Flowers of the Killer Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann

Flowers of the Killer Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann

David Grann’s Flowers of the Killer Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI, is a book that addresses an intimate account of America’s history that is little-known. Oil deposits have been discovered in the land of the Osage people, and the court has awarded the Osage native Americans the legal rights to profits accrued from the exploitation of the oil deposits. Despite the Osage people having these express rights to the profits, a majority of them do not receive any money. A plot is then hatched to eliminate the Osage people from their perceived middle man position in this oil exploitation business. An official report is released indicating that at least 20 wealthy Osage people have been murdered and Grann speculates that the deaths are related to the oil ties. According to Gran Flowers of the Killer Moon, William Hale is the mastermind behind the executions and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has been formed to investigate him. Grann unravels the central conspiracy in the monstrous crimes that have defined the American History. He argues that “history can be a merciless judge. It exposes people’s un-truths, blunders, and foolishness and reveals hidden secrets.” He emphasizes on the necessity of truth despite the frustrating and harmful lies perpetuated by healing and transformative history.

In Flowers of the Killer Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI, Grann is inspired by the litany of crimes in American History that saw many people getting murdered in cold blood. The book is a non-fictitious narrative masterpiece in which each investigation unravels rehearsals and sinister secrets. Grann has a searing indictment on the prejudice and callousness directed toward the American Indians in a bid to disinherit them of their oil fields. The book is emotionally devastating and utterly compelling. Grann is a renowned writer, researcher and one of the best-selling authors. He is a reputable workhorse reporter and he is a journalist who inspires devotion in the readers in all his works. In Flowers of the Killer Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI, Grann utilizes an expansive cast of characters to indulge different tangents of ancillary subjects in a way that readers can understand. The reader is able to understand the education system for young native Americans as well as the early 20^th century state of forensic pathology. This explication works to effectively slow down the brisk nature of the storyline narrative. His journalism background coupled with a degree in creative writing enabled him to research on the little-known topics in the American history. His rich experience in research and fiction writing largely contribute to the success of this book.

Grann has used the Osage people and Reign of Terror to give an intimate reporting of facts, names, and dates of events and people. This kind of reportage would seem impossible but Grann uses an evidence-based approach to compile this book as though he was present during the Reign of Terror. When Grann arrives in Osage County in 2012, he says that so much had been lost. The Osage murders has already disappeared into history and everything has been shrouded in secrecy and half-truths. The abandoned and devastated landscape creates a metaphorical image in his mind about how historical records and cultural memories have faded concerning the Reign of Terror.

When Grann listens to the stories of the modern-day Osage tribe member, he gets a clear picture of just how much history has failed these people and their ancestors. According to (INSERT CITATION), lack of information due to manipulation, coercion, apathy, and incompetency contribute to perpetuation of lies and half-truths. This is the greatest evidence that Grann uses to advance his argument in Flowers of the Killer Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI. Grann is able to find out that investigators of the many murder cases would be threatened and some even brutally killed. For example, lawyer W.W. Vaughan is killed while investigating the Osage murders. Grann meets with W.W. Vaughan’s granddaughter and as they talk, he learns that the family had been threatened when they tried to investigate Vaughan’s death. Grann takes up the case and investigates it on behalf of the family and finally solves the case. He, however, does not unravel all the truths even as he gives Vaughan’s daughter the findings of his investigation.

Investigators are supposed to collect enough evidence to indict and convict a person but most of them to do conclude their investigations. This denies people a chance to know the truth and justice is ultimately lost into history. In Flowers of the Killer Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI, Grann takes the burden of investigating the Osage murders and he is able to get the truth for many descendants of the Osage Terror Reign victims. He laments that many of the murders that were committed between 1918 and 1930s may not be resolved at all.

In a bid to unravel the truth, Grann is overwhelmed by the cover-ups, unsolved files and other half-truths behind history because he works alone. The American education system does not teach people about the murders as part of the country’s history and how these events led to the formation of FBI. At the end Grann feels lost in the mist. He recognizes that history may be merciless but it does not remain unscathed because of corruption, greed, and people’s cruelty.

In Flowers of the Killer Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI, Grann has been able to stage convincing arguments throughout the book. For example, the man named as the mastermind of the Osage murders is portrayed as being able to manipulate the media into believing that the investigators electrocuted him. This reflects on the public service integrity. According to Grann, the only mistreatment this man was subjected to was going to bed late but the accusation he made appeared in all the headlines. By 1922, corruption was rampant at the federal level and the wealthy oil barons were venerated as capitalist princes. Therefore, they were able to manipulate institutions and coerce victims through threats and intimidation.

As Grann argues, at inception the bureau’s jurisdiction was limited. They would only investigate and expedite hodgepodge cases such as bank robbery, stolen cars, smutty books, and prizefighting films. Being a non-fiction book, Flowers of the Killer Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI depicts a society that was literary backward in many aspects. The way the media is unconcerned about the lies and half-truths is representative of how the general public is unconcerned about the Osage murders. Grann uses history to show how truth was not allowed to thrive and the way many people live their present lives with past injustices and unsolved cases.

I will compare David Gran’s Flowers of the Killer Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI Dina Gilio-Whitaker’s As Long as Grass Grows. Just the way tall trees grow and choke off the spring flowers, the Osage native American Indians are overrun in Flowers of the Killer Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI and victimized by people who want to disinherit them from their oil-rich lands. Grann uses an evidence-based approach to develop convincing arguments that have the overall effect of dissuading the readers. He explores a topic that is little-talked-about in the history of America and investigates all the historical injustices from the time of the Reign of Terror. In As Long as Grass Grows, Dina Gilio-Whitaker highlights how the US government mistreats native Americans after they agreed to have the Indians removed from their land. The two stories depict the rot in government institutions traced back many years.

In Flowers of the Killer Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI, Grann uses the story of the Osage to demonstrate how white Americans, aided by their government, discriminated and violated the rights of minority groups. The Osage people were considered inferior to white Americans. The plot to kill them and disinherit them from their land show that according to the white Americans, the native Americans deserved less. This book is very useful to any student of American history interested in the area of fundamental human rights and protection.