Customer Reviews

The Family: The Story of Charles Manson's Dune Buggy Attack Battalion

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I found this book to be very informative, and often a bit tongue-in-cheek....unusual, considering the subject matter.

Ed Sanders is able to convey the incredulity of these crimes through his descriptions ("Susan Atkins walked by the bedroom and waved at Abigail Folger. Folger waved back. 'Hi, death.'")

His descriptions of the murder scenarios are terse and almost callous at times ("all was chop"), but are somehow suitable.

Some of the information is incorrect; for example, he gets some of the Family nicknames mismatched with their real names, but overall, an incisive, thought-provoking look at the Tate-LaBianca murders, with a lot of detail left out of other published accounts.

There is a ton of information here, almost too much. I understand Manson and his group moved around alot, but I really didn't need to know about every time they moved (they were nomadic alot of the time). The writing style is almost journalistic, with occasional anachronistic side commentary. This book, which covers the story up to (but not including) the trial(s), will tell you probably everything you ever want to know (or didn't want to know, as the case may be). Exhaustive and exhausting.

A decent read, but not something I would spend a lot of time trying to get a hold of.

Brings a different "light" to the Manson Family, though I suspect that it's not exactly 100% true.

If you're building a true crime library, add this to your Manson collection. If you're just looking for the Manson story stick with Helter Skelter.

Of the several books addressing these horrible events, this is probably the best as to details and massive amounts of information. It is quite readable and well done. I must admit to not being a big fan of this particular genre of book, i.e. true crime, etc. but this event was so a part of our cultural make up at that time (and still is to a certain extent), I thought I would give it a try. I am glad I did...I learned much that I did not know before. Recommend this one highly.

I enjoyed this book much better than Helter Skelter because this book explained how the murders actually happened. Who died first etc. I felt Helter Skelter was left wanting in this area. I also liked the information about the family. I highly encourage others to read this book.

if you're intersested in the real true crime novel this is the book. while helter sketer was entertaining, it didn't provide the background this book does. sanders deals with this subject with a sence of ironic humor that makes this book easier to enjoy(the subject matter is of course brutal) but this is historically an important part of the 60s. sanders leaves nothing out. you get a real sence of manson as a man, not the urban legend/monster other books turned him into. that's what makes this book terrifying, the fact it makes him a real person. from a litteral,historical, and phycological point of view, this is a most for any true crime fan. this book will "creepy crawl" into your subconcience

First of all, this was the only book that linked the Family to animal sacrifices and the drinking of Dog's blood. Now, for us who know the family, we know that they were not only animal loves, but some were even activists on the issues. Ed Sanders introduced many absurd theories, stories and scenarios but never gave sources. Generally he'd just say "the source wanted to remain anonymous".

It's sad that this book is full of such BS, because the stories of Manson's dune buggy assembly line, the nomadic ways of the family, and life in Death Valley were not only in depth, informative, but very, very interesting. It was more or less a day-by-day account of the days leading up to the murders, and the days in the desert before the arrests.

My caution is if you read this book, to try and weed out the bull crap and keep in mind that this guy claims to have spend weeks with the Family, but actually it was only like a day.

I'm sure there's not much I can add that hasn't been said, except....

The First edition had a chapter about an Aleister Crowley cult that may have been part of the input for Manson (at least the author thought). That chapter got dropped from future editions, but it should have been kept. It's worth the price of the book alone. The cult had a lot of similarities to The Family, i.e. racism, the occult & drugs. Get a nice HB first edition, which are selling pretty cheap

I'VE ALWAYS LIKED THIS BETTER THAN THE MORE POPULAR MANSON TOME,''HELTER SKELTER'' BECAUSE,FOR ONE THING,UNLIKE THAT BOOK,THE STORY HERE UNFOLDS CHRONOLOGICALLY.TRUTH IS INDEED STRANGER THAN FICTION,AND THIS BOOK PROVES IT.ED SANDERS ADEQUATELY CONVEYS THE HORROR OF THE MURDERS[OO-EE-OO],INVENTS A NEW WORD[''ACIDASSIN'',WHEN DESCRIBING SUSAN ATKINS KILLING SHARON TATE],PROVIDES POSSIBLE INFLUENCES ON MANSONS PHILOSOPHY,AND COVERS THE GARY HINMAN MURDER BY BOBBY BEAUSOLEIL BETTER THAN BUGLIOSI DID.READERS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT THIS BOOK ENDS WITH THE TRIAL PHASE.........THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST TRUE CRIME BOOKS,AND THE ONLY REASON FOR IT BEING OUT OF PRINT WAS ITS BEING ECLIPSED BY THE OTHER BOOK MENTIONED ABOVE........DEFINITELY DESERVES A REPRINT.