The Family: The Story of Charles Manson’s Dune-Buggy Attack Brigade

Ed Sanders – 1971

Ed Sanders’ The Family is second only to Bugliosi & Gentry’s Helter Skelter (1974) as the foremost book on the Manson case.  The original edition is a great read, especially with regard to the early days of the Manson cult traveling in a black bus from San Francisco to set up shop at the Spahn ranch outside of L.A.  Sanders did much original research about Manson’s origins, philosophy and encounters with show business figures, and the book is nicely free of Bugliosi’s messianic self-righteousness.  Unfortunately, Sanders is constantly sidetracked by an obsession with Satanic death cults in general, to which – despite not even a shred of physical or eyewitness evidence – he attempts to connect Manson.  His prose is mostly engaging except for frequent forays into hippy-esque Ken Keseyan wackiness, which probably seems witty as can be if you’re high; (Sanders was also a well-known poet, musician and advocate of the 60s counter-culture movements).  Far too often words like “possibly,” “probably” and “maybe” surround the wildest suppositions.  For example, the facts that Manson’s whereabouts could not be accounted for during a certain period and that someone loosely connected to the family died during this period is taken to mean that Manson was almost certainly (or “possibly”) responsible for the death.  And there is a perpetually recurring preoccupation with the mythological home movies that the family supposedly took of themselves during orgies and killing sprees; films that no one has ever seen nor have ever turned up, a fact that Sanders for some reason interprets as proof of their existence rather than not.  There’s a lot of great journalism in Sanders’ book; it’s too bad there’s so much nonsense too.  He’s best when he’s simply relaying the story.  The first edition ended at a fitting place, after Manson’s arrest, but the later editions, (though they provide some interesting updates on various characters), mostly feature Sanders digressing about his personal experiences while investigating the case.  Except for a passage about exchanging personal correspondence with Manson himself, the additions don’t add much that you can’t find elsewhere.