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

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

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  • Create Date：2021-07-01 04:53:16
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
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  • Author：Tom O'Neill
  • ISBN：1786090627
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Summary

A journalist's twenty-year fascination with the Manson murders leads to shocking new revelations about the FBI's involvement in this riveting reassessment of an infamous case in American history。

Over two grim nights in Los Angeles， the young followers of Charles Manson murdered seven people， including the actress Sharon Tate， then eight months pregnant。 With no mercy and seemingly no motive， the Manson Family followed their leader's every order-their crimes lit a flame of paranoia across the nation， spelling the end of the sixties。 Manson became one of history's most infamous criminals， his name forever attached to an era when charlatans mixed with prodigies， free love was as possible as brainwashing， and utopia-or dystopia-was just an acid trip away。

Twenty years ago， when journalist Tom O'Neill was reporting a magazine piece about the murders， he worried there was nothing new to say。 Then he unearthed shocking evidence of a cover-up behind the "official" story， including police carelessness， legal misconduct， and potential surveillance by intelligence agents。 When a tense interview with Vincent Bugliosi-prosecutor of the Manson Family， and author of Helter Skelter-turned a friendly source into a nemesis， O'Neill knew he was onto something。 But every discovery brought more questions:

Who were Manson's real friends in Hollywood， and how far would they go to hide their ties？
Why didn't law enforcement， including Manson's own parole officer， act on their many chances to stop him？
And how did Manson-an illiterate ex-con-turn a group of peaceful hippies into remorseless killers？

O'Neill's quest for the truth led him from reclusive celebrities to seasoned spies， from San Francisco's summer of love to the shadowy sites of the CIA's mind-control experiments， on a trail rife with shady cover-ups and suspicious coincidences。 The product of two decades of reporting， hundreds of new interviews， and dozens of never-before-seen documents from the LAPD， the FBI， and the CIA， CHAOS mounts an argument that could be， according to Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Steven Kay， strong enough to overturn the verdicts on the Manson murders。 This is a book that overturns our understanding of a pivotal time in American history。

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Reviews

G Ward ，

Got lost in the trees for the forest。

Micah ，

Really really good book。 There's not one big boom that explains everything， there's more like a million little crackles that add up to fishy business around Manson， his cult， the CIA， and the Tate-LaBianca murders。 Maybe this is on me at this point because I say it lots of times when I finish a book these days but goddamn there's a lot of characters in this well-written brilliantly researched book。 Really really good book。 There's not one big boom that explains everything， there's more like a million little crackles that add up to fishy business around Manson， his cult， the CIA， and the Tate-LaBianca murders。 Maybe this is on me at this point because I say it lots of times when I finish a book these days but goddamn there's a lot of characters in this well-written brilliantly researched book。 。。。more

Ahmed Abdelfattah ，

One of the greatest true crime books I’ve ever read

Dan Chiappetta ，

This book won't tell you exactly what happened with the Manson murders， but it will tell you that the narrative Helter Skelter is a lie。 Interesting read which included portions on Operation CHAOS， COINTELPRO， secret CIA experiments， and more。 Wow， the 60's were crazy。 This book won't tell you exactly what happened with the Manson murders， but it will tell you that the narrative Helter Skelter is a lie。 Interesting read which included portions on Operation CHAOS， COINTELPRO， secret CIA experiments， and more。 Wow， the 60's were crazy。 。。。more

Jennifer ，

Fascinating。

Jeremy ，

Those looking for a clear account of the CIA’s connection to the Manson murders will be disappointed。 The book pokes vast holes into the official Helter Skelter narrative， but ends somewhat abruptly and anti-climatically with an acknowledgement that we simply don’t know the full story。 Still， a very compelling read that weaves together a first-person meta narrative about how the story came together with what we know， and especially don’t know， about the murders。

Callie Gonsalves ，

easily a must-read

Rachie Weisberg ，

a very fun book， learned so many things i did not know before but mostly that the CIA is bad :）

Meg Sasser ，

Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinteresting 🧐

Danesda ，

Los asesinatos ocurridos el 9 de agosto de 1969 marcaron el fin de la época del "amor y paz" y el idealismo hippie que aún no se cumple。 Este asesinato convirtió a Charles Manson en una especie de referente pop （incluso el cantante Marylin Manson se inspira en el para su nuevo nombre） y en el libro podemos leer no solo sobre el sino sobre la época en que vivió y todo lo que pudo influir en los crímenes que cometió junto a su grupo de seguidores。 Se dan muchas teorías， uso de drogas duras como el Los asesinatos ocurridos el 9 de agosto de 1969 marcaron el fin de la época del "amor y paz" y el idealismo hippie que aún no se cumple。 Este asesinato convirtió a Charles Manson en una especie de referente pop （incluso el cantante Marylin Manson se inspira en el para su nuevo nombre） y en el libro podemos leer no solo sobre el sino sobre la época en que vivió y todo lo que pudo influir en los crímenes que cometió junto a su grupo de seguidores。 Se dan muchas teorías， uso de drogas duras como el LSD， el experimento MKultra， la lucha racial de las "Panteras negras"， la venganza contra el grupo musical BeachBoys， mucho sexo y una época conflictiva rodeada de muchos quiebres sociales y políticos。 Un libro de carácter investigativo que se complica terminar de leer ya que no avanza como el lector común esperaría pero que es un buen referente si el tema les interesa。 Eso si no tiene nada de morbo y es muy profesional。 16 abril 2020。 Bogotá pandemia （el video donde hablo del libro: https://www。instagram。com/p/B_DGZG3lI97/）http://danesda。blogspot。com/2020/04/m。。。 。。。more

Mason Pfaff ，

I have obtained forbidden knowledge。 I read Jakarta Method， The Great Heroin Coup， The Crying of Lot 49， and this all in a row。 I should probably read something lighthearted and easy next for the sake of sanity， but I've been eyeing Peter Dale Scott's work and Libra by Delillo。。。 I'll probably go farther down the rabbit hole this summer and emerge in the fall as a Certifiably Insane Man。 I have obtained forbidden knowledge。 I read Jakarta Method， The Great Heroin Coup， The Crying of Lot 49， and this all in a row。 I should probably read something lighthearted and easy next for the sake of sanity， but I've been eyeing Peter Dale Scott's work and Libra by Delillo。。。 I'll probably go farther down the rabbit hole this summer and emerge in the fall as a Certifiably Insane Man。 。。。more

Alo ，

- unrated， nonfiction -

Paige ，

he lost me at cia mind control but other than that… intriguing

Jackson Burnett ，

The Curse of the 20's。Chaos presents a fascinating study of the 1969 Tate-LaBianca murders， but the curse of the 20's hobbles the effort。Journalist Tom O'Neill began his investigation 20 years after the murders occurred。 It took 20 years to complete his research and bring the book into production。 The tome is 20 pages too short。For those who find the Helter Skelter motive for these dark crimes contrived， Chaos presents some startling facts and discoveries。 Manson， for example， was not unknown in The Curse of the 20's。Chaos presents a fascinating study of the 1969 Tate-LaBianca murders， but the curse of the 20's hobbles the effort。Journalist Tom O'Neill began his investigation 20 years after the murders occurred。 It took 20 years to complete his research and bring the book into production。 The tome is 20 pages too short。For those who find the Helter Skelter motive for these dark crimes contrived， Chaos presents some startling facts and discoveries。 Manson， for example， was not unknown in Hollywood。 He and his followers lived with Dennis Wilson， one of the original Beach Boys， in a residence that had been a part of Will Rogers' Pacific estate shortly before the murders。 Portions of the criminal investigation were abruptly halted for no apparent reason。 And， as strange as it sounds， credible evidence shows the appearance of CIA spooks during the time of the formation of the Family and following the deaths。O'Neill's quest to discover the truth was dogged and obsessive。 It's fascinating to go along with him and see how he worked every angle。 This book includes only a small portion of his efforts and findings。 O'Neill struggles to bring it all together to answer the question of how a barely literate ex-con turned ordinary American kids into mass murderers。 Alas， the trail was twenty years old。 Government bureaucracy perpetually protects itself against prying journalists。 Memories fade or become distorted。 Pertinent witnesses refuse to speak or have been dead for years。 The question remains unanswered。Chaos is worth reading。 Because of the sheer number of informants， witnesses， and leads pursued， many of the baffling truths and tantalizing questions regarding these gruesome crimes and official investigation get lost by the book's end。 An additional twenty pages or so summarizing these would have made it a much more satisfactory read。A final criticism: The publisher of this book used "guess and look" notes instead of traditional footnotes。 There really isn't a good reason to not number the notes in the text and link them up to the resources relied upon。 "Guess and look" notes waste readers time and minimize the importance of identifying source material。 They demonstrate a disrespect for the hard work the authors did to verify their reporting and to curious readers。 It's too bad。 。。。more

Shil 🌻 ，

DNF 21%， the constant name dropping was exhausting

ben ，

O’Neil puts forward an incredible and chaotic picture。 The Tate-Labianca murders are not an easy subject to dive so headfirst into and O’Neil does a masterful job。 At times the amount of characters in this story feel dizzying， but the writing style is so engaging that it never feels stale or too much。 Another excursion for me into the CIA’s direct involvement in producing counterrevolution during the Cold War （and forever and ever and ever and ever。） lol

Andy ，

My goal isn’t to say what did happen—it’s to prove that the official story didn’t。Cut to the case: O'Neill posits that official story of the murders by the Manson Family are full of inconsistencies， misconduct and outright lies， and hints at a connection with a government project gone awry。 As crazy as this might sound， O'Neill makes a decent case for it， and I'll try to summarize it。O'Neill uncovers a lot of what looks like police incompetence on the surface， but a closer look and it appears fa My goal isn’t to say what did happen—it’s to prove that the official story didn’t。Cut to the case: O'Neill posits that official story of the murders by the Manson Family are full of inconsistencies， misconduct and outright lies， and hints at a connection with a government project gone awry。 As crazy as this might sound， O'Neill makes a decent case for it， and I'll try to summarize it。O'Neill uncovers a lot of what looks like police incompetence on the surface， but a closer look and it appears far more sinister。 First， Manson wasn't just some crazy hippy no one knew about， he was known to some of the victims and well-known to many other people around them。 Terry Melcher one of the victims' friends visited Manson several times after the murders and before the arrest of the Family。 Although Manson had spent most of his life in prison and was on parole and he and "the Family" were being surveilled by the cops -- he wasn't arrested for obvious parole violations on multiple occasions。 A couple years before the murders Manson became the sole parolee of his parole officer， a man who studied the effects of drugs on violent behavior and got Manson released after several arrests and allowed him to violate his parole seemingly at-will。 Manson should have been an obvious suspect in the Tate-Labianca murders for reasons O'Neill covers in detail， and yet he and "the Family" weren't arrested for months。 Manson spent a lot of time hanging around a free health clinic in San Francisco， operated by a man who studied LSD and amphetamines， in particular their ability to incite aggression and violence in mice。 Oh， and Manson's parole officer had an office in this free health clinic too。There's also evidence of several intelligence spooks hanging around in that 60's Los Angeles "scene" who were connected to shadowy government organizations， probably CIA。 And we know the government was infiltrating Leftist organizations and causing strife。 In the case of the Black Panthers they caused more than strife -- they probably caused a few murders by inflaming tensions between different black leftist organizations。 Considerable space is devoted to Jolly West who was conducting experiments on LSD and mind control， implanting false memories -- this isn't interesting in itself， but West was hanging around the free health clinic too， at the same time Manson was （my， aren't they busy beavers？） West created a fake Hippie "crash pad" （with shady funding） nearby where he observed them。 There's several other aspects of the case; the "re-ordering" of the crime scene after the murder and the shady way that prosecutors got indictments through a plea deal that was later violated。 In truth， there's just too many details in this book for me to cover completely in this review。O'Neill takes us on a journey， through his interactions with colorful personalities of Hollywood -- many of them grade-A， top-of-the-line， first-rate assholes。 And a lot of cops who were involved with the case -- a surprising number of them are willing to talk and are skeptics of the official Helter Skelter story。Whether you believe everything O'Neill puts forward， I believe he does a good job discrediting the official story Vincent Bugliosi posits in Helter Skelter -- a man who beat his mistress until she had a miscarriage when she refused to have an abortion， and after she filed a police report he came to her home and forced her to recount her original statement in a forged a report。 Before this he abused his office to go after his milk man who he believed carried on an affair with his wife and fathered his son。The book concludes with a fascinating coda on the suspicious death of Filippo Tenerelli， officially ruled a suicide， but O'Neill suspects he was murdered by the Family。 I found this the most unsettling part of the book， a conspiracy of silence surrounds Tenerelli's death and O'Neill is frustrated at every turn to uncover the truth。In the end， I'm not skeptical about most of O'Neill's claims， but I'm just not sure how it all fits together and what it all means。 And it's good that this has been exposed， but unfortunately it's too late。 If in the aftermath of a government project gone awry everything was framed in a way to "beat back the Left"， they succeeded。 They won。 The damage has been done。Before I read this I read Maury Terry's The Ultimate Evil which is also about a larger conspiracy around a serial killer case -- the Son of Sam。 It's hard not to compare these two; Terry is more speculative and O'Neill seems far more focused on finding the documents and conducting interviews with reliable sources （when they're alive and willing to talk） and seeing where it leads。 On the other hand， I enjoyed Terry's book more， even considering it's much longer length。I'll leave you with this。。。recall this to mind the next time the CIA tries to rebrand themselves as "WOKE"。。。。In 1968， CIA scientists at the Bien Hoa Prison outside Saigon surgically opened the skulls of three prisoners， implanted electrodes on their brains， gave them daggers， and left them alone in a room。 They wanted to shock the prisoners into killing one another。 When the effort failed， the prisoners were shot and their bodies burned。 。。。more

Joe ，

All I can say is。。。 wow。 I had read Helter Skelter many years ago when I wasn't quite as switched on as I am now。 In hindsight I shouldn't have been surprised at all there was far more to the story。 Some users who have left negative comments for this book complain that all Mr O'Neill does is give us tantalising connections but never anything entirely concrete。 As someone familiar with how the CIA have operated and the other conspiracies that have been exposed - In my opinion this work is about a All I can say is。。。 wow。 I had read Helter Skelter many years ago when I wasn't quite as switched on as I am now。 In hindsight I shouldn't have been surprised at all there was far more to the story。 Some users who have left negative comments for this book complain that all Mr O'Neill does is give us tantalising connections but never anything entirely concrete。 As someone familiar with how the CIA have operated and the other conspiracies that have been exposed - In my opinion this work is about as close as we will ever get to an answer。 Early on in his investigation the CIA responded "We neither can confirm nor deny the above mentioned individual was ever in our employ" - which anyone familiar with their methods can take as a "yes"。 When CIA operatives have been sniffing around an area or a crime - they probably had something to do with it。 I feel the authors frustration - the Manson crimes reek to high heaven。 Just exactly what happened？ Who was Manson？ Who exactly was he employed by？ Who trained him？ Who covered up and enabled him and to what end exactly - O'Neill has some suggestions but all he got was more questions。 The real coup de grace of O'Neills work was finding the documents from Dr Jolly West in UCLA's basement - some of the very little surviving information the CIA couldn't tamper with relating to MKULTRA with some rather terrifying implications that turn the popularly held contentions about MKULTRA on their head as people like me had often suspected but we could only guess。 。。。more

Sydney ，

i really enjoyed helter skelter， so i was super interested to hear that this was an opposing POV to the prosecution's motive behind the manson murders！ this definitely treads into conspiracy territory， but knowing the horrible track record the US has with top-secret， awful experimentation and action under the guise of national security， a lot of this is very believable。 incredibly well-researched！ i really enjoyed helter skelter， so i was super interested to hear that this was an opposing POV to the prosecution's motive behind the manson murders！ this definitely treads into conspiracy territory， but knowing the horrible track record the US has with top-secret， awful experimentation and action under the guise of national security， a lot of this is very believable。 incredibly well-researched！ 。。。more

Calla Wilson ，

Like a lot of people who like true crime， it started with the Manson murders。 And I think if I had read this book at a different time in my life I would have liked it more… further than that， if it had some kind of resolution I would really have liked it？ But I think that was the author’s point？ （That something hinky is going on and we’ll never have a resolution。） but now I feel a bit like I’ve put hours of my life into something that is just… Blah。 I’m not explaining myself very well at all。 Ba Like a lot of people who like true crime， it started with the Manson murders。 And I think if I had read this book at a different time in my life I would have liked it more… further than that， if it had some kind of resolution I would really have liked it？ But I think that was the author’s point？ （That something hinky is going on and we’ll never have a resolution。） but now I feel a bit like I’ve put hours of my life into something that is just… Blah。 I’m not explaining myself very well at all。 Basically don’t read this book if you like endings。 Because it doesn’t have one。 。。。more

Andy ，

This is a fascinating journey。

Thom ，

A breathless and exhilarating investigation into what actually happened during the Manson murders。 The author has an admirably steadfast commitment to what can be proved with evidence， but not a single page drags。 The book raises more questions than it offers answers， but it is to the author's credit that he refuses to enter into the realm of speculation。 Would highly recommend。 A breathless and exhilarating investigation into what actually happened during the Manson murders。 The author has an admirably steadfast commitment to what can be proved with evidence， but not a single page drags。 The book raises more questions than it offers answers， but it is to the author's credit that he refuses to enter into the realm of speculation。 Would highly recommend。 。。。more

Jill ，

Absolutely bonkers。 It starts in the late 90s， as celebrity journalist gets pitched on a short project from his editor。 His mission？ To conduct some retrospective reporting on the Manson case and the Hollywood fallout 30 years after the murders。 What he discovers sends him into the belly of conspiracy: Helter Skelter the most famous book on the case， written by prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi， seems to dabble more in fiction than facts; the book's purported Manson motive—to pin the murders on the Bl Absolutely bonkers。 It starts in the late 90s， as celebrity journalist gets pitched on a short project from his editor。 His mission？ To conduct some retrospective reporting on the Manson case and the Hollywood fallout 30 years after the murders。 What he discovers sends him into the belly of conspiracy: Helter Skelter the most famous book on the case， written by prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi， seems to dabble more in fiction than facts; the book's purported Manson motive—to pin the murders on the Black Panthers and trigger a race war—doesn't add up。 But it goes much further。 There's evidence that a CIA agent was close to the Manson Family leading up to the killings and even visited the house before police arrived on the scene。 Manson's ties to Hollywood were much stronger than often described as he spent an entire summer living with a Beach Boy and provided seemingly endless girls and drugs。 And， of course， organized crime and the CIA are here for the party， being the 1960s after all。 There's a lot here that suggests that Manson was at minimum an informant to national security services if not an outright asset。 The chapter describing Manson's endless parole violations and how none of them stuck him back in jail is astounding: someone was greasing the wheels for this guy and his acolytes。 And finally， since we're deep in the freaking heart of dark America， there is a detour to MKULTRA and COINTELPRO that is highly convincing when it comes to arguing that Manson and the Family may have been guinea pigs stuffed with LSD and experimented upon to determine its effects on memory and even behavior control。 While there are dynamite factoids galore， the narrative suffers when it comes to making sense of all these various pieces。 O'Neill is reluctant to suggest or speculate， inveterate reporter that he is。 But the book needs it。 It needs a final chapter that pulls all these wild pieces together and says something about it all。 Given the level of cover-up that O'Neill successfully shows， it's highly unlikely that he or anyone else will ever find the coveted smoking gun that connects the CIA to Manson or explains the true motive behind the Tate murders at the Cielo house。 Impossible schmpossible， there's still more than enough evidence here to develop some well-reasoned hypotheses for the breathtaking depravity of Manson and his followers and how it rang the death knell of the 60s as we knew them。 。。。more

Josh ，

So the first 150ish pages promise an interesting book on a prosecutor suborning perjury and creating an attention-grabbing but false motive for the Manson Family murders， and then we stop collecting evidence， stop believing that humans are fallible， and go off the deep end。 By the time the JFK assassination gets a whole chapter filled with 'was Manson connected？' without anything beyond a linking of the decades conspiracies， you know it's time to take it back to the library。 The conclusion， that So the first 150ish pages promise an interesting book on a prosecutor suborning perjury and creating an attention-grabbing but false motive for the Manson Family murders， and then we stop collecting evidence， stop believing that humans are fallible， and go off the deep end。 By the time the JFK assassination gets a whole chapter filled with 'was Manson connected？' without anything beyond a linking of the decades conspiracies， you know it's time to take it back to the library。 The conclusion， that the official explanation for Manson was wrong， but O'Neill doesn't really know how and can't really prove it （and that everyone who could prove it is now dead） makes sense but feels like it's attached to a far more reasonable book than what you've spent 400 pages reading。 I feel bad at how much work the author did to wind up with such an unsatisfying end and a journey there that reads like a descent into Charlie Kelly's string map from It's Always Sunny。 。。。more

Claudia Miner ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 This is a long but fascinating book。 The reporting is spectacular and is acts as both a great introduction to the Manson murders and also a deep dive into the contradictions surrounding them。 There is no satisfying conclusion， no smoking gun， as the author says。 But simply in presenting new details and facts the truth that the previous narrative is false is undeniable。

Hannah ，

This book was。。。 wild。 O'Neill seems to walk a fine line between unearthing secrets about the Manson murders and also just straight up conspiracy theories。 Given that a lot of this is conjecture based on his reporting/investigations into the crimes， I do feel like he stepped into the conspiracy lane a few times。 But honestly， as a novel documenting a man's decade long obsession about the 60s and Charles Manson， it was a success even if some of the book was just speculation。 This book was。。。 wild。 O'Neill seems to walk a fine line between unearthing secrets about the Manson murders and also just straight up conspiracy theories。 Given that a lot of this is conjecture based on his reporting/investigations into the crimes， I do feel like he stepped into the conspiracy lane a few times。 But honestly， as a novel documenting a man's decade long obsession about the 60s and Charles Manson， it was a success even if some of the book was just speculation。 。。。more

Brittany （Hundman） Ricketts ，

Absolutely Fascinating！ This book has everything。 Conspiracy theories: CheckCorruption: CheckDebauchery: CheckUncomfortable truths: CheckTom O'Neill does a great job keeping the innumerable storylines and characters straight through the whole tale and ultimately crafts a story that feels uncomfortably plausible。 Absolutely Fascinating！ This book has everything。 Conspiracy theories: CheckCorruption: CheckDebauchery: CheckUncomfortable truths: CheckTom O'Neill does a great job keeping the innumerable storylines and characters straight through the whole tale and ultimately crafts a story that feels uncomfortably plausible。 。。。more

A。J。 ，

This is excellently written and organized。 I can't imagine how difficult it was to put together so many years of research。 The ending is as anti-climactic as I expected it to be but there was not much that could be done about that; hopefully more information will become available in the future。 I think anyone with an interest in the Manson family， true crime， and especially the activities of intelligence agencies in the 20th century should check this out。 This is excellently written and organized。 I can't imagine how difficult it was to put together so many years of research。 The ending is as anti-climactic as I expected it to be but there was not much that could be done about that; hopefully more information will become available in the future。 I think anyone with an interest in the Manson family， true crime， and especially the activities of intelligence agencies in the 20th century should check this out。 。。。more

Cena ，

https://www。goodreads。com/review/show。。。 Sums it up best！ https://www。goodreads。com/review/show。。。 Sums it up best！ 。。。more

Debbie ，

Really interesting book - it was hard to put down！ Would definitely reccomend！

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA and the Secret History of the Sixties

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA and the Secret History of the Sixties&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA and the Secret History of the Sixties&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0