If I were to list all the things that Manson and his associates did and believed, it would take up as much space as this book does. There's no bullshit or padding in it. Not a great work of literature, but then it was never intended to be, but a truly amazing work of endurance and courage, as well as research.

Charlie was (is) a man of his time and the time was (is) his. In a country that can convict a small handful of people who got involved in snuff, while giving medals and excuses to the men that creepy-crawled Vietnam, WHO CAN POINT THE FINGER?

But, many did and that was the end of Charlie and his chums for the time being. But they will rise, or others like them will take their place. And that is what all those who pointed the finger richly deserve as their dreams. If a country gets the police it deserves, then it most certainly gets the Charlies it deserves.

If you are one of the people that pointed him out then remember that CHARLIE MANSON SIMPLY ACTED OUT ALL OF OUR FANTASIES! That's it Jim, and it's true. Everyone that's walked the planet has had those thoughts of rape 'n' lust, death 'n' die, control 'n' controlled. If this is the case, and I believe it is, then our anger (horror they call it to protect their civilisation) at Manson is because HE DID IT UNLIKE THE REST OF US WHO ONLY FANTASISE ABOUT IT. It's the difference between a wank and a fuck, one's true while the other is a lie.

When the case first came to light, I must admit that I felt that it was just an exceptionally heavy dose of 'plant the Nark'. It wasn't this book that made me change my mind, but had I any doubts left they would have been removed by the enormous amount of evidence that Ed Sanders puts forward.

So Charlie and the bunch did everything that they were charged with AND A LOT MORE BESIDES, but so what?

Politically and socially they were just a continuation of the AMERICAN WAY OF LIFE.

Philosophically they were the honesty that our dreams lack.

Don't get me wrong - cutting up people, unless the threat against you is both obvious and very great, is a fucking bad thing to get into. But whenever you are tempted to finger them for what they did, try and remember the two points I made about their position, politically and philosophically. If you can truly say that you are without such thoughts (as they made into deeds) then far out and I love you for it, but if you do have those things in your head and you don't admit it, then you're gonna spend a lotta time burning.

The Sanders book is something very important to read so that you can realise that all of us sail close to the total freak out. If you laughed, the way you should have, at 'Fear and loathing in Las Vegas' then you'll get off on the removal of heads (and other limbs) and the drinking of blood in this book. THE DIFFERENCE IS THAT THIS ONE REALLY HAPPENED!

Not a book for the weak hearted, and therefore a book that everyone needs - especially if the entire trip turns you off. Face the beast and it might just run away instead of eating you up.