Chaos Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties

Tom O'Neill — 2020

A journalist's twenty-year fascination with the Manson murders leads to shocking new revelations about the FBI's involvement in this riveting reassessment of an infamous case in American history. Over two grim nights in Los Angeles, the young followers of Charles Manson murdered seven people, including the actress Sharon Tate, then eight months pregnant. With no mercy and seemingly no motive, the Manson Family followed their leader's every order-their crimes lit a flame of paranoia across the nation, spelling the end of the sixties. Manson became one of history's most infamous criminals, his name forever attached to an era when charlatans mixed with prodigies, free love was as possible as brainwashing, and utopia-or dystopia-was just an acid trip away. Twenty years ago, when journalist Tom O'Neill was reporting a magazine piece about the murders, he worried there was nothing new to say. Then he unearthed shocking evidence of a cover-up behind the "official" story, including police carelessness, legal misconduct, and potential surveillance by intelligence agents. When a tense interview with Vincent Bugliosi-prosecutor of the Manson Family, and author of Helter Skelter-turned a friendly source into a nemesis, O'Neill knew he was onto something. But every discovery brought more questions: Who were Manson's real friends in Hollywood, and how far would they go to hide their ties? Why didn't law enforcement, including Manson's own parole officer, act on their many chances to stop him? And how did Manson-an illiterate ex-con-turn a group of peaceful hippies into remorseless killers? O'Neill's quest for the truth led him from reclusive celebrities to seasoned spies, from San Francisco's summer of love to the shadowy sites of the CIA's mind-control experiments, on a trail rife with shady cover-ups and suspicious coincidences. The product of two decades of reporting, hundreds of new interviews, and dozens of never-before-seen documents from the LAPD, the FBI, and the CIA, CHAOS mounts an argument that could be, according to Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Steven Kay, strong enough to overturn the verdicts on the Manson murders. This is a book that overturns our understanding of a pivotal time in American history.

Reviews

Alexander Enriquez@kgbkowboy

Jan 10, 2024

This is a fun book. If true (which, I have my doubts) then this stands as a documentation of one of the most elaborate social engineering projects the US government has participated in on US soil.

Maurice FitzGerald@soraxtm

Dec 10, 2023

It's a great read. I wish it was longer. So many questions seem to beg for more information. It certainly kept my undivided attention for the short time it took me to read it.

Erzse Reed@erzse

Jul 4, 2023

Guy shocked when people don’t want to talk about the murder of someone they care about for 12 hours.

Cena@cena

Jun 9, 2023

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... Sums it up best!

Randy Robbins@rjrobbins2

Sep 14, 2021

I wanted this book to be amazing as this case always interest me. While it isn't a bad book and definitely worth reading, it doesn't reach the level I was expecting. The book is filled with wild conjecture and fails to draw any real conclusions. The book is also poorly organized going all over the place. A lot of this may not be the author's fault as a lot of time as passed which causes faulty memory and the death of many of the major players. I wish the author would have started this research 20 years earlier and the story we know as the Manson murders may be completely different with additional people held accountable. Like I said, if you have an interest in the Manson murders, like reading about the shady shit the US government has done, or like true crime, it is still worth reading. But, if you don't, you are going to be missing some mindblowing facts because the book is mainly conjecture that hints at a different narrative for the murders without any real proof and that is too bad.