Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties | 
panO‘Neill spent 20 years digging up documents and interviewing people involved in the Manson murders and trial and presents here his “proof” that the motives presented at trial aren‘t correct. The problem is, he is relying on memories of 30+ year old events and failing to contextualize his findings. There‘s some intriguing possibilities here, but that‘s it, not the smoking gun he wants to believe it is.
pick3.5 Stars • In "Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties," Tom O'Neill explores the background and motives behind the infamous Tate-LaBianca murders committed by the Manson Family in 1969. O'Neill challenges the Helter Skelter scenario presented by lead prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi in the trials and in his book, suggesting that there may be more to the story than meets the eye. ⬇️
The first true crime book I ever read was Helter Skelter. I read it in high school and I was both horrified and fascinated. I remember thinking that Vincent Bugliosi, the prosecuting attorney, was a hero. The case he laid out about the crazy motive seemed so far fetched it‘s hard to believe he got the convictions. This newer book, researched over twenty years casts some doubts on Bugliosi‘s case. There‘s no doubt of Manson‘s guilt but... wow!
so-soThe concept is FASCINATING, but the story goes all over the place. I don‘t even think I could try to summarize his finding. O‘Neill proves that the Helter Skelter motivation for the Tate-LaBianace murders isn‘t true by positing a lot of other possible motivations. Nothing super solid, mostly hazy suggestions. Only for the truly Manson-obsessed (not me). ⭐️⭐️⭐️
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ O‘Neill, a journalist who became obsessed with the Manson murders, lays out his decades of research and theories. There are a few tangents, but A LOT of interesting food for thought. If you‘ve read Helter Skelter, you‘ll probably want to check this out. He‘s certainly no fan of Bulgiosi and his well-spun story. This was a goddamned trip!
Day 25 - #Chaos #MagnificentMarch #ChaosCharlesMansonTheCIAAndTheHistoryOfTheSixties #TomONeill
I read Helter Skelter and now I need to read this!
There‘s still an hour and a half til midnight here, but my eyes are heavy, so I‘m calling it. This is actually the best I‘ve done in a readathon. Coming in a little under two hours shy of the 24 hour mark. I managed to finish 3 books, 2 audio (Beartown and Chaos) and then A Queen in Hiding was my physical ARC. Loved A Queen in Hiding, need to write my review. Made progress in Kingdom of Souls. Happy with my stats for #24B4Monday
I‘ll read pretty much any book that comes out about Manson, so hoping this one is good!
pickMind. Blown. Couldn‘t put it down. Everything we think we know is a lie. Of course. Must read.
