Killers of the Flower Moon is a well-researched account of what happened to the Osage. Unfortunately, we’ll never know for sure the extent of the murders and who was responsible for them. Some of the people were caught and convicted but there were surely more people involved. It’s speculated that hundreds of Osage deaths were murders.

I watched the movie of the same name, which is based on the book, when it first came out. I chose to read the book because liked the movie, but I wanted more of the nitty gritty details of the time. Even though the movie is over three hours long, it doesn’t delve into the specifics of the law, for example, how the government was able to declare fully functioning Native Americans incompetent and take over their finances. The movie expanded on and embellished a lot of what happened for dramatic effect. After you subtract the copious number of notes, the book is less than 300 pages long. There’s not enough material for a three-hour movie!

I recommend Killers of the Flower Moon to everyone who is addicted to true crime documentaries and podcasts. You know who you are! ( )

Historia de una investigación en los primeros años del FBI (Cuando todavía no tenía la F) Aunque el subtítulo habla del nacimiento de dicha organización, esos temas solo se mencionan de pasada y el libro se centra en las masacres de las que fueron víctimas los miembros de la tribu Osage, especialmente una rama de ellos. Se detallan de forma pormenorizada los entresijos de ese caso (A fin de cuentas, el que se investigó y se juzgó) pero se además de eso el autor profundiza en su propia investigación y deja claro que hay indicios para sospechar que los asesinatos fueron muchos más, los suficientes como para no poder atribuírselos a una sola persona u organización, si no a un sistema que privaba de sus derechos a los miembros de la tribu y los dejaba expuestos a toda clase de criminales.

Muy interesante. ( )

What a tragedy. ( )

This meticulously researched deep-dive into a horrific chapter of American History is further evidence that truth can be stranger than fiction. I knew virtually nothing about the Osage Nation or the jaw-dropping “Reign of Terror” that destroyed so many lives.

Like many readers, I had a difficult time keeping track of all the characters. Of course, the author can’t be faulted given that this is a nonfiction work that doggedly chronicles many years of conspiracy and brutality. The saga’s complexity made for a somewhat disjointed narrative in spots. But overall, “Killers of the Flower Moon” is a disturbing and enlightening piece of investigative journalism. Perhaps I’ll even see the movie one of these days. ( )

"Killers of the Flower Moon" was picked out by our Book Palaver member; it's not a book I would normally read.

It details the scores (if not hundreds) of murders that took place in the early 20th Century of Osage Indians. Because the Osage had been forced to live on this land (before it was known it had copious amounts of oil below it), they were awarded huge sums of money annually from the federal government once the oil was discovered. But because there was a belief that the Indians didn't have the capacity to manage that kind of money, white leaders and/or relatives were given the right to control that money. Upon death, the guardians then owned that money so the motive was clearly there.

I felt like the writing was just OK. I much better book along these lines is "The Devil in the White City." ( )