Rating: 
Summary: I highly recommend this book!
Review: Jess Bravin has done a great job providing insight to a very complex person. Told without sensationalism, done with sensitivity yet objective as well. I feel great compassion and sadness for the girl Lynette Fromme was, but not for the person she became. My only criticism is that I wish Mr. Bravin had given more information about Squeaky once she was convicted (though I assume that would have been impossible without her cooperation). And also, I would like to have been given as much insight to other family members as well-- it's hard to seperate one from the pack since they are all so intertwined. It would have made an even longer book but so what? Being an animal rights and eco-activist this book effected me deeply. What a waste of a life! Anyone who has visited Sandra and Lynette's website knows that these 2 women are more invested in Charlie Manson and intimidation than saving the earth. In conclusion, I think Jess Bravin did an EXCELLENT job writing this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Reads too much like a trial transcript
Review: Looking forward to learning more about this woman so devoted to her causes, whether Charles Manson or the environment, I enjoyed this book up to a point. I found that once the book moved into the period after the assassination attempt, it read too much like a trial transcript and was very difficult to get through. I do not think that word-for-word accounts of the interaction in the courtroom was helpful in understanding the person that is Lynette Fromme. The background information concerning her home life and growing up was very interesting, but the trial itself couldn't hold my attention.
Rating: 
Summary: An Odd Subject Well-Handled
Review: Lynette Fromme is a rather obscure figure to merit a lengthy biography, but Bravin's book is worth the read for anyone interested in the cult mentality. While the most famous book about the Manson Family is Vincent Bugliosi's excellent "Helter Skelter," that book focuses on the crimes, not the creed. Here, Bravin shows us how an intelligent middle-class teenager could be drawn into a quasi-religion based on violence, drugs, and racism.
Also unlike "Helter Skelter," Bravin's book tells what happened later, that the Manson Family did not end with Manson's incarceration. Fromme and other charter Family devotees like Sandra Good are still devoted to their guru, and Bravin traces the strange course of their small sect.
Rating:
Summary: Great book! Compelling, Prvocative, & (sorry) a bit Comic
Review: The incomprehensible but undeniable truth of Squeaky Fromme is that she is as secure in her conviction that we, the non-Manson world, are evil killers as we are in our likewise opinion of her and her Family. But, the fascination (at least, for me) of Squeaky: The Life and Times of Lynnette Alice Fromme is the realization that you are reading a story of a person whose similarities to the non-Manson world are as unnerving and mysterious as her differences. One of the strengths of Mr. Bravin's effort is that he can present the evidence and truth of this woman's life without resorting to the facile and trite pop-psychology that mars other true crime stories. Or, for that matter, other true life stories. To that end, I'm a bit surprised by the simplicity of some of the other Amazon reviews of the book. Does the Kirkus reviewer truly believe that he alone has shrewdly detected the flaw in young Squeaky's Eco politics? Is the reviewer from Australia flummoxed because Mr. Bravin decided not to include the chapter entitled, "Squeaky's Relationship with her Father Lead Her to Become a Manson Psycho"? My guess is that Mr. Bravin was aware of these nuances but, in keeping with the tone of the book, choose to present Ms. Fromme's story and let the reader draw conclusions from meticulously presented evidence. I think I like this book for the same reason these other two reviewers didn't: Mr. Bravin's book does not cuddle you with the obvious. While the legal judgements regarding Ms. Fromme's life have been decided the psychology of her puzzling mindset is till an open case. This is exactly what makes the book so interesting. But, as serious as the subject is, the book does have its own brand of humor. When Mr. Bravin does want to direct you to an irony he does so with a dead pan kicker or well-chosen quote. Manson Family child bearer Ruth Morehouse explaining the flaws in Manson's criminal master plan: "I don't think Charlie really considered the conspiracy angle too much." (Translation for Kirkus reviewer: the Manson Family were not big on worldly thinking.) One weakness of the book is that it underplays the last twenty years of Ms. Fromme's life. Granted that endless days in jail don't make for exciting reading. But, still, I'd like to know how Ms. Fromme deals with her delusion today. How long can you prevent yourself from feeling remorse for your indirect role in some of the most gruesome crimes in memory? Maybe an addendum in the next edition?
Rating:
Summary: Well documented book on Lynette Alice "Squeaky" Fromme
Review: This book chronicles the life of Lynette Alice "Squeaky" Fromme from her childhood years, her time with Manson, her attempted assissination attempt of Pres. Ford, and her subsequent trial. The updated version of the book has a "section" from Squeaky herself. The majority of the book, though, was written without her cooperation. Some "members" of the family gave input into this book as well, including Sandra Good, and RuthAnn Morehouse. A great book to read not only if you want to learn more about Lynette Fromme, but also to get a grasp on the turbulant times of the 60's and 70's.
Rating:
Summary: Well documented book on Lynette Alice "Squeaky" Fromme
Review: This book chronicles the life of Lynette Alice "Squeaky" Fromme from her childhood years, her time with Manson, her attempted assissination attempt of Pres. Ford, and her subsequent trial. The updated version of the book has a "section" from Squeaky herself. The majority of the book, though, was written without her cooperation. Some "members" of the family gave input into this book as well, including Sandra Good, and RuthAnn Morehouse. A great book to read not only if you want to learn more about Lynette Fromme, but also to get a grasp on the turbulant times of the 60's and 70's.
Rating:
Summary: Well documented book on Lynette Alice "Squeaky" Fromme
Review: This book chronicles the life of Lynette Alice "Squeaky" Fromme from her childhood years, her time with Manson, her attempted assissination attempt of Pres. Ford, and her subsequent trial. The updated version of the book has a "section" from Squeaky herself. The majority of the book, though, was written without her cooperation. Some "members" of the family gave input into this book as well, including Sandra Good, and RuthAnn Morehouse. A great book to read not only if you want to learn more about Lynette Fromme, but also to get a grasp on the turbulant times of the 60's and 70's.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Book
Review: This book is a very thorough examination of the life of Lynette Fromme. Meticulous detail and research makes the book a fantastic read and a wonderful source of information on Froome and other women of the Manson Family.
Rating:
Summary: The girl who ran, and ran too far...
Review: This is a compelling and very informative portrait of one of the more vocal female members of the Manson family, would-be presidential assassin Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme. In late 1969, when Charles Manson and four others were imprisoned for the brutal murders of nine people, Squeaky Fromme became the leader of the Manson clan in Charlie's absence and took to the streets, holding daily vigils outside the courthouse with the other family members who weren't imprisoned. In 1975, while living in Sacramento and preaching about the destruction of the environment with friend Sandra Good, Squeaky aimed a gun at then-president Gerald Ford. In prison for life, this novel details her early life as a dancer with the Westchester Lariats in Redondo Beach, California, her notable High School days, and finally how and when she met Manson and was seduced by his off-the-wall ideologies. It gives an incredible day-by-day account of her highly-publicized trial in which it was to be decided whether or not she actually meant to kill the president. Although not for everyone, this book is a must for true-crime fans and those who want to know what made this fascinating woman tick.
Rating:
Summary: The girl who ran, and ran too far...
Review: This is a compelling and very informative portrait of one of the more vocal female members of the Manson family, would-be presidential assassin Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme. In late 1969, when Charles Manson and four others were imprisoned for the brutal murders of nine people, Squeaky Fromme became the leader of the Manson clan in Charlie's absence and took to the streets, holding daily vigils outside the courthouse with the other family members who weren't imprisoned. In 1975, while living in Sacramento and preaching about the destruction of the environment with friend Sandra Good, Squeaky aimed a gun at then-president Gerald Ford. In prison for life, this novel details her early life as a dancer with the Westchester Lariats in Redondo Beach, California, her notable High School days, and finally how and when she met Manson and was seduced by his off-the-wall ideologies. It gives an incredible day-by-day account of her highly-publicized trial in which it was to be decided whether or not she actually meant to kill the president. Although not for everyone, this book is a must for true-crime fans and those who want to know what made this fascinating woman tick.
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