Books for Prep | |
 - THE book on the manson family murdersa much, much better book than bugliosi's. and ed sanders (formerly of the fugs) has no dog in the fight...his style is uber-hip and there is much much more to the story of the manson family, and their celebrity friends and their life style than bugliosi would have one believe. and, more to the murders also. a great read...for the INSIDE story. Rating:  - This Guy Cannot WriteThis is one of the most poorly written books I have ever picked up. The author purports to be a poet, which, if true, is tragic indeed. The very first paragraph of the book has a hanging sentence, "There was." Is this some poet's idea of an ontological statement? Or just sheer sloppiness? On page 9, we are treated to the sentence, "Of irony,[how about 'ironically'? it's a perfectly good word here.] Manson seems [seems? It's pretty well documented that he did.] to have become a protege in prison of probibition gangster Alvin Karpis, a member of the evil [Wow; labelling something in a book on Manson has to be done in soemwhat relative terms; but I am glad that he let us know who the bad guys were here!] Ma Barker gang, which left fourteen victims dead." Let's go to page 53, where we read that "Rosemary's Baby, a saga of satanic chauvinism, is a story about the big-league affluent hail-Satan [that's a mouthful] crowd and their evident [Again, isn't the qualifier here a bit too cute?] success in getting Satan to make pregnant [I think the proper verb is "impregnate."] an innocent {is there any other kind?] female victim, played by Mia Farrow." Later, we read that "She stayed with the film; Sinatra left her, and so another headline sequential monogamy entered the dust." Good god. I hope you get the picture. This fellow needed a good editor and a decent English teacher in high school. I am sure that this book contains stuff not found in other Manson books. It is a laudatory effort for this, and this alone. It's quite a lengthy book. But trying to read it is, for anyone with other than a tin ear, an impossible task, unless one has at hand a bottle of decent Scotch, some nice music, and a wicked sense of humor. Rating:  - Good book with ok writingNot as well written as Bugliosi's "Helter Skelter", but pretty good read all the same. Bugs theory of Helter Skelter motive is dubious at best and refuted by some. When it comes down to motive Sanders book makes a lot more sense. After all, he came in direct contact with some of the people connected to the Family. He doesn't produce any sources for his info, but that is understandable as he may have been scared for his life, or told not to by those who were scared for theirs. Rating: - You Can't Kill Kill, But You Should Read ThisA perfect companion to Vincent Bugliosi's "Helter Skelter", "The Family" was written by Ed Sanders, one time member of the "counter culture" 60's act The Fugs. Like Bugliosi, Sanders had first hand contact with The Manson Family in the late 60's/early 70's, however unlike Bugliosi he was not a straight prosecutor but (admittedly) a member of "the underground press" and a dyed in the wool hippie. Sanders occasionally deviates through some wacky borderline conspiracy theories, though always leaving you to draw your own conclusions. The fact that he took numerous trips out to the desert to mix with the Family while writing this book is akin to frontline tours of duty as a war correspondent and adds to the realism as he breaks bread with Manson's murder zombies. I've read this book five times over the past three years and each time its as chilling as the first when you realize that an ex-con hijacked the peace and love generation by collecting damaged youth and utilizing his control skills learned as a former pimp which combined with liberal doses of hallucinogenic drugs helped him create his morbid dream world of racial unrest, murder and mayhem, that was quite possibly just a mask for a personal, money and drug fueled related agenda. Rating: - Very In-DepthSo far, I've read 300 + pages out of the 500+ pages and it is very detailed! It is very informative! In association with Amazon.com | |