Thursday, December 8, 2011

Q & A Wednesday

hippiekiller...... asked which Manson book is better- Taming The Beast" by Edward George or "Manson in His Own Words" by Nuel Emmons? I'm more interested in the cultish qualities of The Family, not so much Manson himself...






16 comments:

cielodrivecom said...

Both are good reads but neither really get into the cult aspect. "Taming the Beast" is all about Charlie in prison. Definitely has some interesting stories, and at times shows a side of Manson we don't often see portrayed in media. "Taming the Beast" is a good book to read back-to-back with Bravin's "Squeaky" because of their similar timelines. But neither spend much time with the family before the murders or the murders themselves. "Manson In His Own Words" focuses more on those earlier days. But don't expect much cult talk in that book

Tom Schulte said...

How about The Shadow Over Santa Susana: Black Magic, Mind Control and The "Manson Family" Mythos by Adam Gorightly?

I am fond of Garbage People: The Trip to Helter-Skelter and Beyond With Charlie Manson and the Family by John Gilmore and Ron Kenner.

I recommend it to this poster.

adam said...

Manson said from the start that "Manson in his own Words" is full of lies. And frankly, I couldn't adjust to the first person narrative when it's clearly the author's choice of wording not Manson's.

eviliz said...

eviliz said...
Tom Schulte said...
How about The Shadow Over Santa Susana: Black Magic, Mind Control and The "Manson Family" Mythos by Adam Gorightly?

I am fond of Garbage People: The Trip to Helter-Skelter and Beyond With Charlie Manson and the Family by John Gilmore and Ron Kenner.


I agree with Tom. I am reading The Shadow Over Santa Susana and it rocks. I personally think it is one of te best books along with
Garbage People. These are two books that have not taken all their info from other books.

hippiekiller said...

Thanks for the replies everyone! The only reason I enquired about these two specific books is because I found them at a bookstore nearby. Per Tom's suggestion, I'd rather go for "The Shadow Over Santa Susana..."

And I'd really like to get my hands on Little Paul's book, but I doubt I'll come across that at any bookstore in the near future ;-)

cielodrivecom said...

hippiekiller..if you use iBooks or Kindle I can hook you up with a copy of Paul's book.

eviliz said...

hippiekiller said...

And I'd really like to get my hands on Little Paul's book, but I doubt I'll come across that at any bookstore in the near future ;-)


The Colonel used to have the entire book published at his site.
Though I am not sure if it is there. You can check. DO you need the address?

Staceey L. said...

"The Shadow Over Santa Susana.." is really good. I'm currently reading "Taming the Beast"(along with 2 books about the Black Dahlia) and it is ok, but not great.

"The Family" is probably the book I'd say talks the most about the family.

Tom Schulte said...

I use a Kindle and would like Little Paul's book!

hippiekiller said...

Thanks eviliz- I've actually read several chapters of Paul's book on the Col's site- the acid freak out story from chapter nine is really telling. Thanks for the offer, cielodrivecom, but I haven't made the leap over to e-ink yet, sigh. Maybe I'll just try and compile a list of links to each chapter from that other site...

cielodrivecom said...

Tom, send me your email and I'll get that to you.

Shak El said...

I would recommend "Death to Pigs" tho its kind of expensive but it gets you directly into the thought of the Manson Circle at the time when they were most active. Tho i am still in the process of reading it (unexpected move and being lost in boxes of books has been an obstacle).

Patty is Dead said...

Cielo, Patty hopes you come back and read this thread again it's been several days now. But you know stuff about stuff and Patty wonders if you know the answer to this one.

Little Paul had a ghost writer on his book, someone who went by the nom de plume "Guillermo Soledad," which means "William Sunshine" in English. Anywhoo, he or she was apparently on the faculty at UCSB at that time. Do you know the writer's true identity? Patty has always wanted to know.

cielodrivecom said...

Sorry Patty, I don't know his true name.

Tom Schulte said...

What is the address for The Colonel's site?

Patty is Dead said...

Hi Tom: go see http://tatelabianca.blogspot.com/

We don't agree with The Colonel on everything and he has been awfully quiet of late. However, his site is the acknowledged birthplace of Manson blogging and if it ever goes down, Patty will wear black for at least a month.