In 1967, Charles Manson’s Klout score would’ve been, oh, about 70.
Imagine that level of influence without Facebook.
Without Twitter.
And yet, with only a few quasi-religious ramblings and mediocre artistic skill, he started a harem and got himself linked in to, of all things, the Beach Boys’ network.
That’s the social network – ‘60s style – of a serial killer.
You might ask how he did it. We might point you to Jeff Guinn’s new book: Manson: The Life and Times of Charles Manson.
Guinn, who’s written on the likes of Clyde Barrow, Wyatt Earp and Santa Claus, sets out to drop Manson back into the context of his time, revealing a shortsighted opportunist and con-man – more Artful Dodger than Father Yod – whose greatest asset was existing in the right place at the right time.
The place: Haight-Ashbury.
The time: The Summer of Love.
The book strolls back and forth from that quintessential moment, pulling in testimony from sources untapped by prior biographers to paint the most realistic view of the man to date.
But if you’re left with lingering questions by the conclusion, never fear. You can lob them at Guinn in person at Green Apple Books on 8/16.
Depending on your Klout, Manson may be harder to reach.
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