I always understood that journalists should never insert themselves into the stories they cover. Ed Sanders commits that sin as a matter of course in this history of the Manson family. In defense of Mr. Sanders, who better than himself, by any measure a paragon of human decency as well as a one-man iconographic history of the counterculture during much of the last fifty years in the United States, to relate this story subjectively?

Unfortunately, the book is rife with lapses in style, repetitions, and indulgence in dubious and unsubstantiated conspiracy theories, which compromise its credibility. This is mostly due, I expect, to lazy editing. But don’t authors read galleys? I think that was a step passed over here.

For the record, Mr. Sanders may count me among his ardent fans: I loved “Tales of Beatnik Glory” and still listen to The Fugs.

not well written but very entertaining. uses the word "gobble" with unlikely frequency! ( )

This book started off good, but near the end of the book you get the feeling the writer just wanted to wrap it up. ( )

great cover, great line of books (rororo, das neue buch), very courageous book

There are two versions of this book. Ed Sanders was sued after the book was published in hard cover and forced to remove all references in future editions to a religious cult known as the Process Church of the Final Judgement or "The Process" that he claims inspired Manson with it's theology of the unity of Christ and Satan. Try to get the hardcover, it's a much more chilling story than the sanitized paperback. ( )