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Narrated by Jim Frangione
Jeff GuinnUnabridged — 17 hours, 22 minutes
Narrated by Jim Frangione
Jeff GuinnUnabridged — 17 hours, 22 minutes
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Though most of the literate world knows what's to come, Guinn ably maintains suspense…[Manson] stands as a definitive work: important for students of criminology, human behavior, popular culture, music, psychopathology and sociopathology, and compulsively readable for anyone who relishes nonfiction.
…[a] brawny, deep-digging biography that's much more riveting than might be expected…Mr. Guinn is fascinating in his use of hindsight, and it allows him a more probing view of his subject than earlier biographers had…Manson tells stories so well that it is sure to attract attention to Mr. Guinn's earlier writing.
"Guinn has managed against all odds to offer a fresh take and a worthy complement to the first-hand immediacy of [Vincent] Bugliosi's Helter Skelter. . . . Offers new insight to those who lived through that turbulent era, and provides essential context to those who didn't. What emerges is a grim but highly compelling portrait of a 'lifelong social predator' who was 'always the wrong man in the right place at the right time.'"
"Manson is a book impossible to put down, the details so palpable that the sense of being a part of each scene is almost overwhelming. . . . Guinn manages something much more than a true-crime book. Filled with the trampled hopes and broken dreams of those who gave their lives to a sociopath, Manson is an American tragedy."
"[Guinn] is now proving himself to be one of the pre-eminent true crime writers in the country. . . . Even though you know how the story turns out, you’re surprised on almost every page."
"Splendid, comprehensively researched. . . . [Guinn] has given us an American nightmare from which we have not yet fully awoken."
"Sometimes a book is so good that the reviewer does not know where to begin. It doesn't happen often, but this is one of those times. . . . Jeff Guinn has produced not only the best biography of Charles Manson, but the best study of American true crime since Victoria Lincoln's A Private Disgrace: Lizzie Borden by Daylight. . . . [A] consistently superb book. . . . Flawless."
Manson is not simply a biography of a killer and a cultist. It's a history of American culture from the Great Depression to the close of the 20th century. It's the dirty boogie in four-four time, a fascinating study of greed, mind control, celebriphilia, sex, narcotics, racism, and the misuse of power. I lived in South Los Angeles when many of the events in this book took place. No one has told the story as accurately as Jeff Guinn. It's the story of Nixon and Johnson, Martin Luther King, Vietnam, the SDS, the Black Panthers, the acid culture, and a nation coming apart at the seams. From the first page to the last, I could hardly put it down. Hang on, reader. This is a rip-roaring ride you won't forget.
Brilliant. Written with deep insight and in seamless, fluid prose, Guinn’s Manson expands the story of the cult leader into something far beyond the shocking story we're used to. The best book about Manson that I’ve read . . . and I think I’ve read them all.
“Manson by Jeff Guinn knocked me down. . . . Mr. Guinn has become a truly great writer of nonfiction Americana.
"[A] riveting, almost Dickensian narrative. . . . four stars."
Jeff Guinn takes the reader on a fascinating, chilling visit to a dark and decadent time in American history, all the while maintaining a laser focus on the era’s most recognizable face of evil. A gifted writer and master researcher, Guinn explores the depths of Charles Manson’s twisted psyche in a brilliant effort that dramatically raises the bar on the true crime genre.
"Biographer Jeff Guinn spent years on this book and it shows. . . . Manson will remain the definitive biography of this 'true life criminal.'"
"Author Jeff Guinn likes to dive into stories we think we know and give us much more. . . . Manson is a well-told, well-researched story that explains much about the murderer, his followers and his times."
"Fascinating. . . . Manson isn't merely a hybrid biography/true crime book, though. It's also a sweeping cultural history. . . . [Guinn] making a name for himself as a doggedly thorough chronicler of famous American criminals. Manson, which uncovers new material culled from exclusive interviews, should draw an even larger readership. It certainly deserves it."
Manson is not simply a biography of a killer and a cultist. It's a history of American culture from the Great Depression to the close of the 20th century. It's the dirty boogie in four-four time, a fascinating study of greed, mind control, celebriphilia, sex, narcotics, racism, and the misuse of power. I lived in South Los Angeles when many of the events in this book took place. No one has told the story as accurately as Jeff Guinn. It's the story of Nixon and Johnson, Martin Luther King, Vietnam, the SDS, the Black Panthers, the acid culture, and a nation coming apart at the seams. From the first page to the last, I could hardly put it down. Hang on, reader. This is a rip-roaring ride you won't forget.”
“Brilliant. Written with deep insight and in seamless, fluid prose, Guinn’s Manson expands the story of the cult leader into something far beyond the shocking story we're used to. The best book about Manson that I’ve read . . . and I think I’ve read them all.”
“Jeff Guinn takes the reader on a fascinating, chilling visit to a dark and decadent time in American history, all the while maintaining a laser focus on the era’s most recognizable face of evil. A gifted writer and master researcher, Guinn explores the depths of Charles Manson’s twisted psyche in a brilliant effort that dramatically raises the bar on the true crime genre.
Guinn (The Last Gunfight: The Real Story of the Shootout at the O.K. Corral--and How It Changed the American West, 2011, etc.) paints a striking, full-length portrait of one of American history's most notorious sociopaths. By 1967, 32-year-old Charles Manson had spent more than half his life in reform schools, jails and prison. Released onto the streets of San Francisco during the Summer of Love, armed with a practiced street rap--a mishmash of Bible verses, Dale Carnegie quotations, Scientology precepts and rock-'n'-roll lyrics--a philosophy of free love and even freer drugs and crude psychological insights gleaned from fellow pimps and con men, the petty hustler attracted a small following among the city's naïve, confused youth. Moving his "Family" to Los Angeles in pursuit of a music career, Manson tightened his hold on his followers and led them in increasingly bizarre escapades that culminated in several murders, most infamously the Tate-LaBianca killings, designed to kick off "Helter Skelter," a race war that would end with the Family ruling the world. Guinn takes readers on a head-spinning ride through Manson's deeply disturbed childhood, his criminal career and his brief tenure as satanic guru to the damaged disciples, mostly women, he held in thrall. Against the backdrop of the roiling '60s, the author offers inside information on life within the cult, miniportraits of its various members, and stories about the dope dealers, rock musicians, motorcycle gang members, Hollywood glitterati, record-industry honchos and hangers-on who brushed up against the Family. He concludes by effortlessly unpacking the murders, the manhunt and the trial that riveted the nation. Spared the gas chamber by California's abolition of the death penalty, Manson remains incarcerated. A handful of deluded supporters maintain a Facebook page devoted to proving his innocence and to spreading his environmental rants. A compulsively readable account of a murderer who continues to fascinate.
| BN ID: | 2940173948700 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Simon & Schuster |
| Publication date: | 06/04/2019 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
Even though I tend to avoid horror movies and books, I have no problem diving into some of the creepiest, most horrific true tales that have been captured in creative writing. I guess I just don’t want to be scared unless it’s by something I know took place safely in the past and can definitely […]
