Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI in Crazy Challenge Connection

Jan 15, 2018 Book Concierge rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: history, native-american, audio, concierge, library, true-crime, oklahoma

Book on CD narrated by Will Patton, Ann Marie Lee and Danny Campbell.

From the book jacket: In the 1920s, the richest people per capita in the world were members of the Osage Indian nation in Oklahoma. After oil was discovered beneath their land, they rode in chauffeured automobiles, built mansions, and sent their children to study in Europe. Then, one by one, the Osage began to be killed off. The family of an Osage woman, Mollie Burkhart, became a prime target Her relatives were shot and poisone Book on CD narrated by Will Patton, Ann Marie Lee and Danny Campbell.

From the book jacket: In the 1920s, the richest people per capita in the world were members of the Osage Indian nation in Oklahoma. After oil was discovered beneath their land, they rode in chauffeured automobiles, built mansions, and sent their children to study in Europe. Then, one by one, the Osage began to be killed off. The family of an Osage woman, Mollie Burkhart, became a prime target Her relatives were shot and poisoned. And it was just the beginning, as more and more members of the tribe began to die under suspicious circumstances.

My reactions
Wow. I am ashamed to say that I knew nothing of this shameful episode of American history. Grann did a marvelous job researching and reporting his findings. He brings these people to life and makes the reader care about each and every one of them. He did more than simply report what the FBI managed to uncover, and that only emphasizes how institutionalized the racist attitudes were.

He begins with the disappearance of one woman, and slowly uncovers the evidence of a vast conspiracy to eliminate the Osage and steal their riches. It is nothing short of appalling. Local officials were, at best, ill equipped to investigate. They lacked the forensic training of modern-day police forces, and more importantly, they lacked the will to really DO anything about “a bunch of Indians.” As the FBI began investigating, they were faced with uncooperative local leaders, and conflicting stories. Key witnesses were killed, or otherwise “convinced” to change their stories. Evidence went missing. That they were able to bring anyone to trial was a testament to their tenacity and insistence on pursuing the perpetrators.

And yet …. As the last section of the book shows, even the FBI failed to fully comprehend the extent of the problem. I found this section the most distressing.

The audio book is very well done, using three narrators: Will Patton, Ann Marie Lee and Danny Campbell. They are talented voice artists and they keep the pace moving.
...more

17 likes · Like · see review

Feb 11, 2020 Suzanne rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, mysteries, history, true-crime, 1920s

Absolutely fascinating! I knew none of this.

4 likes · Like · see review

Sep 16, 2020 Sue rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: history, early-20th-century, native-american

This was an excellent read. Written by a journalist with an easy to follow style, it was nonfiction that reads like a novel. I had never heard of this horrible killing spree motivated by oil money. The book is divided into three sections. The first details the tribal members & several of the murders, the second details the FBI investigation led by Tom White, and the third is short but tells the story of the author's subsequent investigations into the holes in the FBI case and what he turned up. ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Nov 29, 2019 Rachel N. rated it liked it

Shelves: history, audiobook, play-book-tag, nonfiction, native-american, oklahoma, read-in-2019

In the 1920's the Osage Nation was rich due to vast oil deposits under their land which they retained the rights to. During this time several Osage were murdered by being shot or poisoned. The book mainly follows the deaths of the members of Mollie Burkhardt's family. The subject matter was interesting and not something well known. I listened to the audio book and it was not very well produced. there are three different narrators, only one of which was interesting. I also found the last part of ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Nov 27, 2017 AWBookGirl rated it it was amazing

Shelves: non-fiction, must-reads

If you put one non-fiction book on your reading list, David Grann’s Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI should be it.

Just about 100 years ago, the Osage in Oklahoma began dying mysteriously. When the numbers became too high to ignore, when the corruption of the local government proved that solving the crimes would be a long shot, a young and ambitious J. Edgar Hoover set out to change the face of the FBI and solve these heinous murders.

All the elements of a goo If you put one non-fiction book on your reading list, David Grann’s Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI should be it.

Just about 100 years ago, the Osage in Oklahoma began dying mysteriously. When the numbers became too high to ignore, when the corruption of the local government proved that solving the crimes would be a long shot, a young and ambitious J. Edgar Hoover set out to change the face of the FBI and solve these heinous murders.

All the elements of a good crime thriller are here, but this is history, not the imaginings of a novelist.

Grann’s narrative is straightforward, yet compelling. He treats the victims and their families with respect. At the same time he exposes the duplicitous killers with facts and still with a certain dignity. The best thing Grann does, though, like any good reporter, is to continue to follow the story. It all appears to be wrapped up, but there are loose ends to be tied, and Grann seeks to do that.

I was angry many times reading this book- the blatant racism towards the Osage. White people can be terrible, and in some ways we have not come very far in the century since these murders. It is clear in Grann’s conversation with descendants of the victims that these murders still impact the Osage today.

The glimpse into the early days of J. Edgar Hoover was interesting. We know lots of the legend- the seeds of the person he would become were sown early.

And the FBI agents who did their level best to solve these murders- specifically Tom White. These are the kind of people we need in law enforcement because he treated people as people first.

I know a few people who said they could not really get into the book, but I enjoyed it. It exposes a part of history I had never heard of. It reminds us that we still are not doing right by the Native Americans we so egregiously “displaced” and it shows how people are easily corrupted for a love of money. The more things change, the more they stay the same indeed.

Put this one on your holiday wish list! ...more

Like · see review

Apr 17, 2020 Charlotte (Buried in Books) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

Like · see review

Jan 27, 2019 LynnB rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: history, non-fiction, true-crime, 2019-reads

A horrific tale of a crime against Osage tribal members in Oklahoma. I had never heard of this incident full of greed, murder and corruption, but recommend the book highly to those interested in the history of the US and the Osage.

Like · see review

Nov 05, 2020 Chris rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction, native-american, history, oklahoma

This was somewhere between a three and a four for me. The story of the many murders of Osage during the early 1920s - along with the overall story of the horrific way the white governments dealt with them - is fascinating. I'm a pretty good student of American history, and I had never heard of any of this before. Grann's prose can get a little purple at times when the story was really strong enough to carry itself - but that's OK. He more than makes up for it in the amount of research he did to ...more

Like · see review