‘Manson’ by Jeff Guinn

My Review (5 stars out of 5)

How did ex-con and delinquent Charles Manson entice young people to join his ‘family’ and persuade them to commit murder? In this well-researched biography, Jeff Guinn interviewed childhood friends, cellmates, Manson’s own sister and cousin and even members of the Manson Family.

Placing Manson firmly in the context of his times, the author demonstrates how Manson’s behaviour was influenced by the tumultuous changes that were going on in America during the late Sixties and how the diminutive musician inveigled himself into the lives of people like Beach Boy Dennis Wilson and record producer Terry Melcher. Convinced that a race-war was about to begin, Manson saw the Tate LaBiancha murders as a means of setting things in motion so he and his followers could eventually take over and rule over America’s black population.

A fascinating and scary book.

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