Taming the Beast: Charles Manson's Life Behind Bars (Paperback)

~ (Author), Dary Matera (Author) "CHARLES MANSON ARRIVED at San Quentin in June 1971 shackled in heavy chains and basking in the glow of a frenzied media..." (more)
Key Phrases: crime partners, instant offense, associate warden, San Quentin, Charles Manson, Manson Family (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Edward George, who was Charles Manson's prison counselor for eight years during the late 1970s and early '80s, offers an insider's look at the creepy cult leader's day-to-day life behind bars. Although Charlie is literally a graybeard now, he's lost none of his knack for oddball ranting and dark and compelling personal magnetism. George conveys the riveting persona of the convicted killer--complex and arcane, by turns violent and easygoing, and in some ways even sensitive. In one bizarre incident, Manson, upon discovering a bird's nest outside his cell window, procures an egg from the nest to protect it from the prison's cleaning crews, who routinely swept such nests off the building. George stumbles upon Charlie expectantly warming the egg with his hands, hoping for a hatchling to emerge. "Charles Manson held that egg in his hands for weeks, cherishing it, talking to it, waiting for that bird to emerge," George writes. "It never did."

The portrait of Manson that emerges from Taming the Beast is largely one of a defanged, eccentric, and even comical man, a man who goes before parole boards every few years and, like an actor leaping onstage, performs for his captive audience, then chuckles about it afterward. Still, the author is careful to remind readers of the harsher reality of Manson's past, at one point promising to stick a "shank into that bastard's black heart" if Manson ever came after his daughter. Though George struggles mightily to emphasize Charlie's sociopathic nature, it becomes obvious very early on in the book that he has a fairly big soft spot for his former charge. Manson, it seems, despite being confined, still has his infamous powers of persuasion after half a life on ice. --Tjames Madison --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

The latest entry in the canon of a true madman. George, a retired corrections officer who met Manson in 1975 at San Quentin, says up front that his Jesuit training led him to believe that the beast could indeed be tamed. His years of knowing Mansonwhom he frequently describes as devilish or demonic, a wicked trollled him to believe otherwise, and as both George's narrative and the parole board hearing transcripts cited here make clear, Manson is as monstrously sick as ever; he builds cockroach cages and voodoo dolls and rants about himself as a Christ-like figure. This volume (coauthored by true-crime writer Matera) gives us an ugly, ugly look at a man whose entire life has been a study in sickness. George advances a few theories about Manson's childhood and relationship with his father, then admits he doesn't know if Manson actually knew his father. George also has little to offer about Manson's motivations, though he does provide a chilling glimpse of Family members like Lynette Squeaky Fromme, who showed up at the prison regularly in her red cape, begging to be allowed to see Manson. George saw her just days before she attempted to assassinate then-president Gerald Ford. George also gives updates on the women who still follow Mansonand there are quite a few of themand it's scary how active the Family still is, nearly 30 years after they rose to infamy. While it's tough to see the rationale behind yet another book about this particular psychoManson himself counts 58 books on the topicGeorge has some items of interest to those who want to know all the details of Manson's prison life. -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; 2nd edition (July 16, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312209703
• ISBN-13: 978-0312209704
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #938,709 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book, February 27, 2000

By	Mark Charles (America) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Taming the Beast: Charles Manson's Life Behind Bars (Hardcover)

For anyone who has ever wondered what life is really like for one of America's most infamous criminals, Charles Manson, I would suggest you pick up a copy of this fascinating book. This booknot only presents to the reader a very thorough look into Manson's life behind bars, but it also shines a bright light on what life is like at some of America's most dangerous penal institutions. Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of this book. You won't regret that you did!

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Continues where Helter Skelter left off, August 25, 2001

By A Customer

I read Helter Skelter decades ago and watched the gripping television mini-series and was fascinated by both. Since then, no other Manson book has compared until this one. Taming The Beast takes off right where Helter Skelter ended without missing a beat and shows us what Manson has been doing since. Despite being in prison, his family remains alive after all these years and both he and they are just as frightening as ever. Great book!

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Taming the Beast, May 7, 2005

By	Cwn_Annwn (Copenhagen, Denmark) - See all my reviews

Written by a guy who was Charles Mansons prison counselor for eight years. This is of interest because it gives some insite into Mansons life since he has been in prison. Also included are transcripts of Mansons commentary during his various court and parole hearings over the years. This book is not perfect, the author at various times bends over backwards to paint Manson as being "spookier" than he really is, at one point implying that the reason for a near drowning accident and being attacked by an inmate were the result of a "voodoo doll" curse put on him by Manson! But flaws aside this is a very interesting look at Mansons life in the California prison system and contains the previously mentioned court/parole transcripts so it is a must read if you have an interest in Charles Manson.