Rating: 
Summary: The definitive book about the TRIAL
Review: "Helter Skelter" is the bible on the 1969 Tate-La Bianca murders. Bugliosi goes into great detail about the mechanics of the case - the murders, the autopsies, how the LAPD almost blew the case because the detectives working on the Tate and La Bianca cases, at that time two separate investigations, would not communicate with each other, etc.Bugliosi shows how he was able to link the two murders together, gather evidence that had almost been destroyed, and how he tracked down the gun that was used in the killings (which was filed away at the only precinct NOT to have gotten a county wide memo about the gun!). There are updated versions of the book, marking landmark anniversaries of that black night in American history and I wouldn't doubt that Bugliosi will have another update for the 35th anniversary next year. Helter Skelter is the book to have about the case. Greg King's "Sharon Tate and the Manson Murders" is the book to have about the victims (more specifically, of course, Sharon Tate).
Rating:
Summary: MUST READ!!
Review: I read this book back in '84 in college and never again wanted to pick up another fiction book again. This book is a MUST READ. Not only is the story incredible but so is the fact that it is all real. This story of mind control of young, runaway kids back in the 60s by "guru" Charles Manson shows how vulnerable kids are when parents aren't around.
Each player in the case from the victims to the criminals to the prosecutors and everyone inbetween was put together excellently in the book. Never once did it get confusing as to who was who. This case still resounds to this day in the psyche of America and after you read this excellent book you will see why.
Rating: 
Summary: tHe MuRdErErS
Review: I liked Helter Skelter, a very interesting book written by
Vincent Bugliosi. The book is about Charles Manson and the other
killers and victims of the Tate-LaBianca murders. The book
Helter Skelter also talks a lot about what happened throughout
Charles Manson's life. As I read, I wondered if the killings
were going to stop and if he was going to get caught. This book
comes with a 64 page photographic record of the victims, the
killers, and the evidence.
This book is for anyone who wants to learn why or how Charles
Manson became what he was. I would recommend this book to anyone
who likes reading mystery books and anyone who likes to learn
about the lives and minds of killers.
Rating:
Summary: tHe MuRdErErS
Review: I liked Helter Skelter, a very interesting book written by Vincent Bugliosi. The book is about Charles Manson and the other killers and victims of the Tate-LaBianca murders. The book Helter Skelter also talks a lot about what happened throughout Charles Manson's life. As I read, I wondered if the killings were going to stop and if he was going to get caught. This book came with a 64 page photographic record of the victims, the killers, and the evidence. This book is for anyone who wants to learn why or how Charles Manson became what he was. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes reading mystery books and anyone who likes to learn about the lives and minds of killers.
Rating: 
Summary: the classic pulp novel is still selling fast
Review: Bugliosi's ghost writer for this one crafted a skillful tale of the heroic prosecutor deciphering the real motive of the murders, despite the incompetence of the police department. You should know that practically everyone who studies the Manson case in detail regards this book as a work of fiction, the same way they regard Bugliosi's ridiculous made-up motive of "trying to start a race war". There is some info here that is hard to get elsewhere, but otherwise this is simply an attempt to sensationalize and make money. There are far better books you can read on the Manson case.
Rating:
Summary: Take the disclaimer very seriously!
Review: When you open the book, the first thing you come to will be a disclaimer that warns, "The story you are about to read will scare the hell out of you." This is no exaggeration! Don't make the mistake I did and read it alone in the middle of the night! I was so terrified that I was afraid to close my eyes. Vincent Bugliosi does an effective job of putting the chilling story of the Manson murders into print. You will learn a few things about our country's criminal-law system as you read the book, so it's very educational. The greatest tragedy in this true-crime story was that Sharon Tate worked hard all her life for stardom yet would find it only in death. I cannot help but empathize with all the murder victims -- some of whose bodies will never be found -- but most especially with the Tate and LaBianca victims whose only crime was being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly Witty!
Review: I purchased this thinking it would be a very dry read. I was very pleasantly surprised at, not only how well-written, but how witty this book truly is! I even laughed out loud at some of Bugliosi's comments, which is astonishing considering the murderous content of the book.
It really speaks for itself that after three decades, this book is still a literary staple!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: Highly recommended for anyone that wants to know the workings of a human mind.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant legal scholarship
Review: Little wonder that "Helter Skelter" is the top-selling true-crime book in publishing history. Here, more than 30 years after the decade of free love was essentially drowned in a literal pool of blood, the sense of horror then is resurrected in stark reality. The author, who also prosecuted the case, gives us not only a graphic description of the overkill of the Manson Family's victims but also lays out the legal complexities that threatened a successful prosecution. Of the former, the sheer brutality of Manson's henchmen, namely "Tex" Watson and Susan Atkins, is simply numbing while, of the latter, the legal issues educate us that the case then wasn't as open-and-shut that we perhaps have come to assume. The reason for the slaughter of the Tate-LaBianca victims is detailed, but whether evil or insanity fueled that reason is best left to the reader. Whichever, Charles Manson, or as he empowered himself as "Man's Son" to his susceptible clan, emerges not only as a vicious murdered but a master manipulator of other people's human failings. That there will always likely be those who pervert those failings to their own ends makes this book an important study in both human behavior and legal scholarship. Beyond that, the unmitigated brutality, i.e. overkill, of Manson's victims is paralyzing.
Rating:
Summary: A Classic For All Seasons
Review: 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.
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