Manson: The Unholy Trail of Charlie and the Family

Published years ago as THE GARBAGE PEOPLE, this revised and updated classic is still the reliable text dealing with Charles Manson and his ragtag, violent family. The real horror and sickness of these people comes through the text. It is disturbing and unforgettable indeed, and none of these individuals should EVER be let out of prison. No one can commit such horrible deeds as this and hope to be reformed in the same lifetime. Yet Manson, who apparently never did any of the murders himself, comes through as this broken Svengali who orchestrated the evil deeds. The photographs are very graphic, showing all of the victims in death. The writing is terse and sharp, almost hard-boiled, as is much of what John Gilmore writes. Yet that can be deceptive, as one enters this world Gilmore creates in much the same way you would let your child walk into a lion's den. An education, indeed. There is a powerful lesson here and I'm still trying to sort out... I'll never undserstand how the lovely Sharon Tate, eight months pregnant, was butchered like a lamb being slaughtered, and for what? Though confined for life, these killers have been able to marry, have children of their own, and claim to have found "God". They ask us to forgive them while we are still weeping for poor Sharon and the others. In an indirect, oblique way, Gilmore, in reminding us of things we should never forget, seems to drive this question into the reader. He has fixed it so I'll never forget, nor will I ever understand such brutality in the human condition. Despite some petty grumblings from other reviewers (who have obviously missed the point), this book is an imporant aid in our attempt to understand and deal with the darker side of the human experience.

Those looking for books on the Tate-LaBianca Murders should by all means pick up Helter Skelter, Greg King's Sharon Tate and the Manson Murders and this book. This is the book that provides uncensored crime photos, unlike Bugliosi's book. It is a good read, but will keep you up at night.Now, a word of warning:IF YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT LOOKING AT THE SAMPLE PAGES PROVIDED HERE, THINK TWICE. ONE OF THEM IS THE BACK COVER, WHICH PROVIDES AN UNCENSORED PHOTO FROM THE CRIME SCENE OF TATE AND SEBRING, ALBEIT BATHED IN ORANGE. Beware.

This book is an exploration into the world that was created by Charles Manson. The writer, John Gilmore (Los Angeles Times says of Gilmore's book, COLD-BLOODED, "An essential masterpiece in the true crime genre"), has created a window to Charlie Manson's world by close involvement not only with Manson but with all facets of this incredible, terrifying mise en scene. One reviewer has seemingly faulted this book for not being "entertainment," and sites Helter Skelter as their choice of entertainment. No, Gilmore's book is not "entertainment," but rather ENLIGHTENMENT. Helter Skelter was an excellent offering from the author's point of view, that of the prosecutor in the case against Manson and the girls accused of murder. Helter Skelter is told exclusively from that point of view, examining Manson and the Family at a safe distance, as beasts in cages, much as we observe animals at the zoo. That is entertainment. John Gilmore's examination of this case has no bars separating us from the beasts. We are accompany them on their lives, are placed right in with them. We share life with them, we watch their heads ticking, and we kill with them. This is a terrifying place to be. Gilmore's book was one of the earliest books to be published on the Manson case. There have been a number of imitations, trying to lead us into this twisted world so effortlessly accompolished by Gilmore. He has lived inside Manson's head, and his book stands alone in taking us into a warped world that will remain as timeless as the Holocaust. So, no, this is not "entertainment." For entertainment, one must visit the tube for a sitcom or a movie made for TV. For education, for enlightenment, though, Gilmore's book is the one to read. It dark, yes. It is shocking, yes. Helter Skelter gives us a broad and worthwhile study of the legalities and the case from the prosecution's personal, bestseller-style, perspective. In fairness, I suggest reading Gilmore's book and Helter Skelter, to gain as much insight as possible into this mindboggling horror that seems right at our fingertips. I was smelling the blood in Gilmore's book, and yet I could not turn away. As for the photographs of the victims from the murder scene and at the morgue, this was the first time these photographs were published in a book dealing with this case. What appears online were "borrowed" from Mr. Gilmore's book. They are now world-wide, and nonetheless disturbing, frightening, or unforgettable. Gilmore's book is not "entertainment," unless you subscribe to the same nightmare view created by Charles Manson. This book and these photographs remind us that true evil is very close, so close, in fact, it can reach out and touch us at any time.

I suppose a fascination with this kind of thing tends to brand one as a sicko, but I'll wear that label with pride, as I am unlikely to shrug it off. One of the better books around on Charlie and those famous family values that so fatally skewered the peace and love generation, though scattered with some strange errors. Written by an outsider to the case, unlike such offerings as Helter Skelter and is a rather more distanced and unsensationalized read as a result. The photos supplied by our author are certainly grisly, and are a further sobering reminder of just how unglamourous such violence is. Not for the squeamish, but then would you be here if you were?