Chaos

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

By: Tom O'Neill, Dan Piepenbring

Narrated by: Kevin Stillwell

Length: 16 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

A journalist's 20-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 60s. 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.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2019 Tom O'Neill and Dan Piepenbring (P)2019 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"What if everything we thought we knew about the Manson murders was wrong? O'Neill spent 20 years wrestling with that question, and Chaos is his final answer. Timed to the 50th anniversary of the Manson murders, it's a sweeping indictment of the Los Angeles justice system, with cover-ups reaching all the way up to the FBI and CIA." (Entertainment Weekly)

"Chaos is less a definitive account of the murders than a kaleidoscope swirl of weird discoveries and mind-bending hypotheticals that reads like Raymond Chandler after a tab of windowpane." (The New York Times)

"O'Neill's discoveries are stunning, especially when he's discussing the inexplicable leniency shown by law enforcement officials and by Manson's parole officer." (The Washington Post)

Great Book

This book has some startling information in it that leads further credence to the fact that there is a lot more to the Manson case than is officially agreed upon. The author is candid and does not pull punches and is willing to be honest about the trip down the rabbit hole that is the Manson case and the family.

Fascinating.

A great read, leaves you wanting more! Provides a great history of what really happened in the late 60's.

Thought-provoking

Tom O’Neill did his homework and raises many questions. This book shows that not all conspiracies deserve tin-foil hats and that under scrutiny the truth can be much stranger.

intense

Loved this book. It was interesting and shocking all at the same time. Enjoy this informational book.

Enthralling

Loved the first person writing. Educational on the topic of the history of illegal domestic operations by intelligence agencies and a crash course in all-too-common prosecutorial misconduct (don't worry, the Family is anything but absolved) Hope this isn't the end of the story.

Who killed Epstein?

A Must Read

If you are interested true crime, this book is a must read. Probably more than once to untangle the web of people involved. Kudos to the author. It’s a truly incredible book.

absolutely amazing

you can tell that this author and journalist put his heart and soul into this book. his first hand accounts and interviews are thrilling. his exhaustive reporting is absolutely stellar, 10/10 would recommend.

Captivating

An eye opening treat! First book I've read (listened to) in years, and it consumed me. Well worth the 20 years of work that went into it by the author. Can't recommend this enough...In fact, because of how much I enjoyed this book, I'm now reading (Listening) as often as possible

Awesome!

I loved how this story made me feel as though I was transcending time all the way back to the 1960's. What a mystery!

Interesting but meanders

Some interesting info brought up but a decent chunk of the content is only tangentially related to Manson. No new conclusions are really drawn