Samiksha Jaiswal (Editor)

Helter Skelter (book)

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Country
  
United States

Publication date
  
1974

Pages
  
502 pp

Genre
  
True crime

ISBN
  
9780393087000


Language
  
English

Media type
  
Print (hardcover)

Originally published
  
1974

Publisher
  
W. W. Norton & Company

Adaptations
  
Helter Skelter (1976)

Helter Skelter (book) t2gstaticcomimagesqtbnANd9GcTmpQEvcS5Nc8U2NF

Subject
  
Charles Manson and the "Manson Family"

Authors
  
Vincent Bugliosi, Curt Gentry

Similar
  
Vincent Bugliosi books, Charles Manson books, True crime books

Helter Skelter (1974) is a true crime book by Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gentry. Bugliosi had served as the prosecutor in the 1970 trial of Charles Manson. The book presents his firsthand account of the cases of Manson, Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel, and other members of the self-described Manson Family. It is the best-selling true crime book in history.

Contents

Description

The book recounts and assesses the investigation, arrest, and prosecution of Charles Manson and his followers for the notorious 1969 murders of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca, actress Sharon Tate, and several others.

The book takes its title from the apocalyptic race war that Manson believed would occur, which in turn took its name from "Helter Skelter" by The Beatles. Manson had been particularly fascinated by the Beatles' White Album, from which the song came.

Reception and legacy

Helter Skelter was first published in the United States in 1974 and became a bestseller. The book won the 1975 Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime book, and was the basis for two television films, released in 1976 and 2004. At the time of Bugliosi's death in 2015, it had sold over seven million copies, making it the best-selling true crime book in history.

The book was the main influence for the story line of the 2008 movie The Strangers.

Since its initial hardcover edition, the book has had several printings as a mass market paperback. A 25th anniversary edition (since the crimes) was published in 1994 with an update added by Bugliosi. Bugliosi himself narrated the Talking Books unabridged audiobook at the time of the book's original release, and read an abridged version of his update for the 25th anniversary edition abridged audiobook read by Robert Foxworth. Audible.com commissioned Scott Brick to read an unabridged version of the 25th anniversary edition in 2011.

References

Helter Skelter (book) Wikipedia