Manson: The Life and Times of Charles Manson

If anything, Charles Manson is a survivor. Bugliosi's book ("Helter Skelter") and the voluminous supply of subsequent books, documentaries, movies and news articles paint the same picture: most everyone who crossed paths with the filthy, little street-crawler Manson is either dead or ruined ... yet Manson (now, well into his seventies) thrives in the limelight he always craved. Jeff Guinn's MANSON finally digs deep into the history of America's best-known criminal before he became infamous. Guinn's book peels away the multiple layers of myth and legendary "appeal" that has enveloped Manson for decades and exposes the oft-described monster for what he truly is: an insecure little man with an innate and learned ability to masterfully manipulate others to compensate for his shortcomings.Arguably, if not for Bugliosi's "Helter Skelter", Charles Manson would likely be "just another murderer" rotting away in the penitentiary instead of the macabre "celebrity" he is today ... an indelible stain in American history comparable to Britain's "Jack the Ripper". Unfortunately, many of the works covering Manson, his "family" and the crimes they committed are incomplete, focus on the more sensational aspects of the subject and tend to generate and/or perpetuate myths (often generated by Manson himself). MANSON finally examines aspects of Charles Manson's early life, sifts through the garbage/lore to provide a much clearer understanding of how the man transpired from a petty criminal to a criminal "mastermind".Guinn's work on Manson's family/background is stellar and truly revealing. Having read several books on the subject-matter, I felt Guinn's book providing much more insight on lesser known facts of Charles Manson's life. The book's first big step was breaking-down one of the more hardened myths, that Manson was a prostitute's illegitimate offspring. From that point forward, Guinn outlines a childhood that can be seen as difficult, but not destitute and overly abusive. What is clear, however, is that Manson's ability to manipulate people started at a very early age and he used it to get what he wanted and avoid blame. An incorrigible truant, Manson progresses to petty criminal behavior that leads to reform school where his diminutive appearance generates unwelcomed attention from more aggressive boys in the form of beatings and rapes. This period of victimization, more than anything, forces Manson to sharpen his manipulative skills as a means of adapting/surviving and laying the ground-work for what is to come years later. Guinn does not characterize the younger Manson as being particularly violent, but more adept at using a perceived threat of violence to instill fear as a manipulative supplement. I found the book's coverage of Manson's early life to be quite interesting and eye-opening (I wasn't previously aware of Manson's two prior marriages that each produced a legitimate son). Guinn does a good job in generating a sense of storm clouds gathering as Manson's life progresses from troubled youth to a run-of-the-mill criminal who used incarceration as a means to be a better criminal and become a master manipulator. The image of the dirty, uneducated troll that Manson likes to perpetuate is debunked ... far from stupid, Manson actually took Dale Carnegie courses and even delved into the mind-controlling aspects of Scientology in his early prison days ... the "Crazy Charlie" act is shown to be nothing more than another tool in Manson's deep bag-of-tricks to fool/control people.One aspect of the book I particularly liked was how Guinn gives readers a clear understanding of the environment surrounding Manson at each facet of his life. For example, we get a vivid picture of the "vibe" exuded by the Haight-Ashbury scene when Manson is released from prison and begins to form his "family". By setting the stage like this, Guinn makes it much more understandable how the environment at that time (unadulterated sex and drug use) made it so easy for Manson to recruit, seduce and control the young, lost souls that would end-up following him to the bitter end. Guinn's descriptive manner of writing adds so much depth to the book and gives readers a fly-on-the-wall perspective that is missing in all the other books I've read on the subject. It isn't until page 241 that the Tate-Labianca murders are covered, so ample attention is given to the lead-up to the murders, much of it detailing Manson's use of fear and drugs to brainwash his "family". Guinn also spends a great deal of time examining the utter failure and embarrassment Manson faces trying to achieve fame as a musician, thus sowing the seeds of revenge and murder. While the crimes and subsequent trials cover old ground, the relationships between the family and the music elite (Beach Boy Dennis Wilson, Gregg Jacobson and Terry Melcher) is quite fascinating and quite creepy. If there is a void in the book, it is Manson's post-trial to present-day life. The final chapter ever-so-briefly covers a few newsworthy events (such as Manson being set on fire in 1984), but not much more. Granted, serving 40 years of a life-sentence is not great story-telling material, but one would think nearly four decades in general population of the nation's most brutal maximum security penitentiary would generate more than a few pages. Other than that particular issue, I found MANSON to be a compulsive page-turner that puts the reader on-site every step of the way. There are plenty of books that focus on Manson, his family and their dreadful deeds. The tones of these books are quite varied and range from divulging outright sympathy to deeming the man as Satan. MANSON sits somewhere in the middle and takes a more even-handed approach in describing Manson's colorful life. The end-result is an engaging and readable tome that is hard to put down, especially for those with an interest in the crimes attributed to Manson or those stymied by the dirty pipsqueak's ability to command people to kill and die at his request.

I read Helter Skelter in the seventh grade, so it has been about 38 years since Charles Manson first gave me the creeps. After Jeff Guinn's presentation/preview of his current book on Manson at the Mayborn Conference, I was ready to find out just what new information he had on the maniacal misfit.I actually remembered less than I thought about his followers and their relationships with each other, and especially with others like Doris Day's son Terry Melcher and Beach Boy Dennis Wilson. I did remember almost all of the victims. Guinn's book, however, focuses on Manson himself and his early life, his real family, and how he learned to manipulate so well.If Manson and his plan to create "helter skelter" still gives you the creeps, Guinn provides insight and revisits the late 60s and early 70s to remember just how turbulent the times were. I was very young at the time Manson was gathering his "Family," his flock of followers, so I was oblivious to the news and what was really happening concerning Vietnam, student protests, assassinations, and all the big news of the time. Guinn does a superb job of recreating the mood of the country and the mood of the students, especially in the San Francisco area, and the tension in Los Angeles.Before Guinn gets to the late 60s and the California scene, he chronicles Manson's childhood and descent into his megalomania. Basically, Manson was a spoiled child with Church of the Nazarene influences in small town West Virginia, mixed with a terrible reading or learning disability. His mother was not June Cleaver by any means, making mistake after mistake in her own life, but I was surprised at how she tried to make sure her son was always taken care of and how long she supported Manson and tried to help him before completely giving up. When she could not take care of him for whatever reason, he was left with his aunt and uncle or his grandmother. These were decent people who never let Manson lack for basic care and gave him lots of attention. His time at reform school and then later prison seemed to mold him more into the "leader" he became. He learned manipulation techniques by the prison system when the system was attempting to offer more education to prisoners. Manson gravitated towards some courses on books: How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie and Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health by L. Ron Hubbard. Manson readily absorbed those aspects of these two books that drastically improved his manipulative skills. He practiced these techniques in prison in order to get what he needed to finally get out. I wonder about Manson's potential, even with his disabilities, and what his life might be like if he had sincerely wanted to help others.A few surprising bits of information I learned were that Charles' oldest son committed suicide due to the pressure of being his son and namesake. Oh, you didn't know Manson was married twice and had children? Nothing is known now about the whereabouts of Manson's second son, Charles Luther, who seems to have disappeared. Manson, besides his mother and stepfather, had a half sister and a female first cousin who provided Guinn with much new information and photos.I enjoyed Guinn's journalistic writing style, his background on the Family, and his writing on how many of them from middle class suburbia happened to gravitate to Manson. I forgot about the workings of the Family and how Manson kept them moving. For some reason, Manson thought that he was a singer/songwriter that the music industry just had to be introduced to, and it seems like his rejection from them was his main motivation to start a class and race war in California. All of this to be achieved by random murders that would spark the whole thing.Since I read the Kindle version of the book, there were numerous photographs and hyperlinks at the end of the book provided by Guinn. I spent hours clicking on links to see what happened to many of the Family members and where they are now and what they might be doing. Yes, I wanted to know if any of them are near me . . .If you don't remember or knew very little about the book and mini-series Helter Skelter, prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi, and others such as Susan Atkins, Leslie van Houten, Patricia Krenwinkle, and Tex Watson, then you will be enlightened on how this band of losers got together and seemed brainwashed by Manson. How that scary that the little master manipulator seemed to be their everything. It's still disturbing and creepy.

O livro é muito bem detalhado, com descrições e detalhes de como Manson agia. Partindo desde a infância até a condenação, concatenando todos os fatos de maneira muito clara. A parte de fotos ao final do livro também é bem interessante. Para quem gosta de biografias, vale muito a pena.

L'avantage indéniable de cet ouvrage, contrairement aux multiples livres écrits sur Manson, c'est qu'il parle aussi, et tout à fait brillamment, de l'époque et du contexte. Très intéressant.

Letto anche per esercitare il mio inglese. Getta unaLuce sinistra sui “vecchi bei tempi” della “love and peace “ society. Tanta droga, pochi punti di riferimento. Libro interessante

Das Interesse an einem Mörder vorausgesetzt, wird dieses Buch glänzend unterhalten und informieren. Das Leben von Charles Manson wird im Kontext zur Zeitgeschichte erzählt. Wer ist er? Wie hat das gesellschaftliche und politische Leben in den USA seinen Lebensweg und sein Lebenswerk beinflusst und möglich gemacht? Ein sehr gutes Buch.

It appeared to me that the auther was trying find reason for this monsters way of life. I could not buy it.