The Road to Jonestown: A Haunting Look Inside the Manson Family's Murderous Paradise

In the annals of American crime, few events are as notorious as the Manson Family murders. In the summer of 1969, a group of young followers of Charles Manson embarked on a killing spree that left seven people dead, including actress Sharon Tate and her unborn child. The crimes shocked the nation and sent a wave of terror through the counterculture movement.

The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and Peoples Temple

by Jeff Guinn

4.6 out of 5

Language	:	English
File size	:	64389 KB
Text-to-Speech	:	Enabled
Screen Reader	:	Supported
Enhanced typesetting	:	Enabled
X-Ray	:	Enabled
Word Wise	:	Enabled
Print length	:	545 pages

FREE

The Road to Jonestown, a new book by Jeff Guinn, provides a comprehensive and chilling account of the Manson Family's rise and fall. Guinn draws on extensive research, including interviews with surviving family members and law enforcement officials, to create a vivid and disturbing portrait of the cult and its charismatic leader.

Charles Manson was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1934. He was raised in a broken home and spent much of his youth in foster care and juvenile detention centers. As a young man, Manson developed a fascination with the occult and the teachings of Aleister Crowley. He also began experimenting with drugs, which would eventually lead to his addiction to LSD.

In the early 1960s, Manson moved to California and became involved in the counterculture movement. He began to gather a group of followers, many of whom were young women from troubled backgrounds. Manson preached a bizarre mix of religious and apocalyptic beliefs, and his followers believed that he was a messianic figure who would lead them to a new age of peace and harmony.

As Manson's influence over his followers grew, he began to exert more control over their lives. He demanded complete obedience and loyalty, and he often subjected them to physical and psychological abuse. He also began to encourage them to commit crimes, which he believed would bring about the end of the world.

In the summer of 1969, Manson's followers embarked on a series of murders that would shock the nation. The first victims were Gary Hinman, a music teacher who had been involved with the Family, and Donald "Shorty" Shea, a ranch hand who had been living at Spahn Ranch, the Family's commune.

On August 9, 1969, Manson's followers murdered five people at the home of actress Sharon Tate. The victims were Tate, her unborn child, coffee heiress Abigail Folger, hairdresser Jay Sebring, and writer Wojciech Frykowski. The following night, the Family murdered Leno and Rosemary LaBianca in their home in Los Angeles.

The murders were gruesome and senseless, and they sent a wave of terror through the Los Angeles area. The police quickly launched a massive manhunt for the killers, and within a few weeks, Manson and his followers were arrested.

Manson and three of his followers—Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Leslie Van Houten—were convicted of murder and sentenced to death. Manson died in prison in 2017, while Atkins died in prison in 2009. Krenwinkel and Van Houten remain in prison today.

The Road to Jonestown is a chilling and disturbing account of the Manson Family murders. Guinn's book provides a deep and nuanced understanding of the cult and its charismatic leader, and it offers a tragic reminder of the darkness that can lurk beneath the surface of our society.

The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and Peoples Temple

by Jeff Guinn

4.6 out of 5

Language	:	English
File size	:	64389 KB
Text-to-Speech	:	Enabled
Screen Reader	:	Supported
Enhanced typesetting	:	Enabled
X-Ray	:	Enabled
Word Wise	:	Enabled
Print length	:	545 pages

FREE