Customer Reviews

Helter Skelter

5 star:		(114)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

The author is amazing. The perspective of this book is fantastic as it is the crown prosecutor's. I had no questions left after reading this book. I am very interested in Charles Manson and this book made be obsessed. Have read it 3 times now and am still intrigued and shocked every time. Amazing read !!!

I first read "Helter Skelter" the same summer I read "In Cold Blood." Both books left indelible images in my psyche and ensured I would never look at the world of crime and investigation the same again.

I've never read a book quite like HS since. Bugliosi and Gentry have written a taught and gripping blow-by-blow account of the two seemingly unconnected streams of events, the Tate/La Bianca murders and Manson's cult, how they horribly intersected and the breathtaking resolution.

Bugliosi's reminiscences provide both the personal anguish that the investigation caused him and his family and the urgent immediacy that gripped him and the community to see that justice was finally done.

Unforgettable and unflinching, "Helter Skelter" forces us to look into the eyes of evil and learn more about ourselves.

See also my reviews of the "Helter Skelter" TV movie and the audio book version.

This page is already filled with superlatives for Mr. Bugliosi's brilliant chronicle of an unprecedented crime that signaled the end of an era. For me, what adds to the endless fascination of this unsettling tale (as shocking now as it was then) is that, unlike in our present era of cowardice, Bugliosi dares to take the high ground and actually incorporate his moral disgust and indignation into the narrative without sacrificing fairness or diluting the facts. Really, the only people who escape some sort of blame are the victims--and that is just as it should be.

I lived in the city of Granada Hills in 1969, about a 15-minute drive from the Spahn ranch and I still vividly recall those excruciatingly hot days after the Tate murders when the whole Los Angeles area seemed to freeze in its tracks, paralyzed by fear and shock. It wasn't an easy feeling to live with then--and it sticks with you. Whenever I revisit Mr Bugliosi's classic work, or the respectable miniseries it produced, those feelings come rushing back in waves. As horrific as the crimes were, the pall it cast over the entire era is almost as criminal. The sixties were much more than the sum of its parts and I, for one, am grateful to Mr. Bugliosi and others who defended our rights. This hardcover edition is most welcome--all classics deserve to be rescued from paperback as well as Norton has rescued this one.

Another great action thriller to read is by Giorgio Kostantinos- The Quest.

If what you want is an avalanche of factual detail about the Tate/LaBianca/Hinman murders, the investigation surrounding those murders, and the trials of Manson and some of his Family members, this is the book for you. It's clear that Bugliosi is a gifted prosecutor with a keen eye for detail and organizational abilities worthy of an Army quartermaster on campaign. The guy didn't miss a trick, and his version of events is compelling.

The book, however, would be more compelling by far if Bugliosi understood the meaning of the word "humble." In every facet of the investigation, in every recorded moment of the trial, he is right, and anyone who didn't have his ability with details and organization is wrong. I suppose the problem with exceptionally gifted people is that they often have little patience for those who operate at lesser levels.

Bugliosi's descriptions of the trial and the Everest-like proportions of evidence that needed to be sifted through, make it clear that it all he could do--with the help of LAPD, LASO, and other jurisdictions' police departments--to get his fact investigation taken care of. Certainly, had he not had different police detectives working for him, he never would have been able to present the case as he did. Yet he seems to think that the Manson Family defense attorneys should have been able to keep up with him and realize the significance of everything just as he did. He gives barely a nod to the fact that it was one's first trial, another had never won a trial before, all of them were working hard in a situation where they were probably under threat of their lives, and *none* of them were getting paid much if anything for their work.

Bugliosi had police protection, a guaranteed salary, and information that trickled in over a period of months, leaving him time to assess it for worth. The defense attorneys had clients whose friends just might do more than threaten them if things went bad, wre making little if any money while expending much of their own, and were given information in huge batches that likely overwhelmed them and likely dimmed the significance of any one particular thing. The prosecutor, regardless of discovery rules, has far more of an advantage over the defense than Bugliosi seems willing to admit.

If you take the book at face value, you will probably come to the conclusion that everyone involved in the Manson prosecution and defense, except for Bugliosi, is either foolish, lazy, or stupid. However, if you read it with the intention of picking up the facts of the case and the details of the trial, you will come out of the experience with a great deal of knowledge and the opinion that Bugliosi, maybe, just can't help coming off sounding like a tool.

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.

i hate to say that i am an obsessor of the Manson Murders. but only because i think that it is a very interesting concept. although while reading this book i was frightened beyond belief! i loved this book and Bugliosi did a fantastic job not only as the prosecutor, but as an author! it's like he got into the mind of a madman! Charles Manson was a most unreal individual and Bugliosi did a wonderful job describing him and his Family. i loved how the book described and explained not only Manson, but his famed family members as well. this book takes you step by grueling step of the separate murder investigations of Tate-Labianca, Hinman, and many others as well as the courtroom trial hearings...including Mansons most famous line of all time...you know which one I'm speaking of. If you have seen the movie Helter Skelter, and even if you haven't, you should really consider buying this book. it is as good, if not better than the movie! sit back, get into the mind of a mastermind and see what truly was going on in his head...you will be amazed. and after you read this book, realize that Manson is still around today... Must also recommend the books: McCrae's KATZENJAMMER for great fun and weird situations, and the novel IN COLD BLOOD by Capote. Very good books, all.

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.

I think that the previous reviews are correct in the fact that this book is very vivid with details and frightening, to say the least. My 14 year old son mentioned wanting to read this book and I instantly recalled my horror while reading this about 20 years ago. I have been told that the cover is the only big change in the editions since it was first printed. I can see why many readers had a hard time sleeping after putting down this book. I read constantly and love to read non-fiction but I have never had a book consume me as this one did. You are truly transported back in time and to the depths of evil while reading this engrossing, true account. After reading so many books over the years, I usually have to have some prompting to remember exactly which book someone is referring to. That will never be the case with this book. It will stay with you forever. I no longer have my older version and am still considering whether my son is mature enough to read this but I recommend this book to anyone who wants an in depth look at these events.

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.

CBS recently ran an absolutely awful made-for-TV movie allegedly based on this book. The movie was a pale imitation of this well written and thought provoking book. Indeed, in my mind, the only thing that book and the movie had in common was the title.

In the book, Vincent Bugliosi tells a tale of a bizzare murder and the extraordinary efforts of law enforcement to convict the culprits. As the reader, you "witness" the horrorific crimes through detailed descriptions of the crime scene. But, the violence discussed is not glorified but all too real. The reader also comes to understand the mind of a madman and his followers. And, finally, the reader can appreciate and applaud the efforts of Bugliosi to ensure that justice is served.

Helter Skelter is truly one of the best true crime books ever written.