Customer Reviews

Manson: Behind the Scenes

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Having just re-read this book in the wake of the newest controversies regarding the author, I have to admit that most Manson Scholars probably should own a copy if only for the greater understanding that reading it will allow them. For those who do not know, Bill Nelson is a Self-styled Manson Researcher who has put out several self-published books (this one included) on various tangent aspects of the case including a book on Tex Watson. Unfortunately, owing to its self-publication, this book lacks the guiding hand of a competant editor which results in literally dozens of grammatical and spelling errors per page. In addition, names of key players are often spelled three different ways and basic words are misused. This adds to a sense of confusion that permeates the book. Now, given all that.. let me tell you what you can learn from this book:

As troubling as the Manson Saga is, troubling still has been the manner in which people have become obsessed with the case to the point where it dominates their lives. Nelson is a prime example of a True-Crime buff so caught up in his research that he himself has become the obsession of other True-Crime Buffs. In his writings, he openly describes enaging in behavior that most readers would find alarming such as dogging the steps of the wives of convicted Manson Family Members as well as injecting himself deeply into the lives of the Victim's families. His chapter on Manson's Son alone was positively chilling in how he pursued this young man and how little a clue he had that what he was doing bordered on abuse and harassment. He gleefully describes taking surveillence photos of Tex Watson's wife and then sanctimoniously spouts off about his alleged Christian values as if this excuses such actions. For this reason alone, anyone studying Criminal Psychology should read this book. Keep in mind that is appropriate for a reviewer to comment upon the author because the author so carefully makes himself the center of the story he is telling. This is genuine criticism of the BOOK.

The other reason to read it is the unfortunate fact that no other writer has addressed the subject of what has happened to the far flung members of the Family. One interesting thing to note is that if an Ex-Family member cozies up to the Author, they are protrayed as reformed members of society no matter how heinous their past behaviors and if the former member seeks to avoid these troubling intrusions, they get lambasted as unremorseful miscreants. Considering the power and influence of Nelson's huge Former Website on the murders, anyone unfortunate enough to have been associated with Manson becomes doubly unfortunate if they refuse to let this author delve deeply into their personal lives.

There are myraid reviews here, most of them negative and with good reason. However, given the fact that Nelson himself has now become PART of the Manson story through his own actions, it would be foolish NOT to read this book and maybe even own a copy. Further, it is likely that this book will be even harder to come by in the near future than a copy of Ed Sanders' THE FAMILY with the all important excised chapter on The Process. Call me perverse, but I must admit to finding Nelson's material strangely compelling. If only for the unsettling tale of La Bianca's step-daughter "forgiving" Tex Watson and going on the Christian TV circuit, the book has it's strengths.

If you want to read a less ethically challenged book on Manson and his crimes which encompasses Bill Nelson's research, you should look up Greg King's excellent and even-handed account of the crimes as they interwined with Sharon tate's life. It's deservedly selling very well and is the most complete telling of those sad crimes avaliable to date. What makes THAT book strong is that King documents every fact he cites by source in a strong and lenghty appendix. He takes what is useful from Nelson's research and leaves behind all the creepier aspects of it. Seriously, look up Greg King... he is an author on the brink of greatness. (by the way, I had no competant editor for this review, but I bet I still made far fewer typos and errors than in one entire chapter of MANSON BEHIND THE SCENES!)

This book glows of an author completely enamered with himself,snapping photos of innocent children, stalking people to get an interview for his book, and other mental sicknesses.

The spelling errors are atrocious,he blocks out swear words throughout the book,then adds in blunt crime scene photos that make your stomach turn,what sense does that make?

This "author" is almost as weird as the killers themselves.He seems to worship at the temple of his own narcissism.

Dave

This is a very troubling book and one that is not easy to review. It is a unique book, in that it alone attempts to bring curious readers up to date on the current status of the far-flung members of both Manson's Hardcore Family following as well as those who were loosely associated with the group. Bill Nelson, the author, is a self-publishing researcher whose enthusiasm for digging up Manson-minutia is unparalleled. However, the means to which he has stooped to gather this info is troubling - very troubling. A self-professed Christian who thinks nothing of using specialized databases of Private Investigators to ferret out home addresses of people who wish to remain forgotten and who then parks outside their homes with cameras does not to me appear to have a greater grasp of Christ's message. However, occasionally Nelson does succeed through these abhorrant methods in bringing to light truths that are even more troubling than his investigative techniques. For instance, Nelson alone has dogged Tex Watson mercilessly to expose how he he has built up a So-called Christian Ministry whose sole purpose seems to be to gather donations which are then funneled to cover his Wife and kids' living expenses. Even more disgusting is the revelation that Tex, who made sure Roman Polanski's first child died days before his expected birth was granted sexual visits in prison which resulted in his wife conceived numerous children long after he had been sentenced to death. Nelson further exposed how the State of California then had to support these children of a child-killer. As bizarre as Nelson's personal motivations seem to be, one has admit that no other journalist covering the Manson Family behind bars has done more to expose this disgusting set of privileges (to marry, to have sex and to procreate all behind bars) that were at one time extended to convicted murderers. He also chronicles the outragious love lives of the Manson Women behind bars.

Getting back to this book, it is a must-have book for anyone who is attempting to discuss the Manson Family in their own research simply due to the extraordinary detail present in the book. If one get past the hundreds of mispellings, the faulty Grammar, the overexploitation of exclamation points which borders on the absurd, then one can glean a great deal from this book. As wrong-headed as his analysis of the Doreen Gaul Murder is as it related to the Zodiac killings, his discussion of Doreen's murder is important and as detailed as possible. Her murder along with that of James Sharp was rather callously forgotten and miscategorized due to her quite innocent (for the times) interest in Scientology. Oh, one picking point: Nelson misidentifies a symbol she was wearing around her neck as a "scientology symbol" when in fact it was nothing more than an Egyptian Anhk (symbol of life) which was extremely popular with girls of her age during that era and in no way associated with the Church of Scientology. He also casts a undue sinister light on Doreen's use of well-known Scientology jargon which I found terribly offensive. Even so, I find myself thinking of Doreen who hailed from my own hometown and praying for her and her family. There's fodder for an entire book right there in the discussion of her sad demise. As mistaken as Nelson is about Scientology, he does manage to put forth the tragedy of her death. I do wish he had left out the photos of her naked and abused body. though, if at least out of respect for the family members he obviously plied for info.

Perhaps the most startling info in the book deals with Suzan LeBarge's embracing of Tex Watson. Suzan was the daughter of Rosemary LaBianca and stepdaughter of Leno. His chronicles of her bizarre life are fascinating. Another freaky factoid contained in the book is Nelson's commentary on his friendhsip with a woman named Lisa who at one time inhabited the Guest House that William Garretson lived in during the murders. That fact that this woman later became intimate friends with Sharon Tate's sister and in fact lived with her until her death is just too strange. Check out Nelson's website for further weirdness involving Garretson new claim to have married the now grown child that Sharon Tate was carrying who claims she was spirited away from the scene after birth!

Finally, this is certainly NOT the 1st book you should read to follow up on the Manson family. However, if you are a serious student of the times in question, one has to cave in and buy this highly personal book. If you can set aside the sour taste that Nelson leaves you with as he assasinates various characters, you will find that flawed though he is, Nelson is actually attempting in his own way to truly shed some light on the larger story. As for Nelson himself.. pray for him.

This is one of worst written books I have ever read. The grammatical errors were so numerous I often found myself completely lost in mid-sentence. He even misspells "Sexy Sadie"! There are inconsistencies galore, (saying the Tate victims were on MDL-Ever heard of MDA?), and frankly, with all of these glaring errors, I find it hard to give any of his theories any credence. The author is nothing more than a Manson Family groupie, running to every Parole hearing like a Deadhead to a Grateful Dead show! Completely embarassing! Get a life, Bill!

This book is a major waste of time and money. It is very obviously self-published, no one else would put out something so packed with incomplete thoughts, spelling errors, grammatical problems, or a total lack of new insights or anything of value to add to what's already been written. I'm sure Mr. Nelson has a point (or two), but after reading his book, I'm still not sure what it is.

I think there IS one positive thing I can say about this book. It taught me that my "harmless curiosity" can expose me to the sick minds that are addicted to this tragedy. And having spent money on the inconherent ramblings of a VERY obsessed man, I decided my curiosity and money is better spent elsewhere. It makes me ill that Manson supporters continue to spew their self- delusions under the guise of concern for the environment(yeah right!), but it makes me just as ill to read Bill Nelson's dribble.

Bill Nelson is notorious for being a "Manson Family Stalker" and claiming to be against people profiting from the crimes. However, he not only sold videos of parole hearings, interviews with Family members, and photos but wrote two books on the case that made him a good deal of money. The books are not only one-sided, but completely biased to the point where he seems to have fabricated some interviews (i.e. Dianne Lake, Di Di Lansbury).

For instance, one point he talks about a Family member leaving because she witnessed Manson touching Dennis Rice's children-- the infamous children that Rice buried in a chicken coop during the trials. Problem with this is that Rice and his children were post-Manson arrest Family. In fact, Rice was never really a Family member, but more of an acquaintance of Lyn Fromme. Nelson used this story to make Manson into a child molester, which Nelson should have done more research because Rice and Manson never met on the outside.

Stay away from his book. All it delivers is more biased and erroneous opinions written to be "fact".

This has to be one of the worst books in print. The author, who fancies himself a "journalist", is a semiliterate kook who writes at a gradeschool level. The entire book is nothing but a collage of disconnected fragments, strung together by Mr. Nelson's emotionally retarded, barbarously composed commentary. If there was an editor of this book, he or she is unfamiliar with the English language, as there are typos and misspellings on every other page. And get this: anytime so-called "bad words" appear, the letters "XXX" are inserted to censor them, rendering some sections even less comprehensible. This pathetic effort might provide Manson obsessives with some tidbits of information, or perhaps it could serve as a textbook example of everything a real investigative work should not be, but there is nothing here to justify the cutting down of the trees it took to put this drivel before the public.

My one-line summary, above, captures what I have to say about this book. Indeed, what is in it is VERY fascinating, but how can anyone let something that badly written and edited go to print??? I'm a little shocked at Nelson's comment that those who criticize the book's editing are "devil worshippers." (What could he possibly mean by claiming that? It makes him sound less than sane.) Maybe they were just LITERATE.... Anyway, I do appreciate the contribution of his content to this ever-fascinating subject.

This is the most confusing book I have ever read. It is unfortunate the writer is allowing his many years of work and research to be completely discounted by such basic mechanical errors as spelling, grammar, incomplete thoughts, topic skipping, unfinished sentences, and unidentified speakers. His response to critisism seems to be that these are personal comments directed at him. One of the distinctions of the professional writer is the ability to understand that the comments are focusing on the work; not on the writer. The writer does not seem to understand that his writing style (unclear, murky, unexplained) causes the reader to miss whatever information the writer is trying to convey. I believe the writer's and publisher's claim that there is new and valuable information in this book, but am unable to say what it is; I cannot understand what the topic is half of the time. The writer's personal comments and judgements are freely scattered throughout factual accounts, ! leaving one thoroughly bewildered. The excessive use of exclamation points detracts from the credibility of the account. Also, many of the photographs are unmarked and it is the reader's chore to try to figure out who these people are and why they're in the book. Perhaps the writer will mellow a bit and hire some professional writing help for the next version; it would be too bad if all his research and information were dismissed due to such easily fixed errors. The writer does appear to be trying to tell us something and he is excited about much of it. It is hoped he can locate a more effective way of communicating it to the reader.