Helter Skelter // The Things They Carried

Hello all! I hope you're all ready for summer, it's definitely coming up fast, and this summer will definitely be spent catching up on some good reads. As you may know my bookworm level is at its maximum this year, because I'm trying to read at least 30 books before 2015. It's become sort of difficult, being as I have a knack for picking big, thick books that take me a long time to read, so I'm off to a slow start. So far, I've enjoyed the pleasure of 8 books, all of them being at least a few inches thick!

I just recently finished Helter Skelter; The True Story of the Manson Murders by Vincent Bugliosi; another lengthy read. I'm only about 30% towards my annual goal, and I'm three books behind! I had started reading 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami, but, I'm not sure if you've seen it before, it's about two inches thick! So, I tucked that one away for later and starting today I will be reading The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien.

Before I get to that, though, and now that you've been updated on my nerdy endeavors, I'd like to talk about Helter Skelter.


For those of you that don't know me, I'm a sucker for the macabre. I guess you can say I'm a bit morbid, I mean, I do want to be a SFX Makeup artist. I find fascination in reading about serial killers and mass murderers, or just bad guys in general. I used to want to be a criminal psychologist, and my dream was to one day be able to interview and analyze Charles Manson himself. No, I do not idolize the man, and I don't think he's a good person. (I've had people think that of me, and I just want to point out that in no way, shape, or form do I justify anything that any criminal has done!) I'm simply just interested in how the mind works of that of a psycho. What makes a person want to brutally kill an innocent person? Eat their flesh? Make furniture out of their skin and skulls? Convince a large group of people to kill for you? That is what fascinates me, the Manson murders being the most interesting in my opinion. Being one of the most bizarre atrocities to ever happen in the world today, (It's up there with Jack the Ripper), what is it about Charlie that made people follow him, steal for him, kill for him... like he was the second son of God?

News Prints in Helter Skelter

This book is absolutely amazing, a great read. Written by the prosecutor himself, you literally get the full story, from beginning to end, what happened those two nights in August of 1969. And beyond that, you get the full story on the investigation, the backgrounds of the defendants, the trial, the motive, the verdicts, the penalty, and the outcome; the "where are they now" phase. This novel is so thorough, and 100% true. And to be honest, it's not difficult to read at all! I thought that it was going to be like reading an Encyclopedia of Law, but it is actually pretty easy to follow. The only thing I'd have to warn you about, is that it does tend to jump back and forth a lot. It wasn't really an issue for me though, I just paid attention to the notes at the bottom of the page when needed! The story is absolutely insane, I'm not going to delve too deep into it, because I think you should read it yourself; but here are some interesting things I learned, that I didn't know before, after reading this crime novel:

• The rumor that Sharon Tate's baby was cut from her stomach is absolutely false. Though Susan Atkins did actually think of doing it while she was at the scene, I don't believe she even had any stab wounds in the stomach; they were all in the chest area.
  
• During the trial, Spahn Ranch was burned to the ground in the Southern California fires. Coincidence? I'm not sure. But this information was a bit devastating to me, being as visiting the ranch was on my bucket list. As of now, there is no trace of the family ever living there. The Tate/Polanski house at Cielo Drive was also demolished, this was disappointing news to me as well!
  
• There is no proof whatsoever of Charles Manson ever killing a soul. Shooting someone, yes, but the man lived. There was a premonition that Manson was involved in the beheading of Shorty Shea; but there is no evidence of this, and The People weren't even sure if he was at the scene of the crime, or if it was just ordered by him. (There is evidence of Tex Watson getting rid of Shea's body and items, and he confessed that he did chop the body into pieces afterwards).
  
• There is no evidence of a 'family' now, but members of the family still continue to worship and follow Manson to this day. Sandy Good and 'Squeaky' are just two of them. Squeaky is in prison for attempted murder of the President of the United States (Gerald Ford, crazy right!?) but still continues to write Manson regularly. Sandy is currently living just outside the prison where Manson is held, and though she isn't allowed to visit, her husband visits at least every other week.
  
• The Trial lasted about eight months, from July 1970 to March 1971. The jury was in sequestration the entire time, the longest recorded time a Jury has ever had to be barred from the public.
  
• The motive for the killings of Tate, Folger, Frykowski, Sebring, Parent, Hinman, and the LaBiancas?: The Beatles. Yep, you read that correctly.

Photographs in Helter Skelter

Okay, that's enough of that. If you're intrigued in any way, I highly recommend you to read this book! Not only is it a history of the murders, but it's extremely informational when it comes to law, police work, etc. You definitely learn a lot! Helter Skelter is definitely one of my favorite reads, and I can see myself reading it again in the future. These murders are much more bizarre than you already think they are.


As for The Things They Carried, I know of quite a few people who have read this book, and it has been recommended to me a few times. My boyfriend is one of those who have read it, he's a huge history buff, and he absolutely loved it. I know of a few classes at my college that are reading this book as well, and I think that it is definitely a must-read. I've had this book on my shelf for awhile, I bought it last year I think, and now it's time to indulge.

You'll all be updated once I'm finished, wish me luck!