The Myth of Helter Skelter

This is a pretty bad book, and a waste of money. I read and liked the recent "Manson" biography, and I got suckered in by the sample for this one. I thought it would provide insights, perspectives, and details about the murders and life with Manson that no one else could provide. It's quite the opposite -- there are virtually no details about the murders themselves, or what happened inside Cielo Drive (or at Gary Hinman's house for that matter) other than to repeatedly insist she didn't stab Sharon Tate. Who did, or what it was like to be in that house while the murders took place is not discussed at all. Call ME crazy, but if somone was present during one of the horrific and infamous mass murders of the 20th century, I might like to hear some details about that experience.There are tons of footnotes that cite other, more interesting books, mainly "Helter Skelter". Too bad Susan really didn't tell us anything interesting, because I'm sure she could have.

Having studied many accounts of Manson & Co., I too have rejected the Helter Skelter motive. I do believe Ms. Atkins' claim that Manson was covering his butt for previous events. But I also think Helter Skelter was used by Manson to manipulate his followers to exact his revenge on the "pigs" who rejected him. I do believe the children were used as collateral-a point Ms. Atkins makes too many times. Although this book does have some interesting insights, it seems to be more of a self-serving "poor me" account from one of the nuttier Family members. As for readability: the writing style is ok but there seems to be more words in the footnotes than the body of work!

Read this book before any of the following and more…Helter SkelterCharles Manson: His own wordsI wish I read this years ago, when it was first published. Great job to Susan Atkins-Whitehouse and the publisher.

I have followed this case since the beginning and always thought the Helter Skelter motive was very weak. This book defines the real reasoning behind the 1969 slaughter of innocent people and is extremely well documented. It is a good read which shows how perverse evil can be, especially coupled with naive minds, brainwashing and drugs. Read this book to make sense of it all.

It's an interesting read if you can ignore the misspelled words and repetitions. The footnotes are repetitive to the point of insanity. An editor would have been nice. The timeline and reasoning were interesting.

Having read Helter Skelter and most of the other books about The Manson Family, I never bought into the whole "Helter Skelter, black and white race war" story the prosecution used to get convictions against the killers. Susan Atkins reason for the murders, while far less dramatic, seems more likely. That said, anyone looking for actual details or her account of the nights of the murders will be disappointed. She skims over those nights with no detail at all, focusing mainly on distancing herself from both the Family and the murders. It read less like a warning to people than an attempt to make herself a less than willing participant. Despite her saying she took responsibility for her actions, I didn't get the feeling she felt any horror or true remorse at what she had done, which leaves her account kind of an empty read.

I personally like this book. the whole helter skelter thing didn't make sense to me as a motive by itself. drugs, money and manipulation do. I've read just about every manson book because it was puzzling to me why the murders happened. this one lifted a veil to me. it's a short read, but how much can you say about a career criminal and his needy, seeker followers? if you admire charlie and all his lies, you won't enjoy it. if bugliosi knew about manson thinking he killed lotsa papa, he most likely would have seen this tragedy as it really was. bugliosi got it wrong, but got the convictions. it wasn't just being shunned by the music industry. it wasn't just a race war. although these were included in the family actions, they were not the catalyst. Susan doesn't go into details of murder. she didn't want to. we have all read about that anyway. but, if you are interested in her thoughts looking back? it's worth the read.

I liked the book, though I had trouble with the font, way too small.

I feel she should've taken more responsibility for her own actions. She blamed everyone else constantly, all the way through the book. Also the reader is still none the wiser to their motives for those senseless murders. I don't think there actually was a motive. No one will ever know if she stabbed Sharon Tate or not but as the saying goes "If you fly with the crows, you get shot with them".In other books I've read on the Manson clan, they've all said she told Sharon Tate "Woman, I have no mercy for you". I can see why the parole board didn't show this woman any mercy or any of her co-defendants.

Susan lays it bare and pays back all the Manson apologists.A great book.

I have read Helter Skelter and I found the motive that Bugliosi purported somewhat preposterous - as did he I believe. Atkins did not dismantle his theory and how he came to convict the killers as well as Manson who was not even present - but rather adds details perhaps not in Helter Skelter. That is she names Manson as not brilliant or hypnotic but rather the sociopath he was. What is interesting is that Atkins very much worked to cast herself as a victim, trapped, and as though events happened around her without her input or frankly her joy. Her smile in old photos was perhaps more disturbing than Manson's, this woman caused many a nightmare just from her photo in the day. To cast herself as an unwilling participant and to place blame on everyone but herself made her seem only more disturbed. Perhaps that was the only way she could reconcile herself to what she had done in her remaining days.

Not a long book by any means and a ton of footnote references to other books. Definitely a different perspective than the Helter Skelter book & a story that makes sense too.

Interesting. Self-serving or not - difficult to tell. In my personal experience people don't change as much as Susan seemed to have done before she passed away. She died a terrible death so perhaps she's now paid for her crimes. Only read if you haven't already made up your mind about her.