Rating: 
Summary: THIS BOOK WILL SCARE THE HELL OUT OF YOU!!!!
Review: I'll be honest - I haven't read this book. Before you dismiss this review, however, allow me to continue. I haven't read this book in the conventional way (starting at Page 1 and going all the way to Page 600 something). The first time I became aware of this book, I took it down, and read the interviews with "Donkey Dan" about Manson's fascination with The Beatles. Since then, I was hooked, reading sections here, sections there, till I came to the realisation I've read the entire book. The account is harrowing and chilling. It shows how scary and horrendous the results of young innocents following a man of damned nature, and exulting a cult. Vincent Bugliosi, who was the prosecuting attorney of Manson, had an intimate and detailed point of view from which to write this book; he does a fine job of describing everything. The first two thirds are taken up by the murders and then the connection of the murders with Manson and his Family, and the final third is the trial. It should be stated this is the only book I've read on Manson, and by far is probably the most read volume on this cultural anti-hero. It is told largely from the legal perspective, and can be educational on that point (I know it was for me, anyway). It would be equally interesting to look at other volumes as well. Manson should not be romanticized, but he should be examined, and this book does well on that respect, although this is to be expected since it is written by the prosecuting attorney of the trial. Manson himself was little more than a con-artist who turning into something much more treacherous and evil. He assimilated many vogues and other types into his own belief system, and, I think, came to believe in it. Manson took full advantage of idioms, catch phrases, and false philosophies of that era, of the 60s. His connections with people are far ranging, from Terry Melcher (Doris Day's son) to bike riders (Satan something). Charles Manson perverted and twisted the minds of his followers so much that Susan Atkins said that killing people, feeling the knife slice through tendons and scrape against bones, was better than an orgasm. It is absolutely fascinating. It well demonstrates how Manson used his Satanically influenced power over people (that gift well could've had been used for God's purposes), and sold them on this whole occultic ideal of Helter Skelter. According to Manson, there was going to be a race war in America (Helter Skelter), and I'm presuming spread thruout the world. The blacks would come out triumphant (all the while Manson and his Family in a pit in Death Valley, which by the end of Helter Skelter would have grown to the Biblical 144,000). Then Manson would come out with his Family, and the blacks, being incompetent, would come to Manson, and Manson would become the God of this world. (Satan's lie - AND THEY SHALL BE AS GODS). Perversity and evil are rampant in this book. Manson's life illustrates what truly happens when one allows himself to become so enwrapped in the works of Satan. I've been recommended to pray before every reading session of this book, because of how wicked Manson truly is. This book is a stark, naked portrait of the evil of man. It is not for everyone (children should not read this). But for those who want to look upon evil, and cry for mercy from God upon man, this book tops my list every time.
Rating:
Summary: Classic
Review: As a fan of the true crime genre, I would rate this in the top 5 easily. Bugliosi is not just a good lawyer, he's an excellent writer. To this day, if I see an article he's written on current topics, for example O.J., George W. Bush's election, I go out of my way to read it. They always rock. Even if you don't agree with him, he makes his points clearly, and with depth. Helter Skelter is the last word on Manson. Bugliosi is a very on the ball observer. He has a good feel for the underworld Manson lived in, and the California of the time. This book hasn't dated a bit.
Rating:
Summary: unforgettable haunting true life crime at its very best
Review: This is my second reading of Vincent Bugliosi's Helter Skelter this time with the new afterword. I came across a copy whilst on holiday in florida this summer. I read the book when I came home and bearing in mind I was already familiar with the story, I made a major mistake of reading it in bed one evening and suffice to say I had the most awful nightmare. I did not read the book again at night time. A horrifying true account of murder which i still cannot comprehend how a persons mind can be in such a way as to carry out the most unspeakable of atrocities. In fact I watched a recent documentary in the Uk about Ted Bundy and as bad as it was I could not even compare it to Helter Skelter. Vincent Bugliosi's account of the events made unstoppable reading for anyone who is interested in true crime. I would recommend this one for the top of your list - If you can stomach it.
Rating:
Summary: The greatest true crime book ever!!!!
Review: WOW! What a book! Bugliosi takes the reader through each step of the story as it unravels, it is as if you are there! Nobody has ever probed Manson's mind the same way Bugliosi did. He sees Manson's not as a nut, but as an intelligent human being who put on an act to try to have charges against him dismissed. What I find most disturbing about this book is the mind control Manson had over his family. These misfits of society were willing to do anything for Manson. It makes me think of today's isolated teen who sits behind a computer in isolation. When will the next disaster strike? You and I do not know, but this is an example of what happens when we don't care for our children. I'll get off of my soapbox and tell you this is an excellent book. If you are a real true crime fan, the only thing to ask is " why haven't you read it??"
Rating:
Summary: Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi with Curt Gentry
Review: Wow... This book is amazing. It's an in-depth look into the Manson murders and Manson himself. Bugliosi is a competant writer, who writes clearly and descriptively. As the prosecutor of these cases, he needed to study up on Manson; this is clearly shown. It also is a great example of the mistakes made by the LAPD. Anyone interested in true crime would be fascinated with this book. If you are weak of heart, however, take caution; the first sentance written in this book is true: "The story you are about to read will scare the hell out of you."
Rating:
Summary: The Dream Prosecutor
Review: In the summer of 1969, I was enjoying the afterglow of having participated in the National Boy Scout Jamboree in Farragut, Idaho. For a couple of years, I knew next to nothing about Charles Manson and the murders he commissioned. By adulthood, I'd heard the story many times and when I read the descriptions of Manson in Helter Skelter and read the gruesome accounts of the murders, I was already grievously familiar with them. BUT, I didn't know anything about the prosecutorial genius of Vincent Bugliosi. As I read more deeply into his book, I became more and more fascinated by his imaginative, dogged pursuit. He seemed as much an artist as an investigator as he envisioned scores of possibilities for how the crimes might have happened and as he began to formulate his theory of Manson's motive. Maybe orchestra conductor would be the more apt metaphor: reading Bugliosi's account of orchestrating the investigation and conducting the State's case at trial was akin to observing a great maestro work an orchestra through a complex symphony. I thought Bugliosi was brilliant.
Rating:
Summary: This book will have you sleeping with the lights on.......
Review: One of the best true crime books ever written. Helter Skelter tells the horrific story of the Tate/LaBianca murders. In grim detail Bugliosi takes the reader on a journey to find and bring to justice lowlife maniacs who killed innocent people for no reason. "The story you are about to read will scare the hell out of you", that's an understatement. I have seen Leslie Van Houten on "Court TV" looking like a librarian who stamps children's books and tells them to bring it back in two weeks. Yet she is nothing more then an evil woman who viciously murdered two people. You will get to know each one of the killers and be thankful you never get to meet them. And of course, you will read about Sharon Tate and how she called for her mother before she fell to her death (truly heartbreaking). Then there is the part that tells the twist of fate that had each "Tate" victim somewhere else if only.....
Rating:
Summary: A mesmorizing and horrifying tale of a true crime in 1969
Review: 1969. What a year. The last year of a decade that began so innocently and by the end, America had lost its innocence, this crime and the story by the District Attorney who prosecuted the guilty in this tale, definitely represents the innocense lost in America. Vincent Bugliosi did an outstanding job to present to the world the bizarre and terrifying account of Charles Manson and his followers AKA "The Manson Family". In the late summer month of August of 1969, some of the followers committed a gruesome crime spree of cold blooded murder. Bugliosi does a thorough job of going thru the background of the guilty and the victims and the events that led up to the horrifying nights of death. The trial afterwards is no less interesting. Remember all of this happened 30 years ago, yet the book is still as gripping now as it was when it first was published. Highly recommended to all who like to read True Crime.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best true crime stories ever written
Review: In the begining of the book it reads "This book will scare the hell out of you" and was that ever an understatement. Charles Manson and his crew will always be the ultimate in evil. The only time you will put this book down is to sleep, that is, if you can.
Rating:
Summary: The horror is well worth the read
Review: The first thing that needs to be said, is just how well written the book is overall by Mr. Bugliosi. This book is the #1 True Crime best-seller of all time, and it deserves the title. I actually had nightmares after reading about the first section of the book, describing the discovery of the 2 crime scenes, and the unsettling panic that began to set in over Los Angeles in the following days. The trial portion of this book is written masterfully, and it keeps the reader very interested in what is happening. I highly recommend that everyone who can stomach the grotesque nature of what is contained in the book to read the book. It is a genuine masterpiece of literature, which has deserved all the praise it has got. The story is twice as scary because, it is 100% true.
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