Charles Manson and the Killing of Shorty Shea Paperback – May 21, 2019

I am reading for enjoyment and research. I am familiar with the author who is an outstanding researcher.

Thank you to the author for sharing the Shorty he knew and Shorty’s story. Author got the basic known facts of Manson and his Family correct. Refreshing to not read Mason was 5’7…because he wasn’t. I was hoping for more pictures. Although the author did repeat things a few times I still found the book a good read about forgotten Shorty Shea. I learned some new information and enjoyed the book.

It was about time that a book was written about one of the forgotten victims of Manson and his killer cult. My family lived not far from Spahn Ranch and my 2 brothers visited the ranch a few times. After the murders there was never a lot said about Mr. Shea. I always wondered who he was, besides a wanna be actor. Thank goodness some one finally put his life story out there. A man with a dream that was taken from him by a murderous cult. Not a long read but a good one!

Rather poorly written account of the Shea case, that is so repetitive throughout a good editor could have trimmed it in half. There are a few photos, none great, and microscopic copies of documents.It did prompt a second look at Bruce Davis, the lesser known accomplice. It is maddening that 50 years later, there is the realization that Manson's parole officer could have prevented some or all of this history. The book, "Chaos," offers some thoughts on this as well.Shea remains a bit of an enigma. Too bad he never made it successfully into films.

I loved this book. While I have read almost all Manson books and know ost details, this writing styl eof this book and the details of the ranch life and shorty's life provide for some refreshingly new reading material on the same subject. I like the side by side comparison style of writing of the two men. Great read.

A different angle but still coloured by the old Bugliosi blueprint. I doubt the author ever met ‘the dwarf’ Manson (who was actually 5’ 7”). And we STILL don’t know why Shea was called Shorty!

As an eight-year-old, Edwin Colin, the author of this book, knew Shorty. It was 1953 when Colin’s father wars hired to be a full-time foreman at Corriganville, a Movie Ranch in nearby Simi Valley. Corriganville was owned by the famous stunt rider, Crash Corrigan, who was also and friend of Shorty Shea. So begins Colin’s fascination with the man who will be killed by Charles Manson and his followers right before the infamous Tate and LaBianca murders.Charles “Shorty” Shea was many things in his life. He was a horse wrangler, stuntman, husband, a U. S. Military Veteran and a victim of Charles Manson and his Family. Shorty wanted to be an actor in Westerns, but he seemed to always be in the wrong place at the wrong time. By the time he made enough connections in the business, Westerns were not getting the funding to be produced as audiences no longer flocked to them.He spent his last years working on the Spahn Ranch. He took care of the livestock, did some Wild West shows for dwindling crowds and had the unfortunate fate of meeting Charles Manson. Manson and his Family basically moved into Spahn Ranch and took it over. The owner, George Spahn was getting older and was nearly blind by the time Manson and his followers descended upon his property. For whatever reason, he let them stay.Some say that Shorty’s death was a direct result of not ignoring Charles Manson. Not one to ever back down from confrontation, he did not like Manson and everyone knew it. Sadly, his stubbornness was most likely the reason Charles Manson, Tex Watson, Bruce Davis and Steve Grogan murdered him in cold blood on August 26, 1969.Colin weaves a sordid insider look at the murder of Shorty Shea and subsequent deaths of Sharon Tate and the LaBiancas. With Deb Silva, the duo uncovered death certificates, autopsy results and firsthand accounts of the horrific crimes committed by the Manson Family. The small facts that surrounded the Spahn Ranch and those that lived there are fascinating to me. There are connections to famous actors, TV shows and events that most have heard of, but from a different, closer perspective. For example, one of men that participated in Shea’s death is now out of prison and another one is up for parole this year – but has dementia.Charles Manson and the Killing of Shorty Shea is an entertaining work of non-fiction. The book is fascinating, but at times disjointed. There was a bit of repetition, as the author seemed to give the facts ahead of the timeline, then repeated with more detail later. Overall, it was an interesting insider look into the lives of the Manson Family as well as Shorty Shea and all of the people they encountered during this brief period of history.DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: I have a material connection because I received a review copy for free from Reedsy Discovery in exchange for a fair and honest review. Copyright © 2019 Laura Hartman

Poorly written and edited. Illogical at times. Shorty Shea ultimately comes off as a man who's kind, hard working, not very bright, and probably unrealistic about his future as a stuntman.