Customer Reviews

Taming the Beast: Charles Manson's Life Behind Bars

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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!

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!

The 'mystique' of Charles Manson that was brough out in Helter Skelter pretty much goes away w/ this book, written by Edward George, a former prison counselor. It gives the reader a glimpse of Manson's life as he was incarceratedfor the Helter Skelter murders. Whereas Helter Skelter was more about the trial, this book reflects a lot more on Manson's life both in and out of prison. It also contains transcripts from several of Manson's parole hearings. Serves as the perfect companion piece to Helter Skelter.

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.

This book was awesome. George had daily contact with Manson and you can feel the fear and mesmerizing power of Manson through the pages of the book. He details everyday conversations he had with Manson through an exciting writing style which wouldn't allow me to put the book down. I finished the book in less than three days.jaydub.

I really liked this book, but it was very scattered going from one thing to another and breaking pace a bit. The author talked a lot about his home life and even went as far as blaming his attack on his daughter on Manson's influence. The author obviously had his own mental issues, most he blamed on Manson. One time he was super paranoid that Manson was going to escape and go to his house to convert his daughter against him. He went as far as writing a few paragraphs on his fear. This sounds like author Edward George was a very paranoid and irrational man-- one who would not take responsibility on attacking his daughter, rather he said that it was Manson in his subconscious.

Otherwise, the book is good and really touches on some incidents with the Family rarely spoken about like the Stockton Murders aftermath, the attempted Kenneth Como jailbreaks, TJ Walleman's attempt at breaking Manson out and so on. It opens up a whole new world than we never really got to see in Manson's prison life and the book was really hard to put down.

My only problem is that the author continuously tries to paint Manson as this evil, continuously plotting evil maniac, when it's probably Manson is sitting in his cell in his own world. The author just tries to over-dramatize the situations, probably to make his book seem more interesting. That's not the aspect of the book that I liked, it was hearing the stories of Pin Cushion, and all of Manson's friends and enemies.

I hate to hear people compare this to Helter Skelter-- so many people hold Helter Skelter as the Bible of Manson when so many things in that book have since been proven incorrect either through bad sources, lies in testimonies or Bugliosi's own fabrications. Books like Taming The Beast is at least trying to see both sides of Manson, something Helter Skelter refused to do.

Taming the Beast contains some interesting anecdotes from Edward George, who counseled Charles Manson while Manson served time in the 1970s and 1980s.

George provides insight into Manson's psyche. Manson cannot control his temper, even though the outbursts cost him his prison privileges. When Manson is not upset, however, he often manipulates the "system" to his advantage.

Manson blames his problems on childhood traumas - and on society's failure to protect him. This material is frustrating because George quotes from other published sources - there are few new insights. George does a better job of explaining why prison seldom rehabilitates dysfunctional inmates. Manson's fellow "cons" are not taken in by him and, in fact, they often make him their victim. Charlie simply waits to die, surrounded by evil.

Taming the Beast is thin. George stretches the material to have enough for a book. Perhaps to fill space, George frequently goes on tangents about the California penal system. The tangents are interesting, but Manson often disappears from the book.

This is not a bad book, but it would have been better as a magazine article. Vincent Bugliosi's Helter Skelter and Ed Sanders' The Family are better books about Manson.

I don't know what I expected, but I actually found this book pretty boring. I guess life in prison really can't BE very interesting. I gathered that Manson is perfectly sane, very charismatic, unable to control his impulses, admantly against snitching, and afraid other inmates will kill him. I learned that the author is an interfering guy who cannot leave well enough alone, and gave Manson some very nice breaks that he didn't deserve as a guy who helped cause mass murders. But it wasn't worth hundreds of pages to find these things out. Oddly, Manson's rants reminded me at times rather disconcertingly of A Course in Miracles. But maybe it was just the hectoring tone. Maybe all "gurus" speak that way to the common man. And I guess everyone who comes in contact with a famous or infamous person feels compelled to write a book about the person. In my opinion, not worth reading. A three-page article would have done as well.

This book is an in-your-face reaction to the bizarre behavior exhibited by Charles Manson. After experiencing Charles Manson through the eyes, hears, mind and spirit of Ed George (Manson's "keeper" in prison) and getting insider intel about the Manson phenomena one can only conclude that there is definitely something extrodinary about this incarnation of evil on this earth. There is certainly a lot to think about when you read this book in regards to Manson's influence on so many individuals and so many events. We come to see how Manson most certainly is under the spell of a very real malevolent vibrating energy. For all intensive purposes Manson's mind is possessed by evil. We see that there is no good coming from this man; we see that what we might see as something good in him is merely a subtle projection of evil, with an evil agenda behind it. Manson is pictured as he is: a souless repository of evil, coiled like a snake; ready to strike out given the first opportunity. This man should never be allowed to be unrestricted and certainly never allowed out of prison.

Charles Manson is another one of those fixed points in the American pseudo-mind. Everybody knows what to think about him. Madman, hypnotist, Svengali. Actually trying to think about Charles Manson would be a good exercise for Americans, those few whose minds still function. Manson was not present at the scene of either the Tate or Labianca murders. He wasn't there, period. He was convicted because a bunch of obviously mush brained kids said, after they were caught, "he made me do it!" Now Manson had no power over them other than his supposedly hypnotic personality. Manson was not like. say, Hitler, who was a head of state, could give orders, and could punish or kill those who disobeyed. Supposedly he hypnotized them and made them do it. Come on. Edward George is an obviously weak minded guy who immediately succumbed to Manson's antics. As another reviewer mentioned, Manson sounds sane, but George sensed some kind of overpowering weirdness. Anyone who wants to think for himself might do a little research on Tex Watson, the guy who was actually there and actually did most of the killing. Now that's the real mad killer for you. Was he under Manson's spell? Decide for yourself. Then you might ask yourself why Manson had to take the blame.