Recommendations based on Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murdersby Vincent Bugliosi

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. The Stranger Beside Me: Ted Bundy: The Shocking Inside Story

    by Ann Rule
    Uncovering the hidden identity of serial killer Ted Bundy and the events leading up to his arrest.

    The first few chapters following the brief introduction about Bundy's birth and family describe Rule's friendship with Bundy, her first impressions of him, and her reluctance to consider the evidence ... (Wikipedia)

  2. Zodiac

    by Robert Graysmith
    A true crime account of the Zodiac Killer, who terrorized Northern California in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

    Who was Zodiac? A serial killer who claimed 37 dead. A sexual sadist who taunted police with anonymous notes. A madman who was never apprehended. This is the first, complete account of Zodiac's reign ... (Goodreads)

  3. Fatal Vision

    by Joe McGinniss
    True crime investigation of a U.S. Army doctor's double life of murder and deception.

    Fatal Vision is the electrifying true story of Dr. Jeffrey MacDonald, the handsome, Princeton-educated physician convicted of savagely slaying his young pregnant wife and two small children, murders ... (Goodreads)

  4. The Onion Field

    by Joseph Wambaugh
    A true crime story retelling a tragic kidnapping and its aftermath.

    This is the frighteningly true story of two young cops and two young robbers whose separate destinies fatally cross one March night in a bizarre execution in a deserted Los Angeles field. ... (Goodreads)

  5. Columbine

    by Dave Cullen
    Investigation into the 1999 Columbine High School massacre, exploring the perpetrators and the aftermath.

    "The tragedies keep coming. As we reel from the latest horror . . . " So begins a new epilogue, illustrating how Columbine became the template for nearly two decades of "spectacle murders." It is a ... (Goodreads)

  6. Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster

    by Jon Krakauer
    A gripping narrative of the 1996 expedition on Mount Everest that resulted in tragedy.

    When Jon Krakauer reached the summit of Mt. Everest in the early afternoon of May 10, 1996, he hadn't slept in fifty-seven hours and was reeling from the brain-altering effects of oxygen depletion. ... (Goodreads)

  7. Small Sacrifices

    by Ann Rule
    True crime story of a mother who goes to deadly lengths to get the perfect family.

    On 19 May 1983 at approximately 10:48 p.m, Diane Downs, drives to McKenzie-Willamette Hospital in Springfield , Oregon with a gunshot wound to her arm. She claims that an unknown assailant attempted ... (Wikipedia)

  8. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

    by John Berendt
    A journalist's exploration of a mysterious murder in Savannah, Georgia.

    A sublime and seductive reading experience. This portrait of a beguiling Southern city was a best-seller (though a flop as a movie). ~ Shots rang out in Savannah's grandest mansion in the misty, ... (Goodreads)

  9. Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit

    by John E. Douglas
    A memoir of John E. Douglas, a former FBI agent who pioneered the profiling of serial killers.

    He has hunted some of the most notorious and sadistic criminals of our time: The Trailside Killer in San Francisco, the Atlanta Child murderer. He has confronted, interviewed and researched dozens of ... (Goodreads)

  10. The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test

    by Tom Wolfe
    A journey through the psychedelic 1960s and the lives of an eclectic group of people.

    Tom Wolfe chronicles the adventures of Ken Kesey and his group of followers. Throughout the work, Kesey is portrayed as desiring the creation of a new religion. Kesey forms a group of followers based ... (Wikipedia)

  11. The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band

    by Neil Strauss
    The wild and debaucherous story of Mötley Crüe, from their rise to fame to their darkest moments.

    Whiskey and porn stars, hot reds and car crashes, black leather and high heels, overdoses and death. This is the life of Mötley Crüe, the heaviest drinking, hardest fighting, most oversexed and ... (Goodreads)

  12. Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors

    by Piers Paul Read
    Story of a group of Uruguayan rugby players who survive a plane crash in the Andes and must fight to stay alive.

    On October 12, 1972, a plane carrying a team of young rugby players crashed into the remote, snow-peaked Andes. Out of the forty-five original passengers and crew, only sixteen made it off the ... (Goodreads)

  13. Sybil: The Classic True Story of a Woman Possessed by Sixteen Personalities

    by Flora Rheta Schreiber
    A psychological case study of the effects of dissociative identity disorder.

    Here is the unbelievable yet true story of Sybil Dorsett, a survivor of terrible childhood abuse who as an adult was a victim of sudden and mysterious blackouts. What happened during those blackouts ... (Goodreads)

  14. A Night to Remember

    by Walter Lord
    An account of the fateful night of the sinking of the Titanic, told through the stories of survivors.

    First published in 1955, A Night to Remember remains a completely riveting account of the Titanic 's fatal collision and the behavior of the passengers and crew, both noble and ignominious. Some ... (Goodreads)

  15. The Autobiography of Malcolm X

    by Malcolm X
    A gripping account of one man's transformation from criminal to civil rights leader.

    Alternate cover for ISBN 9780345350688 Through a life of passion and struggle, Malcolm X became one of the most influential figures of the 20th Century. In this riveting account, he tells of his ... (Goodreads)

  16. All the President's Men

    by Carl Bernstein
    Investigative journalism that uncovered the Watergate scandal and its aftermath.

    The full account of the Watergate scandal from the two Washington Post reporters who broke the story. This is “the work that brought down a presidency— perhaps the most influential piece of ... (Goodreads)

  17. The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea

    by Sebastian Junger
    A harrowing account of a fishing boat's journey into the heart of an epic storm.

    "Takes readers into the maelstrom and shows nature's splendid and dangerous havoc at its utmost". October 1991. It was "the perfect storm"–a tempest that may happen only once in a century--a ... (Goodreads)

  18. In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

    by Nathaniel Philbrick
    True account of a whaling ship's disastrous voyage and the survivors' struggle for survival.

    "With its huge, scarred head halfway out of the water and its tail beating the ocean into a white-water wake more than forty feet across, the whale approached the ship at twice its original speed - ... (Goodreads)

  19. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

    by Stephen King
    A series of personal reflections on the art of writing, and the power of story-telling.

    "Long live the King" hailed Entertainment Weekly upon the publication of Stephen King's On Writing. Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is ... (Goodreads)

  20. Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith

    by Jon Krakauer
    An exploration of the fundamentalist Mormon faith, its history, and the power of religious extremism.

    A Story of Violent Faith A multilayered, bone-chilling narrative of messianic delusion, savage violence, polygamy, and unyielding faith. This is vintage Krakauer, an utterly compelling work of ... (Goodreads)

  21. Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto

    by Chuck Klosterman
    An exploration of pop culture and its influence on contemporary life.

    Countless writers and artists have spoken for a generation, but no one has done it quite like Chuck Klosterman. With an exhaustive knowledge of popular culture and an almost effortless ability to ... (Goodreads)

  22. Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly

    by Anthony Bourdain
    A humorous and unflinching account of life in restaurant kitchens, exploring the culture and camaraderie of the culinary world.

    A deliciously funny, delectably shocking banquet of wild-but-true tales of life in the culinary trade from Chef Anthony Bourdain, laying out his more than a quarter-century of drugs, sex, and haute ... (Goodreads)

  23. A Stolen Life

    by Jaycee Dugard
    A woman's harrowing account of being kidnapped and held captive for 18 years.

    On 10 June 1991, eleven-year-old Jaycee Dugard was abducted from a school bus stop within sight of her home in Tahoe, California. It was the last her family and friends saw of her for over eighteen ... (Goodreads)

  24. Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers

    by Mary Roach
    An exploration of the strange and often unknown history of cadavers, and their uses in science and medicine.

    Okay, you're thinking: ,"This must be some kind of a joke. A humorous book about cadavers?", Yup — and it works. Mary Roach takes the age-old question, "What happens to us after we die?" quite ... (Goodreads)

  25. Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War

    by Mark Bowden
    A detailed account of the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu, where US soldiers fought Somali militia in a brutal urban warfare.

    On October 3, 1993, about a hundred U.S. soldiers were dropped by helicopter into a teeming market in the heart of Mogadishu, Somalia, to abduct two top lieutenants of a Somali warlord. The action ... (Goodreads)

  26. The Hot Zone: The Terrifying True Story of the Origins of the Ebola Virus

    by Richard Preston
    An exploration of the discovery and containment of one of world's deadliest viruses.

    A highly infectious, deadly virus from the central African rain forest suddenly appears in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. There is no cure. In a few days 90 percent of its victims are dead. A secret ... (Goodreads)

  27. Gang Leader for a Day: A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets

    by Sudhir Venkatesh
    An exploration of urban poverty and gang life, through the eyes of an unlikely researcher.

    The story of the young sociologist who studied a Chicago crack-dealing gang from the inside captured the world's attention when it was first described in, Freakonomics,., Gang Leader for a Day, is ... (Goodreads)

  28. A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail

    by Bill Bryson
    A humorous account of a man's attempt to hike the Appalachian Trail, reflecting on the beauty and history of the American wilderness.

    The book starts with Bryson explaining his curiosity about the Appalachian Trail near his house. He and his old friend Stephen Katz start hiking the trail from Georgia in the South , and stumble in ... (Wikipedia)

  29. Manson: The Life and Times of Charles Manson

    by Jeff Guinn
    Exploration of the life of notorious cult leader Charles Manson, examining his criminal behavior and cultural impact.

    The New York Times bestselling, authoritative account of the life of Charles Manson, filled with surprising new information and previously unpublished photographs: “A riveting, almost Dickensian ... (Barnes & Noble)

  30. Devil's Knot: The True Story of the West Memphis Three

    by Mara Leveritt
    Uncovering the truth behind a murder case that wrongfully convicted three innocent boys.

    In 2011, one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in American legal history was set right when Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley were released after eighteen years in prison. ... (Goodreads)