Play Book Tag discussion

3.5 stars

In 1969, Charles Manson and a few of his “family” committed multiple murders two nights in a row. Vincent Bugliosi was the DA who got them convicted and sentenced to death. This book looked at the murders, the investigation, and the trials.

I listened to the audio, and unfortunately, this ended up being an abridged version of the book. As I ask in all my reviews of abridged audios – why? Why not record the entire book? Anyway, I read this when I was in high school (a few decades ago!), and it wasn’t as creepy as I remember. I can’t say for sure if the abridged version was the reason for that, but in part, I’m certain not seeing the photos was part of that. Charles Manson was a creepy creepy looking man. Since this was abridged, I still want to reread the entire thing. Overall, it appeared that the abridgement was done fairly well, though I’d much rather read the entire book.

I read the book when it first came out. As I recall there are long passages where he talks about his need to give a 5-hour summation and his preparations for the trial. I imagine that some of those long passages are parts that were cut from the audio.

Great book, though.

I got this on my tbr and my unofficial trim just waiting to be picked to force me to finally read it.

As a true crime lover, I know this is a must read.

Might be my favorite true crime book.

scared me silly when I read it years ago

I reread the book last year on one of the Trim picks. I definitely think some of the legal preparations wouldn't be missed in an abridged version. When I originally read this in the 70s, I was scared every time I heard the house creak. I don't think I've ever read a book that scared me as much, except for The Shining.

I read this as a young teen and don't remember a lot about the specifics of it anymore (as in the long passages about the need to give a legal summation).