Some 40 books or more have been published covering the Manson murders, hitting every angle including the childhoods of the perpetrators or the consequences for the victims’ families to the drug-saturated context of the times. Now almost 60 years in the past, the murders still carry an almost perverse fascination for millions of readers. Helter Skelter, an inside look at the case by prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi, remains the best-selling true crime book in history.

No less unsettling than any of these treatments is Alan R. Warren’s contribution, Peace, Love & Murder: The Charles Manson Story, a breathless chase through the bizarre details of the crimes to the just-as-bizarre personalities of the criminals.