Reviews with content warning for Child death - Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI

A taut, dramatic, and excruciating dive into the countless horrible acts of violence inflicted by white Americans on the Osage Indian Nation. Grann's research is comprehensive, and his writing here is as sharp as anything I've encountered in my (admittedly meager) dips into non-fiction. His book occupies a fascinating place between hard-hitting investigative journalism—which is thrilling, by the way—and moving, often nauseating retellings of a history I barely knew a thing about. I love how grand the scale of the book is and how it centers the stories of so many people and gives them the respect, grace, and closure history denied them. The final section of the book messes with the propulsive pacing of the first two as they settle into the more traditional structure of a whodunnit, but it's in that section where the most meaningful bits of commentary are found. The FBI might claim to have ended the "Years of Terror," but the truth is far bloodier than that, and the closure the American government provided was a half-measure that dismissed countless unsolved murders into the dark annals of history.

Part of me wanted Grann to lean further into his political leanings, specifically regarding the FBI, as my outrage at the truths the book illuminates made me eager for some scathing rebuttal or judgment. But I'm glad Grann has more restraint than me, as his approach is far more effective and searing than any commentary could be, especially considering how damning the hard facts of the story are. And to his credit, the historical details and quotes he uses in the section documenting the FBI's development speak volumes to his opinion of the thing. Even Tom White, the "hero" of the FBI investigation that resulted in meaningful arrests, is a flawed person who, as Grann smartly and briefly acknowledges at one point, eventually settles into the same lifestyle as the people he's often quoted as detecting.

I'm incredibly glad I read this (or, rather, listened to the excellent audiobook), and in an ideal world, I would love to assume that it becomes mandatory reading.

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jamiejanae_6's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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greatexpectations77's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

4.75

Y'all WHAT. How did I never hear about this??? (Which is rhetorical because obviously the essentially genocide of the Osage would of course not be covered in my white history classes.) I'll definitely be revisiting this book because a lot of the sentiment toward Native people still exist today and we need to be much more aware of the total destruction that racism can cause. God. If this was a novel, I would have a hard time believing it. It's that intricate and horrific.

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