Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties (Hardcover)

Staff Reviews

Caution: some semi-spoilers, for those familiar with the case in question.

The bones I have to pick with this book could fill out a whale, but there’s no denying the research holding it together. The attempted research, too, since over the course of the 20 years since its inception, nearly all of the author’s sources have died, disappeared entirely, lied repeatedly and amusingly, threatened lawsuits and worse, stonewalled or otherwise eluded the issue of the “Manson murders”. CHAOS began as a magazine article that immediately was too sprawling to exist and metastasized over the years into this big red volume. In many ways, his attempt to write it became its subject. That’s the entertaining side. HELTER SKELTER author Vincent Bugliosi looms over the whole affair as villain, liar and chief fog-blower; his death forever ends any attempt to seek truth from him. The mendacity of those scurrying away from questions is appalling, palpably guilt-ridden, galling to the core.

Tom O’ Neill’s research must have been incredibly frustrating. I’m just an armchair researcher – some would call me “self-styled” (though I’m not styled at all, ask anyone) – and even I find myself flummoxed by the mountains of disinformation and obvious smokescreening surrounding this ancient case. CHAOS’s summation is fraught with that very frustration, though, angry at its own inability to tie it all together. The way I see it, the incredible legwork O’Neill put in will reward current and future inquiry handsomely. The introduction and placement at the scene of mind-control genius/torturer Jolyon “Jolly” West is a vicious broadside in itself, worthy of a whole horrifying future book in itself. His presence alone (yes, please, look him up) explains much of the great obfuscation. I liked this book a great deal, though it would be easy to criticize, if sputteringly; absorbing it was difficult, rewarding, provocative.