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Summary: Helter Skelter
Review: I was 16 years old the summer of 1969 and remember it vividly. I didn't read Helter skelter until I was 22, when it first came out and learned for the first time many of the detail, and the book truly stays in your mind. That is what most of the other reviews say that it haunts you for many years and you actually feel that you are there on that hot summer night, Sharon and Jay talking in the bedroom and a strange woman walks in and orders them to the living room. How terrifying could it have been for Sharon watching Jay die in front of her and Frykowski and Folger fighting for their lives knowing very well her unborn child and her couldn't defend themselves. Bugliosi wrote with such compassion for the victims and we can truly thank him that these people are behind bars now. Watching Charles Manson talk on television shows how unremorseful he is and will always be.
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Summary: When I wasn't reading it, it was on my mind
Review: I am 21, so I was not alive when Sharon and her friends lost their lives to these terrifying crimes. But I have become a fan of her and admire her very much. Bugliosi has written a truly scary and cold stone real book. This book gets in your head and stays there. I would close my eyes and see Sharon begging for the life of her and her child. And her innocent friends, who had not done a thing wrong. Nothing could have prevented this, and nothing can erase it. Sharon, Jay, Abigail, Steve, and Voytek will always have a special place in our hearts and their memory will live on. Thank you Mr. Bugliosi for writing a nail biting thriller that I did not want to put down, but when I did, it was on my mind.
Rating: 
Summary: Fabulous read--could not put it down!
Review: Although there were a few problems that were not explored, I thoroughly enjoyed "Helter Skelter." One problem in particular baffles me to no end: I would like to know why Mr. Bugliosi included the following comment by Mrs. LaBianca and then did not follow up on it: At the very end of one of the second chapter (I think, I do not have the book in front of me) Mrs. LaBianca is listening to a car radio report about the Tate murders with her husband and daughter on the very night that she and her husband are to be murdered by the same killers, saying that she had had the feeling many times that somebody had been walking through her house and moving things around because objects were placed differently than she had left them many times. This is way before Mr. Bugliosi tells the reader that the Manson family "creepy-crawled" houses, that is to say, they would go through houses, move things around, and then leave, as a way of practicing, so Bugliosi says, for the murders that they would commit later on. The problem is, Bugliosi never really explores this idea of Creepy Crawling, and as I was reading the book, I kept waiting for him to bring it up in relation to the LaBianca murders because, as he tells us later on, Manson and several members of his family had frequented parties held by the LaBiancas' next door neighbor. Granted, this was before the LaBiancas had moved in, but nevertheless, Manson and several members of his family had at least been in their neighborhood before. So I was wondering if Mr. Bugliosi failed to leave out some information concerning creepy-crawling and the LaBiancas. Is it possible that Manson and his family had been inside the LaBianca residence before the murders? It seems likely considering Mrs. LaBianca's statement before her death and considering that the family liked to creepy-crawl. If I am missing something, and you decide to read Helter Skelter, pay attention to this and see if you can figure out why Bugliosi put this statement in there--it just seems strange because Mrs. LaBianca's comment makes no sense in the text unless Mr. Bugliosi means something by it.
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Summary: Helter Skelter is a stone cold, but true book.
Review: This is an in your face account of the Manson family murders. Brought to you straight from the courtroom as Vince Bugliosi, the prosecuter who tried Manson and his "family", tells you this horrific story piece by piece. Complete with a photo album of the killers and their victims. How did Charles Manson make these people kill for him? What was the motive for all these murders? The cold, but true answers are told in "Helter Skelter"
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Summary: Excellent book
Review: This book is extremely well written and a wealth of information.But one must bare in mind that it is written by the prosecutor and Mr Bugliosi is constantly patting himself on the back and minimizing the efforts of all other investigators.One question I have is that when the murders first happened there was much speculation in the press about hoods placed on the victims.Mr Bugliosi credits this to the fact that Susan Atkins wrote on the front door with a towel then threw the towel into the room where it landed on one of the victims heads thus giving rise to the "hood".However the crime scene photos ( even the whited out one in the book ) clearly show the rope tied about the victims head going OVER the towel meaning the towel was placed on his head first and then the rope was tied over that.Yet to this day Mr Bugliosi says it was merely thrown into the room...Hmmmm
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Summary: THE STORY YOU ARE ABOUT TO READ WILL SCARE YOU
Review: This warning appears on the first page of "Helter Skelter" and I never realized how true the statement would become. This is a TRUE story, and the events, characters, and descriptions are so frighteningly real you wish it were a work of fiction. A superb account of the criminal justice system, of cults, of the sway that one man can have over an entire group of people, and of the darkest sides of humanity. "Helter Skelter" is an excellent read and an enthralling story.
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Summary: Truly terrifing account of the Manson Family murders
Review: A true account of the murders, the investigation and finally the longest, and most contriversal, trial in history. This book does not glorify the killers, it just tells it like it happened. How did Manson get these people to kill for him? What was the motive for these brutal killings? Vince Bugliosi, the star prosecutor on the Manson case, takes you step by step to the arrest and conviction of a mad man. Helter Skelter is a chilling true story that is well worth reading.
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Summary: Excellent insight. Good read for those who don't know
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. With the 30th anniversary upon us, it was exciting to finally understand the crime of the century and this madman named Manson. I had always heard things but never truely understood the depth of this man. Scary and sick. I HIGHLY recommend this book.
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Summary: This is still THE book about the Manson murders
Review: Twenty-five years after its initial publication, *Helter Skelter* remains the definitive book about the Manson family and the murders it committed in 1969. There are flaws in the book, for sure: the readers are getting a partial and biased viewpoint, that of the successful prosecuting attorney, who rarely misses a chance to congratulate himself for his triumphant strategies and victorious moments; and some of the historical/cultural interpretation regarding the significance of the Manson family and its historical role is not overly impressive. However, given that Bugliosi worked extremely hard to put together his case and then was indeed triumphant, is it not understandable that he would "crow" just a bit? In reading this book, I was struck by the apparent incompetence of the Los Angeles Police Department in terms of its handling of evidence, its sloppy and lazy investigative techniques, and its indifference to criminological rigor in dealing with the case generally. Apparently by the time the O.J. Simpson case emerged decades later, their basic *modus operandi* had not improved one iota. The "Afterword," added in 1994, brings the case up to date, including an interesting recounting of the fates of some of the principals. What's interesting is that some of those involved in the various Manson crimes have apparently matured and demonstrated real remorse for their acts, whereas others have not. In particular, Leslie van Houten and Patricia Krenwinkel certainly are not the same persons they were back in 1969-70, and in my opinion, deserve to be paroled sooner or later. On the other hand, Manson himself remains unrepentant and bizarre, and two of his most loyal followers, Squeaky Fromme and Sandra Goode, have remained under Manson's spell all these many years. Squeaky and Sandra now call themselves "Red" and "Blue," respectively, and cloak their bizarre, misanthropic right-wing philosophy in the rhetoric of "deep ecology." This shows how what in many respects is a noble cause, that of "saving the earth," can be used instead as "the last refuge of scoundrels." For those interested in learning the details of this most grisly and yet fascinating of all recent U.S. murder cases, Bugliosi's book is definitely the place to start.
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Summary: Track #6, Disc 2
Review: Helter Skelter is a Beatles song. The Beatles are very powerful lyrically and musically, therefore starting these horrific crimes. The Beatles are powerful
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