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

4.2(42)
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About the book

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A twisting, haunting true-life murder mystery about one of the most monstrous crimes in American history, from the author of The Wager and The Lost City of Z, “one of the preeminent adventure and true-crime writers working today."—New York Magazine • NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • NOW A MARTIN SCORSESE PICTURE “A shocking whodunit…What more could fans of true-crime thrillers ask?”—USA Today “A masterful work of literary journalism crafted with the urgency of a mystery.” —The Boston Globe A Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of the Century In the 1920s, the richest people per capita in the world were members of the Osage Nation in Oklahoma. After oil was discovered beneath their land, the Osage rode in chauffeured automobiles, built mansions, and sent their children to study in Europe. Then, one by one, the Osage began to be killed off. The family of an Osage woman, Mollie Burkhart, became a prime target. One of her relatives was shot. Another was poisoned. And it was just the beginning, as more and more Osage were dying under mysterious circumstances, and many of those who dared to investigate the killings were themselves murdered. As the death toll rose, the newly created FBI took up the case, and the young director, J. Edgar Hoover, turned to a former Texas Ranger named Tom White to try to unravel the mystery. White put together an undercover team, including a Native American agent who infiltrated the region, and together with the Osage began to expose one of the most chilling conspiracies in American history. Look for David Grann’s latest bestselling book, The Wager!

Editions (10)

ISBN9780385534253
PublisherVintage
Publication Date12/31/17
Pages347

Reviews & Ratings

42 ratings

9 reviews

4.2

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  • mag.die
    mag.die

    13 Followers

    5.0

    Informativ, spannend, deprimierend. David Grann bringt mit hervorragender journalistischer Arbeit die halb vergessene Reign of Terror der Osage wieder in das Bewusstsein der Menschen. Ich muss zu meiner Schande gestehen, dass ich zuvor noch nichts von den Osage gehört habe, weshalb ich es aber umso interessanter fand, etwas über ihre Kultur, die Mordserie in den 1920ern, sowie die damaligen Lebensumstände in ihrer Reservation (v. a. das Vormundschaftssystem) zu lernen. Der Teil des Buches, der die Mordfälle aus der Perspektive des FBI darstellt, liest sich spannend wie ein Krimi, hat aber aufgrund der realen Akteure und Opfer auch einen bedrückenden Beiklang.

    Dec 19, 2024

  • outis
    outis

    6 Followers

    5.0

    I'm not into true crime and all this blood goggling but this book I liked anyway. It's well researched and written, with the author not making himself the hero of the book like so many of his colleagues of non-fiction do. Every "character" gets a chance to share their story without it being too long-winded. So it's a good book, but god did it make me sick.

    Mar 2, 2024

  • alice1
    alice1

    5 Followers

    4.0

    The book is about a chapter of American history that not many people know about: the Osage murders. At the start of the book it describes how many Osage hired private detectives to solve the cases, but they only manage to solve them when the government interferes. At least that is what the author thinks until he visits the place about a century after the murders and sees for himself how many cases remained unsolved und what an large impact that has on the Osage.

    Overall I would say it is a well written book with an extremely interesting plot. The only criticism I can mention really is, that at the start of the book it is hard to follow the story line because so many people are mentioned. I really liked all the visuals that are included and it’s easy to say that this is an awesome read, especially if you are in to history.

    Jan 24, 2025

3 of 9 reviews

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