Jim Morrison and the Beach Boys

[The Heartical Don]

True, but then many who have known Charlie would vouch that he is a good man also.

Nice black humour... but anyway: it didn't take much to be a more interesting persona than Charlie Manson. Manson wasn't only a textbook sociopath IMHO... he was something of a blank slate. I can't recall one single interesting act or remark of the man. In this aspect he somehow reminds me of the gang of Nazis that surrounded Hitler. Perhaps Hitler himself. People who added nothing to society. The famous journalist, poet and writer Karl Kraus once said: 'Zu Hitler fällt mir nichts ein' ('Hitler evokes not a single response in me'); and that is a pretty deadly statement. Philosopher Hannah Arendt wrote at the time of the trial against Nazi criminal Adolf Eichmann in Israel about 'the banality of evil'. That phrase has about the same content as Kraus'.

Manson and his cast of idiots had nothing to offer. Jim Morrison had much to offer. That that was not to my personal taste is not very interesting.

[gxios]

Manson offered free naked, eager,  and often teenaged female flesh- the most potent drug there is to a young male.  That the "golden penetrators" and their friends bought the Manson "submission is a gift"  brochure that went with it is unsurprising.

[Mike's Beard]

I find everything about Manson - the good, the bad and the hypothetical - fascinating. Sorry to derail the thread!!

[Shady]

Helter Skelter really is essential reading

[Mike's Beard]

Helter Skelter is a great read but it must be viewed objectively. It reads better after having read some of the other Manson books out there to counter balance Buglosi's outrageous theories. As a document to the court proceedings it is second to none, but it certainly should not be viewed as the be all end all document on the Manson Watson murders.