Review: Guinn, Manson (2013)

[truepenny]

Manson: The Life and Times of Charles Manson by Jeff Guinn

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


An excellent book about a horrible subject. Guinn starts at the beginning, with Manson's mother's family and goes all the way up to 2013 (as best he can given that he never got Manson to agree to an interview). As usual with Guinn's books, his research is broad-ranging (I know way more about Haight-Ashbury and the Summer of Love now) and in depth, and he writes clearly and well. I appreciate the way he follows Manson building the Family chronologically, without trying any fancy author tricks, and shows, step by step, how they ended up with their knives at THAT house. Both the Tate victims and the LaBianca victims were truly just in the wrong place at the wrong time.



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