Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA, & Secret History of the Sixties

Going into this book you need to understand there is not going to be a smoking gun that proves all of the authors assertions. He started writing this and researching back in 1999 which was 30 years after the murders and didn't publish until 2019. Unfortunately that means that a lot of documents and key players were lost to time, but that doesn't negate the authors claims of what possibly happened all of those years ago. Having read Helter Skelter and Manson in his own Words, I found this to be a fascinating journey which picks up where the mainstream narrative left off regarding the case of Charles Manson and his followers. I appreciated the fact the author also presents their findings and never attempts to strongarm the reader into believing their claims, but rather just gives you their evidence and allows you to make your own conclusions. Honestly I don't know where I stand with all of this new information. I seems too fantastic of a tale to be real, but on the other hand I do have confidence in the author and the validity of their claims. Some things which bothered me since Helter Skelter and seemed to bother the author as well is, if Charles Manson was such a threat and habitually breaking their parole, why was he constantly being let go? Why did Charles Manson's Parole Officer know all of this and yet constantly go to bat for him, even going to the extent of taking Manson's kid when he went to jail for a bit? Why did Helter Skelter deliberately leave out the fact that Terry Melcher met with the family AFTER the murders? So many unanswered questions here and I don't know what to make of it. Anyways, enough of my rambling. It was an excellent read and I absolutely recommend.

I finally finished the book last night, and my head is spinning. If a random individual told me that Charles Manson was possibly entangled with the CIA, the JFK assassination, AND a rogue psychiatrist experimentally injecting unwitting people and elephants with LSD, I would probably say they're off their rocker! Granted, before reading this book, I only knew the very basics of the Manson Family murders since it was before my time. I have a B.S. in Criminal Justice, and I'm fascinated with true crime, but this isn't one that I ever knew a ton of details about. I never read Helter Skelter (I do believe I still have my mom's old copy), and maybe that's a good thing now? I don't know that I could read it at this point and not be thoroughly confused! Bugliosi was quite the character, to say the least. Not that I don't think outside the box, but I've never been very susceptible to conspiracy theories. But Tom O'Neill is one hell of an investigative journalist, and he'll get the gears turning. The revelations in this book are WILD and will send you down approximately 354 rabbit holes (that sometimes intersect)! I was so hopeful to get the end of the book and see that the murders are wrapped up in a neat bow...you won't get that gift, lol. I will NOT claim that this book is easy to read, for more than one reason. I struggled specifically through the trial bits because some of it was extremely tedious, and there are an incredible amount of names to keep straight...I needed Tom's whiteboard! But things got a lot more interesting soon after that, with Manson's San Francisco adventures, Dr. Jolly West, and Tenerelli's death. I would actually rate it 4.5, but I've rounded up due to the sheer amount of research and dedication. Weird fact: I realized that my grandpa arrived at Lackland AFB for orientation exactly 1 month after Chere Jo Horton's murder. He was only there for a few weeks before being deployed to other bases, so it's possible that he was there at the same time as West. My grandpa wrote an autobiography, and there are a few stories from his 3 years in the Air Force, but nothing wild or weird enough to be associated with West's activities. Also, I have photocopies of several letters (or possibly one really looooong letter) from Manson. I took a serial killer class (study of, not how to become one) in college, and our professor was a prison pen pal of cuckoo Charlie. I half-heartedly tried to decipher his ramblings back then (the letters were before 2008), but I'm going to dig them out and look again. If I find anything juicy (especially after having read CHAOS), Tom should be expecting a packet in the mail! I truly hope that the full truth presents itself. I don't expect we will hear it from law enforcement, since it seems like everyone who knew Manson has something to hide (or was purposely kept from the truth). Maybe a vital witness will finally want to break their silence. However, I think Tom and his research will be the key...sorry to put on more pressure! I really didn't know what I was getting into before starting this book, and I DEFINITELY didn't expect these levels of craziness, but I'm glad I read it all the way through.

This book was extremely well-written, and the thoroughness of the author's reporting and research went above and beyond pretty much anything I've ever heard of. The book becomes just as much a story of his own experience of having the Manson case consume his life as it is about the substance of the case itself. I know that might sound off-putting, but it's actually great. Tom O'Neill does not succumb to the temptation to fill in the blanks with some neat, overconfident answers. He doesn't over-state what he has, just to tie up loose ends in the plot in a tidy bow. He is always very clear about what is merely speculation or circumstantial evidence. He honestly admits that he could not come up with "the solution" that fills in all the missing pieces of the crime. However, the book is still a satisfying read for two reasons: one, because he unearths one startling, never-before-known detail after another, which ends up being far, far more than one would ever expect could ever be revealed so many years later. The reader doesn't feel cheated out of new revelations, because there are plenty. A shocking amount. Secondly, the book satisfies because the author's honest self-reflection about his personal struggle to solve the case prove that he gave a superhuman effort and really did all that anyone could have ever done, and more than anyone else would have done. Yet, many answers remain elusive, and life can be like that. It usually is. The frustration is shared and very relatable. This author risked his whole career and his reputation as a writer just to continue digging. It struck me how he made himself vulnerable by admitting to his missed deadlines and breech of contract with his first publisher, his depression, and at times total hopelessness that he would ever be able to put his book together. In the end, he delivers and at last proves to the world that he really did the most extensive and thorough reporting on this that anyone could have ever dreamed of, and while late, published a book that is so well-written, and expertly edited and proofread with a thick section of citations in the back. Many of the books I read these days are riddled with typos, bad syntax, and other errors. This is an actual professionally written book, like you used to expect to always get when you paid money for a book. I would have given it five stars, but I'm stingy with stars, and only give five stars if I feel like it's the best book I've ever read. This is more than just a book for entertainment. This book does nothing less than correct a huge piece of American social history that was just WILDLY WRONG. The events around the Manson murders, because of what they reveal about the far-reaching corruption in our justice system, law enforcement, and intelligence agencies, and how that has colored our cultural lens for decades since, are monumentally significant. If we don't correct our perceptions of that time, we are pretty much living a lie. It's like everything we know is wrong if we don't wake up to how things really work. Events like this are carefully curated, scripted and choreographed for our consumption. This book goes a long way toward bringing this awareness into the mainstream. This guy really sacrificed to make the truth known to the world. It was a huge service to the world. I'm sorry this is a wall of text, I am not very good at writing anymore.

It took me back. It was excellent. I would highly recommend it! It will not disappoint you. It's very well researched.

I heard Joe Rogan mention this, and was not disappointed. So well documented that I occasionally got frustrated, wanting to "move on" with the story, etc., but I'm very impressed with the author's connect-the-dots skill. The tie-ins between various events explains so much about politics / news / events of that era. I lived through this era, and the amount of BS we were fed was unbelievable. It's a good reminder to not trust the news. If you think conspiracy-type behavior was limited to the past, or one party or era, you are badly mistaken.

This book is awesome

An enjoyable read with some interesting new information that really makes you think about the official narrative and how accurate it was. However O'neill went off into way too many directions over the years and it seems like at the end, because none of them ultimately gave him some a-ha! type answer, he attempted to tie all 1,000 of them up into this book. Don't get me wrong, it's engaging and goes pretty well for about 1/2 of the book, but then starts falling apart, fracturing and then ultimately ends up miles off the road in CIA territory. As soon as the JFK murders were tied in I had to kind of give up. One thing he failed to do which really baffled me, for all his thousands of hours of interviews and research, was to simply go directly to the people involved in the murders and get new interviews from them about all this alternative info he stumbled upon. He did talk to Manson one time, but pretty much blew his ability to get anything out of Manson because he immediately presented himself as what Manson would consider a "snitch" and garden variety reporter looking for a way to sell a new book. What's really frustrating is that at some seeming really crucial moments during interviews and where he was about to break through to something really big he appeared to have an uncanny ability at completely just BLOWING the interviews with some rookie journalist mistakes - this was documented over and over and he would plainly admit to his stupidity each time. This was incredibly annoying because it either means he was just too naive and stupid to get what he wanted from the subjects or it's just him trying to cover his butt. In any case it makes you want to throw the book against a wall. Ultimately I was left with a feeling of having travelled away from the Bugliosi narrative and asking alot of questions right along with O'neill but then just feeling lost in some aborted thread or into CIA/JFK conspiracy territory, which is what he attempted to use to hint at an ultimate narrative cohesion to explain many of his contradictory and new findings in the cases. About the only thing I am convinced of after the read is that there are almost surely more unsolved Manson murders. If O'neill wants me to believe that Manson was turned into a CIA drone/operative in MKULTRA experiments in creating murder zombies, sorry bud but I can't go there. For all Manson's charms we have to realize that sociopathy was his prison education. It is not far fetched at all to think that with a criminally charming personality, seriously damaged and very young influential girls, and drugs at his disposal he was able to create a cult and convince people to kill for him. As for the Helter Skelter theory, every bit of it is absolutely possible especially cosidering that the Family devolved into speed abuse toward the end which would have been the perfect recipe not only for paranoid delusions with a ridiculous basis but as enabling factors for the shocking violence that they engaged in. I would probably still recommend this read because there is some interesting research and new factoids, but ultimately it totally lacks narrative cohesion and leaves you slightly annoyed with the author for devoting 20 years of his life to a topic and bestowing this as it's ultimate record.

Very pleased with item and delivery.

O'Neill says early on in the book that he is not a conspiracy theorist. I'm not either. I'm a conspiracy realist and researcher, who demands documented facts. And this book delivers the goods. It is chock full of evidence, new revelations, and convincing speculation; all supported by reams of documentation. The author spent 20 years researching the book, interviewing hundreds of people from both the seedy (Manson) side, and the legal side - and all too often these lines were blurred. O'Neill painstakingly and meticulously lays out a breathtaking account that challenges the official Manson narrative to its core. He's a consummate story teller, who dishes with panache, determination, and intrigue. This is a must read for anyone even remotely interested in the Manson murders, the sixties counter-culture, and the nefarious involvement of the secretive three letter agencies. Prepare to have your mind blown!

Book came torn after waiting a whole month

Great book! Couldn't stop reading.

Great investigation! Quite revealing.

Tan divertido y fácil de leer. Es un libro grande con mucha información, pero el escritor hace que su lectura sea divertida. Definitivamente recógelo.