Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders in Around the World in 80 Books

Jan 25, 2019 Suvi rated it it was amazing

Shelves: non-fiction, _north-america, _favorites, true-crime, cities_los-angeles

"It was so quiet, one of the killers would later say, you could almost hear the sound of ice rattling in cocktail shakers in the homes way down in the canyon. The canyons above Hollywood and Beverly Hills play tricks with sounds. A noise clearly audible a mile away may be indistinguishable at a few hundred feet. It was hot that night."

It's fair to assume that everyone knows who Charles Manson was. In 1969, the Tate-LaBianca murders left Los Angeles paranoid and wondering how one man can mani

"It was so quiet, one of the killers would later say, you could almost hear the sound of ice rattling in cocktail shakers in the homes way down in the canyon. The canyons above Hollywood and Beverly Hills play tricks with sounds. A noise clearly audible a mile away may be indistinguishable at a few hundred feet. It was hot that night."

It's fair to assume that everyone knows who Charles Manson was. In 1969, the Tate-LaBianca murders left Los Angeles paranoid and wondering how one man can manipulate young seemingly innocent kids to murder several people in cold blood. Because Bugliosi was the prosecutor, he and Gentry are able to delve into the case in so much detail (I mean it: this is probably not for true crime beginners), drawing you in immediately by starting with the night of the murders and slowly building the puzzle one piece at a time.

"Was there some reason why you placed your finger on the bloody button that operated the gate?"
[Police officer:] "So that I could go through the gate."

In addition to the obvious feeling of being horrified about the murders, the second strongest feeling was frustration. The police made mistakes from the beginning. Items at the murder scene were moved, officers were stepping on blood, some idiots babbled to the reporters ("It looked ritualistic"), a 10-year-old boy who found a gun handled it better than the officer who touched it all over the place etc. I know it was the 60s, but how devoid of common sense can a human being be? Makes you think whether they messed up other cases to the extent that they were never solved.

The press was no better: they printed rumors and straight up made up stuff, certain things like the drug aspect were exaggerated, some stories were victim blaming etc.

Manson was a delusional POS, but his followers were no better. Yes, they were indoctrinated and controlled with drugs etc., but they weren't innocent little children, stand-up guys or daddy's little angels. Manson just knew which strings to pull, what his cohorts' weaknesses were, and how to take advantage of their nasty sides. Within two years after he was released from prison the last time, he had his Family and they were ready to graduate to murder. ...more

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Aug 12, 2017 Tok rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: book-i-own, read-in-english

a solid 4.5 stars

เอาจริงๆ ตอนเด็กๆเราชอบอ่านรวมคดีน่ากลัวๆในเว็บเด็กดี ซึ่งตอนนี้ไม่รู้ว่ายังอยู่หรือเปล่า 5555 แล้วคดีแมนสันก็ดังมาก ยิ่งตอนนั้นดู Rosemary's Baby อีก

หนังสือเป็น non-fiction เล่าเรื่องคดีที่เกิดในปี 1969 เมื่อเกิดเหตุฆาตกรรม 5 ศพ ใน LA หนึ่งในนั้นคือ ชารอน เทต ดาราหญิงสาวสวยที่ไม่ค่อยดังมากนัก ซึ่งเธอเป็นภรรยาของโรมัน โปลันสกี้ ผู้กำกับชื่อเสียงโด่งดัง ตอนนั้นเธอท้องอยู่ 8 เดือน ส่วนศพที่เหลือเป็นเพื่อนที่อยู่ในบ้านและคนดวงซวย ถูกแทงหลายครั้ง มีคำว่า PIG เขียนด้วยเลือดของชารอนบน ...more

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