narrates Deputy D.A. Vincent Bugliosi's determined prosecution, the psychological profiles on the case, and its impact on the United States.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-04-27 07:29:21.
(Language: English)
HELTER SKELTER is the most horrific criminal case of the 1960s laid out in excruciating detail by Vincent Bugliosi, the fledgling district attorney who prosecuted the Manson Family case.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-09-25 06:54:51.
(Language: English)
A was a very detailed book about the manson case,it was very intersting.
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Elizabeth posted a review at 2010-06-02 11:36:20.
(Language: English)
Saturday, August 9, 1969 was to become the date of one of the most infamous murder sprees in US history. 10050 Cielo Drive was too isolated and too secluded when Charles ‘Tex’ Watson, Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Linda Kasabian were sent upon a mission by Charles Manson to begin what the self-proclaimed Jesus Christ would call ‘Helter Skelter.’ They were to murder the inhabitants within and start a race war that eventually would elevate Charles Manson to the level of ‘white savior.’ The trio, while a terrified Linda waited outside, shot, stabbed, and bludgeoned to death five innocent victims; the most famous of which was Roman Polanski’s heavily pregnant wife, actress Sharon Tate. A young man named Steven Parent, visiting the wrong place at the wrong time became the first victim, and later, coffee heiress Abigail Folger, Polanski’s Polish friend, Voytek Frykowksi, and hair stylist Jay Sebring all succumbed to the heinous murders which would terrify all Los Angeles and its surrounds. But that wasn’t enough. 48 hours later, two more victims suffered similar fates; Rosemary and Leno LaBianca who were stabbed continually, even after their deaths, by the same killers with the addition of Leslie Van Houten who’d joined the murder spree that night. It was to take over 4 months before Charles Manson and his ‘Family’ was apprehended. A case like this proves difficult to prosecute. Compounding the always sensitive issue of race, the fact that the chief architect of the crimes apparently did not actually murder any of the seven victims could doom the prosecution. Worse yet-what was the real motive? It would take a skilled and unceasingly devoted prosecutor to convict Manson and his family, and that man, Vincent Bugliosi, proved up to the task. There may have been no break in the case if a spacey Susan Atkins, aka Sexy Sadie, hadn’t relayed her gruesome tale to Ronnie Howard, a fellow inmate at Sybil Brand detention center. After some soul searching she called the police, but it was to be months before the two murder cases were connected. The Manson family, consisting mostly of women, lived at the sprawling Spahn Ranch in the desert. There, Charles Manson, using sex, drugs, and his own special interpretation of music, coerced his ‘Family’ into believing he was Jesus Christ. Short and wiry and conversely capable of both extreme gentleness and violence, the ex-con managed to convince his followers that the Beatles spoke to him in their songs. Helter Skelter, Piggies, Sexy Sadie, and Revolution #9 urged Manson to begin a race war in which ‘Blackie’, would seemingly win, but later, after failing to monopolize on his victory, would have to turn to Manson and ‘Whitie’ to rule. This bizarre motive seemed like it had only a chance in hell to sway the jury when trial finally began in June, 1970. Susan Atkins had made a deal with Bugliosi months before, but after instructions from Manson, refused to testify for the prosecution. This turned out to be a stroke of luck. This left the non-killer and witness, Linda Kasabian, to strike a deal—one much more palatable to Bugliosi who disliked making pacts with the she-devil murderer, Susan Atkins. ‘Tex’ Watson was to be tried at a later date and the long trial for the three girls and Manson became a media circus. After Manson’s lunges at Judge Older, synchronized chanting by the girls, and all four defendants carving X’s on their foreheads, it soon became apparent that any rational court had to isolate them from the weary jury, who were sequestered for the duration of the trial which lasted until the end of December. On December 28th, 1970, Bugliosi gave his closing statement, reiterating the sheer butchery of the murders, the lack of remorse on the killers’ part, and the insane logic of the murderers’ motive which could be proved by the bloody words Pig, Rise, Death to Pigs, and the misspelled Healter Skelter written on the murder scenes’ walls. He concluded by stating that the mastermind andbrainwasher Charles Manson had dispatched three killers out to the Tate resident, but had miscalculated by also sending one ‘human being,’ in the form of Linda Kasabian. On April 19th, 1971, after nearly 9 and ½ months of trial, Manson and the three girls were convicted of murder and sentenced to death. On October 12, 1971, ‘Tex’ Watson was found guilty of 7 counts of murder in the first degree and a week later, the jury also returned the death sentence. Ironically, all the convicted killers were to be spared as California abolished the death penalty in February, 1972, citing that it was ‘cruel an unusual punishment.’ The five’s sentences were commuted to death and because of the abolishment; it meant that all the killers would be eligible to apply for parole within seven years. Helter Skelter is written in the unswerving natural style typical of Vincent Bugliosi’s straightforward manner. As a #1 True Crime bestseller, its gripping content is easy to absorb and difficult to put down. As a final footnote, the entire Manson family still serves time in California Prisons, having been denied parole each and every time they’ve applied. “Tex” Watson is a born-again Christian and the three women have all repented of their crimes. Only Charles Manson remains unchanged, perpetually arrogant in his belief that ‘Helter Skelter’ was justified and sadly, in his mind, unfulfilled.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-02-15 01:55:43.
(Language: English)
Inside the front cover of this book is the inscription: 'The story you are about to read will scare the hell of you.' 'Ha!' I thought. 'It takes a psychological thriller to scare the hell out of me... straight up murder won't do it, grisly details won't do it, and 700 pages of trial details certainly won't do it.' I was wrong; only a little bit wrong, but wrong nonetheless. While the book didn't scare me WHILE I was reading it, it did creep insidiously into my dreams and have me jumping up in the middle of the night to double-check the locks. What I really liked about it, though, was the sheer amount of detail that was thrown at me that somehow made it into my brain without confusion. Every tiny little thing that may or may not have been related to every single murder the Manson family may or may not have committed was stuck in there, somewhere. And none of it was haphazard. Whoever organized that convoluted mess of notes into a coherent, readable book, whether it's Bugliosi or Curt Gentry, his co-author, is a genius. I would like to pair reading this book with another one about the Manson Family not written by the prosecutor of the case, because I feel that it has to be at least a bit skewed. The fact that Bugliosi never admitted he was wrong about anything, while numbering the ways in which everything everybody else did was wrong, made me suspicious. Of course there probably won?t be a book that can convince me that the murders were justified, but I?d like to see someone at least try, if only to balance out these 700 out-and-out anti-everything-Manson pages.
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Amy posted a review at 2011-07-14 06:24:20.
(Language: English)
Fascinating.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-12-29 11:14:50.
(Language: English)
A bit long, but it filled in the pieces after I read "In Manson's Own Words."
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-03-22 11:05:42.
(Language: English)
I am fascinated by this book. And no, I'm not a murderer!
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Mark posted a review at 2010-05-16 11:28:55.
(Language: English)
In addition to detailing the infamous murders, Bugliosi provides a serious indictment of shoddy investigative skills by the LAPD at that time. I read it 40 years after the Summer of Love. This survives the test of time.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-10-20 10:56:57.
(Language: English)
Great insight into the most horrific murders in history. You quickly become fascinated by the psychy of Charles Manson and his followers. The author does a superb job of explaining what happened in detail and telling the story of the trials to follow without losing the reader in legal language. A page turner, but be careful to read some of it at night! Great photos too, which are helpful to refer to when reading about the individuals involved.
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sheri posted a review at 2009-10-10 11:42:17.
(Language: English)
some crazy shit man. wow.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-04-15 07:48:49.
(Language: English)
Excellent and thorough look at one of the most defining murder cases in the USA. I really enjoyed the perspective of the prosecutor discussing how he structured his case against Manson.
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Mike posted a review at 2009-11-26 12:15:50.
(Language: English)
Creepy as frig. Just as good as any fictional thriller.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-12-28 09:48:57.
(Language: English)
WHOA!!! This book is intense and seems like a pretty thorough depiction of the Manson murders. It's really a story that is fun for the whole family, haha. I really did like this book, but if you don't like graphic details of a psychopath, than steer clear of this book.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-05-19 05:02:15.
(Language: English)
The quintessential true crime book.
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