I remember reading “Helter Skelter” in college, for a course about “The Psychology of Serial Killers.”  It was a great, candid book that didn’t shy away from describing the crimes of Charles Manson’s “family,” but neither was it gratuitous.  It also made police and judicial procedures easily accessible to a layperson.

Bugliosi was a hero.  If Manson scares you, then the autobiographical account by the highly intelligent and dedicated man who put him away might be reassuring.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/06/10/us/vincent-t-bugliosi-manson-prosecutor-and-true-crime-author-dies-at-80.html?_r=1&referrer

Photo credit:  “Charles Manson, Crime and Punishment Museum, Washington, DC,” by Sarah Stierch, via Flickr and Wikimedia Commons.