Manson: The Life And Times Of Charles Manson (2013) - Plot & Excerpts
he book gets 5 stars because it is a page turner from start to finish, however for even a moderately knowledgable Mansonite there is unfortunately nothing new here. I think the author's conclusion is spot on though. Manson was/is just like any other psychopath and would have been quickly forgotten if he wasn't caught up in the dissolution of the 60's dream of free love, peace, and getting high. Like Altamount, Kent State, and thousands of lesser known portents of the collective crash and extended hangover from the highs of the sixties, Manson and his small group of disciples were the wrong people at the right time and place. That we continue to be fascinated about this incoherent, illiterate psychopath shows how desperately we crave to see/experience depravity and death. Like a car accident we need to see. In this, and only this, is Manson right, he is what we are and nothing more!I am amazed that people believe or have believed Manson to be the " most dangerous man on earth". He is not now and never was! Compared to Jim Jones, L. Ron Hubbard, or Adolf Hitler, Manson was a nobody who convinced a tiny group of drug addled runaways that he was a guru, not a particularly hard goal to accomplish if you had the time, motivation, and drugs! . End of story. Maybe when he finally dies, the fascination will also. Read this for book club as I would never have otherwise, having no interest in Charles Manson, but was surprised by the book. I liked how Guinn wove in American history and culture through out and all the events taking place during the late 60s that played a part in how and why these crimes took place. As Guinn states at the end "wrong man in the right place at the right time." As I have never read into this crime it was very interesting also to find out about all the Hollywood connections. Felt it was a well written book.
What do You think about Manson: The Life And Times Of Charles Manson (2013)?
fascinating, terrifying. Explains the logic behind something so amazingly freakish.
—Aaron
If you like true crime....a wonderfully written book.
—gross
Great book...lots of stories never heard before....
—lytlep1
