Sharon Tate and the Manson Murders
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15
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Average rating5
The first comprehensive biography of Sharon Tate: Hollywood star, wife of Roman Polanski, victim of Charles Manson, and symbol of the death of the 1960s. It began as a home invasion by the “Manson family” in the early hours of August 9, 1969. It ended in a killing spree that left seven people dead: actress Sharon Tate, writer Voyteck Frykowski, coffee heiress Abigail Folger, hair stylist Jay Sebring, student Steven Parent, and supermarket owner Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary. The shock waves of these crimes still reverberate today. They have also, over time, eclipsed the life of their most famous victim—a Dallas, Texas, beauty queen with Hollywood aspirations. After more than a dozen small film and television roles, Tate gained international fame with the screen adaptation of Jacqueline Susann’s Valley of the Dolls, but The Fearless Vampire Killers marked a personal turning point, as she would marry its star and director, Roman Polanski. Tate now had a new dream: to raise a family—and she was only weeks away from giving birth the night Charles Manson’s followers murdered her. Drawn from a wealth of rare material including detective reports, parole transcripts, Manson’s correspondence, and revealing new interviews with Tate’s friends and costars as well as surviving relatives of the murder victims, Sharon Tate and the Manson Murders gives readers a vital new perspective on one of the most notorious massacres of the twentieth century. The dark legacy of the cult phenomenon is still being explored in novels (Emma Cline’s The Girls) and TV shows (NBC’s Aquarius). In addition to providing the first full-fledged biography of Sharon Tate, author Greg King finally gives a voice to the families of the slain, notably Tate’s mother, Doris. Her advocacy for victims’ rights was recognized during President George H. W. Bush’s 1992 “A Thousand Points of Light” ceremony. This is the true story of a star who is being rediscovered by a new generation of fans, a woman who achieved in death the fame she yearned for in life.
Reviews with the most likes.
Manson the Devil
Not only does Greg King give us a chilling account of the murders themselves, he also gives us great insight to what's happened to the victim's families and the heartless killers themselves in the 32 years since these senseless murders were committed. It is heartbreaking to learn how the victim's families must continue to relive the gory details of the murders every time one of the convicted killers' whines before a parole board about how they have changed and should be set free and given a second chance. The victims will never get a second chance, why should the killers? I read after finishing this book I had the urge to watch Evil lives Here. I feel like so much hate was described in this book and such a star's light was dimmed to soon and it made me sad.
It's incredibly offensive to hear the killers say that the only reason they haven't been paroled yet is because these were such “high profile” crimes and if this had not been the case, they would have been paroled long ago. While that may be true, let's not forget that it was the killers who chose these particular victims BECAUSE they wanted these to be “high profile” crimes so the world would listen! Well, the world did listen, and the vast majority of a decent, law-abiding society is determined that people who are capable of committing such a senseless crime (no matter the reasons) shall never be free to walk among us again.
Greg King's focus in this book is on the victims, not the killers, and that's how this case should be remembered. So many times, books and articles are written to try and obtain sympathy for the killers. They should be grateful that they beat the gas chamber and face the fact that a life, even though behind bars, is still a life. That's much more consideration than they ever gave any of their victims. I enjoyed this very much and will be looking into more books by Greg King if he paints the victims so much better then the evil people who committed them. I have a friend who loves serial killers too I will be recommending this to her as soon as I talk to her next.
