Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann

50 reviews

jhbandcats's review against another edition

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5.0

David Grann is one of our greatest nonfiction authors alive. Every topic he chooses is brought to life no matter how many years have passed since the events took place. His writing is smooth and unobtrusive, describing the past in a matter-of-fact, approachable way. If history books had been like this in high school, we’d all have gone on to be scholars. 

Killers of the Flower Moon is an especially difficult book to read, not because of the writing but because the subject is so painful. Grann documents how literally hundreds of Osage were murdered for riches in the early 20th C. As American Indians, their lives were worth less than that of dogs. An entire corrupt and venal society was arrayed against them. Well aware they were systematically being murdered, they had no recourse. The authorities, both political and legal, were complicit in the murders. No one would help save them from eradication. 

This is an excellent telling of a dark and shameful time in our history. If only this much attention had been paid a hundred years ago some of the Osage who were murdered might have lived. 
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imfixintoread's review against another edition

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5.0

Grann did a fantastic job researching this book. It was hard to keep up with all the names, so I was grateful for that section at the end of the book to reference. It was so difficult to digest all that happened and yet Grann wrote in a way that made it straightforward. Truly a gut-wrenching part of American history.
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tiffyd's review against another edition

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4.0

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lorenag5's review against another edition

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4.5

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ahhhreadzombiez's review against another edition

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5.0

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travisppe's review against another edition

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3.25

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billyjepma's review against another edition

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5.0

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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ruthypoo2's review against another edition

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5.0

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mightymegan25's review against another edition

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4.5

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xomandymoo's review against another edition

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4.0

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