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Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI
Killers of the Flower Moon The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI
Author: David Grann
From New Yorker staff writer David Grann, #1 New York Times best-selling author of The Lost City of Z, a twisting, haunting true-life murder mystery about one of the most monstrous crimes in American history. In the 1920s, the richest people per capita in the world were members of the Osage Indian nation in Oklahoma. After oil w...  more »
ISBN-13: 9780307742483
ISBN-10: 0307742482
Publication Date: 4/3/2018
Pages: 352
Edition: Reprint
Rating:
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 88

4 stars, based on 88 ratings
Publisher: Vintage
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover, Audio CD
Members Wishing: 1
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

trekie70 avatar reviewed Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI on + 291 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 6
Killers of the Flower Moon" is an excellent book about the Government's mistreatment of the Osage Indians of OK in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is a well-written, in-depth look at what became on of the first murder cases the newly created Federal Bureau of Investigation handled, namely the string of mysterious deaths that occurred among the Osage once oil was discovered on their OK reservation. I highly recommend this book to history buffs and anyone who wants to learn some of the history of our country that you won't find in any textbook.
NancyAZ avatar reviewed Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI on + 93 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 5
This is a powerful work of investigative history which many people are unaware of and I'm glad Mr. Grann decided to tell this story. It is a very interesting but unfortunately sad piece of American history. I enjoyed learning everything that was disclosed in the book but I feel there were some details that could have been left out. At times the book got bogged down with too many details but it is definitely a story worth telling.

A favorite quote from the book:

"History is a merciless judge. It lays bare our tragic blunders and foolish missteps and exposes our most intimate secrets, wielding the power of hindsight like an arrogant detective who seems to know the end of the mystery from the outset."
reviewed Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI on + 628 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 5
Excellent historical book about the murder of many of the Osage Indian tribe by others((mostly whites)for their oil rights. Had never heard this story before; just another hidden atrocity done to the Native Americans and buried. Lots of interesting historical information about the Texas Rangers and the founding of the FBI.
VolunteerVal avatar reviewed Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI on + 639 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
(Review written 8/2/2019)

I read Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann for my IRL book club, and we had a very interesting discussion of it. As its subtitle states, this non-fiction title explores the Osage murders that were committed in 1920s Oklahoma. The investigation is the âcreation storyâ of the FBI, which relied having on the vastly inflated ego of J. Edgar Hoover.

This is sadly another very dark chapter in US history of the abuses of Native Americans that is seldom included in textbooks. The book was very readable even though it's crammed with names, dates, and other facts. I did some skimming in the middle, but was engrossed in the beginning and ending.
reviewed Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI on + 168 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
My favorite read of 2018! I was absolutely blown away by the history in this book that I had never heard before. Absolutely gripping, I read it in three days. During the 1920s, the people of the Osage Indian Nation were the richest per capita in the world due to huge oil reserves on their land. Then they mysteriously began to die under strange circumstances. Anyone who began to investigate the murders also began to be murdered. The newly created FBI took up the case and began to expose a truly horrific plot to systematically get rid of the Osage and claim the land (and money).
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reviewed Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI on + 99 more book reviews
Excellent. Very informative.


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