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Killers of the Flower Moon : the Osage murders and the birth of the FBI

2017

Call Number:	976.600497 GRANN
Format:	Book
Author:	Grann, David, author.
Title:	Killers of the Flower Moon : the Osage murders and the birth of the FBI / David Grann.
Edition:	First edition.
Publisher, Date:	New York : Doubleday, [2017]
Description:	x, 338 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm.
Summary:	Presents a true account of the early twentieth-century murders of dozens of wealthy Osage and law-enforcement officials, citing the contributions and missteps of a fledgling FBI that eventually uncovered one of the most chilling conspiracies in American history.
Target Audience Note:	Adult.
Series:	Library Staff Review_History.
Subjects:	United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation -- Case studies. Osage Indians -- Crimes against -- Case studies. Murder -- Oklahoma -- Osage County -- Case studies. Homicide investigation -- Oklahoma -- Osage County -- Case studies. Osage County (Okla.) -- History -- 20th century.
Notes:	$28.95 David Granns book tells in fast-paced fashion the investigation into the mysterious deaths of Osage tribal members and the parallel rise of the fledging F.B.I under J. Edgar Hoover. The tribe after many years has been squeezed on to a small parcel of land in Oklahoma. An area everyone later discovers is rich in oil deposits. At first it seems a blessing for the Osage: the people enjoy the wealth, status, and opportunities that come with such an inheritance. Over time this blessing devolves into a curse. Oil companies, corrupt individuals and local government swoop in to take the oil rights legally or through a maze of deception and murder. This is the case that the FBI cut their teeth on as J. Edgar Hoover develops and brings to bear the federal governments resources. His posse of agents painstakingly uncover layers of corruption and a ruthless, evil cadre of men intent on killing the Osage one by one for their black gold. Killers of the Flower Moon reads like the best thrillers. I heartily recommend it! -- Library Staff Review (Amy O.) $32.50 Includes bibliographical references (pages 325-336).
LCCN:	2016021407
ISBN:	9780385534246 9780385534246
Copies Owned:	15
Copies Available:	6
Current Holds:	0

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Fiction/Biography Profile

Genre
	NonFiction
	History
	True crime
Topics
	Indigenous peoples
	Native Americans
	Murder
	Tragedy
	American West
	Osage Indians
	Murder investigations
	Hoover, J. Edgar
	Federal Bureau of Investigation
Setting
	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma - South (U.S.)
Time Period
	1921-1926 -- 20th century

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Library Journal Review

Relating the little-known story of the murders of members of the Osage tribe in 1920s Oklahoma, Grann (The Lost City of Z) relates how the Native Americans became wealthy via mineral rights and how the new and untested FBI became involved when many Osage were murdered. The actual number of murders will never be known. The book is presented by three different narrators: Ann Marie Lee, Will Patton, and Danny Campbell, who reads the author's voice in the final segment. Grann provides a view of early 20th-century attitudes about Native Americans and sheds light on this heretofore obscure story. Verdict Recommended for those interested in Native American history, civil rights, and the history of forensic science in this county. ["A spellbinding book about the largest serial murder investigation you've never heard of": LJ 2/1/17 starred review of the Doubleday hc; an April 2017 LibraryReads Pick.]-Cheryl Youse, Norman Park, GA © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly Review

Three voice actors divvy up the task of narrating the audio edition of Grann's saga of the mysterious murders of at least two dozen members of the wealthy Oklahoman Osage Indian nation. Actor Lee reads the first third of the book, entitled "The Marked Woman," which largely focuses on the story of Mollie Burkhart Lee, an Osage woman whose family was killed off one by one in the early 1920s. Unfortunately her pacing is so slow that the grammatical structure of sentences is often lost, and she uses the same tone whether the subject is serene scenery or vicious murders. Luckily Patton picks up the pace when reading the middle portion of the book, entitled "The Evidence Man," which chronicles FBI agent Tom White's struggles to investigate the case. Campbell ultimately steals the show in the third section, "The Reporter," which follows the man who uncovered the plot to steal the oil-rich Osage territory. He reads in a voice as gruff as the man the chapter is based on, while clearly communicating the complex plot twist that ends this fascinating chunk of American history. A Doubleday hardcover. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Summary

#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

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 !

Table of Contents

Chronicle 1	The Marked Woman
1	The Vanishing	p. 5
2	An Act of God or Man?	p. 17
3	King of the Osage Hills	p. 25
4	Underground Reservation	p. 37
5	The Devil's Disciples	p. 56
6	Million Dollar Elm	p. 70
7	This Thing of Darkness	p. 81
Chronicle 2	The Evidence Man
8	Department of Easy Virtue	p. 103
9	The Undercover Cowboys	p. 113
10	Eliminating the Impossible	p. 119
11	The Third Man	p. 126
12	A Wilderness of Mirrors	p. 133
13	A Hangman's Son	p. 137
14	Dying Words	p. 151
15	The Hidden Face	p. 157
16	For the Betterment of the Bureau	p. 164
17	The Quick-Draw Artist, the Yegg, and the Soup Man	p. 171
18	The State of the Game	p. 179
19	A Traitor to His Blood	p. 196
20	So Help You God!	p. 213
21	The Hot House	p. 225
Chronicle 3	The Reporter
22	Ghostlands	p. 241
23	A Case Not Closed	p. 256
24	Standing in Two Worlds	p. 265
25	The Lost Manuscript	p. 275
26	Blood Cries Out	p. 280
	Acknowledgments	p. 293
	A Note on the Sources	p. 297
	Archival and Unpublished Sources	p. 299
	Notes	p. 301
	Selected Bibliography	p. 325

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