Saturday, August 1, 2015

Sharon Tate: A Life - by Ed Sanders

In 1971, Ed Sanders published The Family, his insider's account of the Manson family murders; it was an immediate sensation. Using the same investigative skills and insider contacts that informed his counterculture classic, Sanders delivers the definitive account of the brief and tragic life of Sharon Tate.

The biography takes a close look at Tate's life—from her itinerant childhood and early career in fashion to her transition to film, passionate marriage to the brilliant and troubled Roman Polanski, and violent murder at the hands of the Manson family cult. Sanders's Sharon Tate offers new insights into what happened on the night of her death and explores new motives for the targeting of the Polanski household.

Illustrated with Rick Veitch's evocative images, Sharon Tate is required reading for anyone fascinated by the dark side of the '60s.

Available on Amazon





21 comments:

Matt said...

That cover is really cool. The rear view mirror speaks volumes. It's like today's "selfies" you see all the time, except black & white. Love it.

Placed my order.


AustinAnn74 said...

I wonder if he used the word "humans" in this book too? I noticed in his other book, he would use that term "human" in place of the word person or persons. An example sentence from Ed Sanders:

"A human by the name of John told Charlie to get out."

Robert Hendrickson said...

I find it very ironic / interesting that after all these years (a lifetime) even ED can't get away from the biggest success story HE ever experienced.

Of course, this time it has to be about the VICTIM. It's the YEAR of the victim in our culture. This book could even become the "victims" Bible , IF he played it up RIGHT.

But WHO actually wrote the post, cause it mentions motive(S) and I thought it was a simply a Battalion of "mindless" Dune Buggies gone wild that ran HER over on their way to the desert.

P.S. Matt: Your last comment on Mister Rudy makes TOO much sense for even the cops to understand.

CarolMR said...

Is this a new book?

Anonymous said...

It is a new book Carol. Due for release in January of next year. I don't think it's a book I'll be ordering although once it comes out I could always change my mind of course! No offense meant to anyone but Ed Sanders seems like a odd choice to write a bio on Sharon. I wonder if he'll add any of that oo-ee-oo to it.
I've always liked that picture too. It's a promo taken by her photographer Hatami in 1965 for her first movie Eye of the Devil. Definitely shows her beautiful eyes.

CarolMR said...

Thanks for the info, Krissy!

Anonymous said...

The cover image reminds me of the final scene in Taxi Driver.

Anonymous said...

Humans
Who need humans
Are the luckiest humans in the world

Guida Diehl said...

There better be some damned ooo-ee-ooo's in there!

Doubt we'll see any 'revelations' about Sharon's participation in dog-murdering beach-going black-robed Satan freaks who lock kids in chicken coops, though. Sanders has probably learned his lesson, 40-something years later. (Maybe)

Anonymous said...

I agree I don't think Sharon would have participated in any Satanic/Dog murdering rituals! One of the ( many) things I've always admired about her is that she was a animal lover like myself.
I discovered Sharon when I was about twelve, like many people it was when the book Helter Skelter came out. ( I stole the book from my Dad after he had read it!) I saw her picture and thought she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Forty years later and I still pretty much think the same- although these days the world is full of beautiful women ( and men!) because usually what you weren't born with you can now pay for via plastic surgery if you have the money. Sharon was a beauty when beauty was a gift much like a talent is. ( Although of course there are many everyday people who are just as beautiful as the more famous ones.)
Many say she would never be famous or even heard of if not for her death. I really don't think that's the case myself. She wasn't well known as a actress for the most part- but she was definitely well known as a beauty and style icon and I think most all of the most respected photographers of the time worked with her. I think she would be remembered as one of the great beauties of the era if not a great actress. So sad we'll never know what could have been with her or any of the other victims.

CrisPOA said...

Hatami was the guy Charlie talked to on Cielo Drive when he went there looking for Melcher. It was he who told CM that Melcher didn't lived there anymore. He said Sharon was with him at the moment and also saw the 'weird' man.

CarolMR said...

Sharon looks like Catherine Deneuve in this picture.

Guida Diehl said...

I've never seen any of Sharon's films, so I have no idea HOW she'd be remembered today if she hadn't been murdered- I tend to think talent actually does matter with actresses (some people think the industry's so shallow that it doesn't- I point them towards Pia Zadora or Bo Derek), so I can't make a judgement based on her skills as an actress. I doubt she'd have become a legendary starlet figure like Marilyn Monroe, but the impression I get is she'd still be reasonably well-known and remembered, maybe not a household name but at least in the same pop-culture 'hey, remember her?' league as Susan Strasberg or Zsa Zsa Gabor. At the very least, it's hard for beauty like that NOT to leave a lasting impact on an industry which loves its glitz & glamour so much.

Robert Hendrickson said...

Let's SEE - "New Insights" "New Motives" and WHY "the targeting of the Polanski Household."

GEE Whiz ED, after 45 years, where did YOU get the idea that there were "new motives" OR there was even a reason, other than RANDOM / OPPORTUNITY to ignite Helter Skelter via the TATE house massacre?
(read all about it in "The Family" by Ed Sanders)

Like, are you NOW claiming that Bugliosi perpatrated a FRAUD ?

OR has the MansonBlog.com's recent polling of the motive(s) caused YOU to re-think the BEST way to "promote" your book.

It's kind'a like, IF you can really demonstrate with EVIDENCE that Bugliosi de-frauded everyone who bought HIS H.S. book, I believe that Matt and many of us would welcome YOU to comment on this site.

AND I'm sure some professional class-action attorneys would also be interested in reading about perhaps the "greatest BOOK fraud" of the Century. Hell, IF you can just convince ME that H.S. was merely a scheme to prosecute C. Manson, I'll pull my photos from HIS book.

CrisPOA said...

I don't think HS is a book fraud. The motive can be, but the Bugliosi book just tell us how the proceedings happened in court, from his point of view of course.
If he used HS theory to prosecute guilty people in this case that is fair to me.

What i mean is - i don't feel deluded after reading it, it was his account. It's what really happended in court. If the motive is a fraud that is another thing.

But i am sure curious to read what the "new insights" will be ;)

Robert Hendrickson said...

WOW-E-E-E ! That is the REAL question here. IS it OK by ME for the "establishment" to DELUDE us - for what "IT" thinks is good for us?

Imagine MY surprise. I just spent two years researching the many "delusions" put upon US by the powers that be. Probably the most recent is the "Go to college NOW and pay for it later." So YOU too can become a night manager at McDonnals. Such a deal!

sasha11papers said...

i have come back several times to look at this picture of Sharon Tate. It's sad and haunting. In other photos, she's smiling or trying to look sexy. It is almost like she is looking back at us from another place and saying "this was my fate-I lost my child and my life".

Anonymous said...

Well, I can say a lot. But whatever the case, it should will at least be better than Restless Souls I'm sure.

starship said...

Sanders, that Fug!

sasha11papers said...

When I grew up in Detroit, there was a record store nearby. One of the albums sold there was Fugs music. I was a kid and I was fascinated by their very long hair and that name. Every time I went there, I had to check their album to see if it was still there and stare at the pictures on it. Who knew so many years later, I would be waiting for a book to come out by one of those very same guys?

Ajerseydevil said...

Restless Souls was a really good book don't understand the negative criticism but everyone is entitled to thre opinion Peace out