The Family

By: Ed Sanders

Narrated by: Rhett Samuel Price

"The first complete, authoritative account of the career of Charles Manson. A terrifying book." (New York Times Book Review)

In August of 1969, during two bloody evenings of paranoid, psychedelic savagery, Charles Manson and his dystopic communal family helped to wreck the dreams of the Love Generation. At least nine people were murdered, among them Sharon Tate, the young, beautiful, pregnant, actress and wife of Roman Polanski.

Ed Sanders's unnerving and detailed look at the horror dealt by Manson and his followers is a classic of the true-crime genre. The Family was originally published in 1971 and remains the most meticulously researched account of the most notorious murders of the 1960s.

Using firsthand accounts from some of the family's infamous members, including the wizard himself, Sanders examines not only the origins and legacy of Manson and his family, but also the mysteries that persist. This edition is completely revised and updated.

"One of the best-researched, best-written, thoroughly-constructed, and eminently significant books of our times.... A masterpiece." (Boston Phoenix)

©2002 Ed Sanders (P)2022 Hachette Books

Captivating!

Great audio book. Fascinating story that’s been told many many times, but not like this! Details and stories were incredibly put together like nothing I have ever read. 5 Stars!

a long but fascinating listen

New information revealed in each new chapter that helped fill in the puzzle pieces of these horrific crimes.

Ed Sanders went through all the levels of hell to write this book.

Ed Sanders has a unique perspective as a leader of the Beat and Counterculture movement - a poet and lead singer for probably the first “punk” band of all time, The Fugs. Sanders poetic instincts and writing style are infused into his non fiction crime writing, and that’s what makes this book so engaging and unique. The way Sanders morphed into Sherlock Holmes for this book is truly astounding. I listened on a long drive through California, passing through Death Valley and many of the towns mentioned in the book (Bishop, Independence, Route 395) It was riveting, sickening, fascinating, funny, and just chilling to the core. The voice actor RS Price, mimics the voice of Manson with creepy precision as well as the other “zombie heads” who were a part of The Family. Those are the parts I often found myself laughing at, as he portrays their zonked hippie ideology of Mansonism. Sanders continually updated this book, so make sure you have the most recent publication. Unfortunately I had an older version and it was difficult keeping my spot, but it was interesting to hear all the new things Sanders added to it over the years - mostly his own first person experiences while investigating the case, a sort of directors commentary over the original book. Lastly, Sanders writes with a level of empathy for the victims, and even murderers, that is extremely laudable. He understands how the women in the family were totally preyed upon by a vicious prison animal. I get the sense Sanders would be pleased about the recent release of Van Houten. As the hippie paragon, Sanders dutifully draws the distinction between Manson’s satanist, racist, and paranoid family, and his own movement of Flower Power non violence, loud music, and loving Mother Nature.

Good book about bad people

I have read a few books regarding this subject, in my judgement, this book contains the most truthiness. Stuff just happens. What was up with Roger Smith? Who accompanied M to the Tate house aftermath? We will never know, but that Laurel Canyon crowd made some strange bedfellows. The performance of this audiobook was adequate.

Long And Interesting

Quite long, but you get information you don’t hear anywhere else. Some of it was very boring and I actually fell asleep. I’ve read 9 books on Manson and the family and I often wonder how much of this book was true or fabricated.

Long But Worth It

I enjoyed this book. The author had first hand interactions with the Manson Family during the 1970 trials as well as afterwards. His personal experiences are insightful.

If you’re interested in the Manson Family, read this book.

in depth

this is the most comprehensive history of the family history with none of the reverence other authors give him

well done!! some unreported info!

narrated well with some new information from different sources. I recommend this to any true crime fan as well as manson researchers.

The most complete history of the saga

This was a new experience for me. I've never had my opinion of a book change so drastically from start to finish.

Early on, I considered quitting the book. I knew that I wouldn't be able to do that, so I was dreading having to listen to 18 more hours of it. I found the narrator repellent and unprofessional. I thought the prose too was a bit loose for a serious subject. The author made--what at the time seemed like--outrageous claims. He threw in a slew of anecdotes I had never heard elsewhere. Finally I was just like, "OK, who is this guy?" Usually I check an author out before buying a book. I didn't in this case. What's interesting is that once I learned who Sanders was, my whole opinion changed. It went from, "this guy doesn't know what he's talking about," to "this guy knows more about this topic than anyone."

Eventually, I got used to the narrator, but I'm still docking him a star because his impression of Manson when reading his quotes is a joke.

If you're interested in this part of American history, you must read this. If you are interested in journalism or being an author you should read this book. If you are interested in the 60's and the counter culture you should read this book.

I, in fact, did something I have never done before and I doubt I will again in the future. As soon as I finished the book, I listened to it again.

Manson sounds like Batman !!

absolutely the WORST narration of ANY AUDIO book I've ever heard.
Imagine an ivy league African American doing batman imitation FOR EVERY TIME MANSON IS QUOTED!
UNBEARABLE.

The book itself by Ed Sanders is AMAZING purely LEGENDARY.
this narration is an insult to his research.