Killers of the flower moon

A well researched, very well written (including organizationally) narrative history on a subject that has been given attention in the literature but remains relatively unknown by the general public. The murders of the oil rich Osage numbered over a couple dozen and for some brief period a mystery to Osage and authorities alike. I should say, federal authorities. While the murders were another reflection of the shameful treatment of the First Nation people in a historical context, in the instance the perpetrator was a local prominent white man living as a friend of the Indians in their midst. The book deals with how the murders were solved and involved a whole cast of characters including tribal members themselves, for several their lives well recounted. Were it not for the underlying disregard for their race and therefore worth as human beings, this story is very much the age old story about human greed. But thanks to the efforts of federal law enforcement as came to be embodied with the founding of the FBI, the perpetrators, largely Whites but not exclusively, were caught and prosecuted. It is how the author weaves together the story to solve the mystery and in the process ties in side stories about the Indian plight in America and how the Osage by virtually total accident came to reside in one of the richest oil reserves in the country and as a consequence became for a time, the richest Americans because of royalties from the mineral rights, that provides for compelling reading. A positive aspect of the writing is that while the author engages in a handful of side stories to add perspective, they are efficient and accretive to the story, not mini books in themselves that become tedious distractions to the story that characterize too many works of non-fiction. When the main story ended about three quarters through and the author embarked on an epilogue I began to fear his story discipline had broken down. But as it happened the author used the epilogue to tie together loose ends of the story post solving of the murders in the mid 1920s. Very satisfying. If the book has a shortcoming it regards the treatment of the rise of the FBI. It’s superficial at best and is limited to the role the Osage murders played in the evolution of the FBI as a national police investigative agency, the first in the country’s history. Whether that merits being included in the title is open to question.

This is an excellent true crime book. I would not place it in the same league as the best true crime books (The Onion Field, In Cold Blood, Sidney Kirkpatrick’s wonderful A Cast of Killers, e.g.) but it is very good. The problem is that true crime entails historical restraints. The key lesson (mini-SPOILER) of Killers of the Flower Moon is that there were a multiplicity of killers; the omnipresent examples of human cruelty and greed result in a judgment of human nature itself, one far more extreme than expected. The problem is that the actual narrative is compromised in the process. We think we know who did it; then we find out that someone else did it as well and someone else and someone else. The narrative becomes complicated and extended, the cast of characters grows; everything becomes a little confusing and the tidy outline of the Aristotelian plot is lost. Bottom line: the book is a little too difficult to follow and it becomes difficult to keep the characters straight. The subtitle suggests that the ‘birth of the FBI’ will be a key part of the story. It is, but only in the sense that one Bureau agent in particular is a key element in the investigation. The material on J. Edgar and his personality is common knowledge and ultimately the birth of the Bureau is tangential to the story of the Osage murders. The story of the black gold and how it is finally replaced by the windmills of an Italian energy company is, in some ways, more interesting. The horrific treatment of the Osage is well-known; what is not so well-known is its extent. In other words, the psychological/moral elements of the story are ultimately more interesting than the investigative ones. My bottom line: the story was chilling and moving but not riveting. Given the breadth of its readership and the resources invested in the film, I expected more. The book is essentially an examination of the depths of the darkness within the human soul; the murder investigations are less interesting. Four stars.

Uno di quei casi in cui si legge il libro dopo la visione del film. Un racconto molto interessante e dettagliato sull'avidità e sulle conseguenze dell'avidità dell'uomo

I have not heard about the Osage nation nor the atrocious crimes committed against them before I read this excellent work of researching and storytelling by David Grann. Hence, as I proceeded page after page, I was utterly enthralled by the sinister nature of the conspiracy that took place in the Osage County (if I had not read this, I would probably think the so told story was a work of fiction). This book is an outstanding reminder of the violence, corruption and greed directed to the indigenous people and that hitherto affects the life of its descendants. It is also a nice portrait of the United States in the 20th century, as well as the FBI birth and the oil boom.

Awesome book!

This is a fascinating yet deeply disturbing multi-layered account of how greed drove men to murder and of how a combination of uncaring and sloppy police work allowed them to almost escape justice. Truth be told, it was the dogged efforts of one man, Tom White, a former Texas Ranger recruited into the fledgling FBI (before it was even so-named) that must receive the lion’s share of credit for solving these crimes. The Osage Indian Nation would prove to be a wealthy one; at one time considered to be among the richest in the world. After years of struggles and hardship - mostly imposed on them and every other Native American tribe by a federal government which considered them to be “non-humans” (a belief widely held among the White population as well), the Osage finally got what they’d long sought, a permanent home. They purchased a non-descript piece of land in Oklahoma; rocky, barren and not much good for farming, but they were satisfied as were, it seems, the Federal Government and the Whites. But the satisfaction of the latter two would soon sour when it was discovered that “worthless” land sat atop one of the (at that time) largest known oil reserves in the world. The sour note was struck by the fact the lawyer the Osage hired to negotiate the land purchase got mineral rights (the rights to underground resources whatever they might be i.e., oil, coal, gold, uranium, etc.), included in the deal so that when oil was discovered on their land, every Osage tribal member became entitled to a percentage of any revenue that would flow from oil production. And some unscrupulous men wanted to not just share in that wealth, but to take control of it entirely. That is what forms the basis of David Grann’s factual accounting of all the evil these men enacted and the long hard battle to finally find justice for, and return a sense of peace to, the Osage people. Grann has written a well-laid out, researched, and what proved to me to be, a truly horrific story. I believe this to be a book of historical significance that which, upon reading, caused me to reflect on many similarities existing in the way our First Nations people (in Canada) were used and abused by governments, religious orders, and the broader “white” population. And while on the surface it would seem efforts are being made to examine past events; to expose the truth and to seek reconciliation for the many wrongs imposed or inflicted, there remains a long road ahead. We must all work hard to complete that journey.

How exciting and also tragic to read about the Native Americans in Oklahoma who were systematically killed for their oil rights. The story of how the FBI came into being is included. I read it in just one day. I definitely recommend this book.