What a grim tale David Grann tells in Killers of the Flower Moon - The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI (#653). Prior to the publicity surrounding this book, I had never heard of the systematic exploitation, theft and murder carried out during the Twenties and Thirties against the oil-rich Osage Indians. Apparently until a pair of blatant murders, no one else seemed to take any notice either, unless it was to try to cash in on the crime spree themselves. Although J. Edgar Hoover used this case to maneuver his Bureau of Investigation into a more powerful force under his control, after his agents under the leadership of Tom White solved and prosecuted several of the murders, the books were closed on an investigation that had only scratched the surface of what was really going on out in Oklahoma. The injustices that occurred then have never been righted.
Despite the carping from critics that this book did not live up to David Grann's previous blockbuster best seller, The Lost City of Z, I find it a fascinating and shaming read. Perhaps I benefited by not reading "Z", since I had no comparison. The numerous photos integrated into the text of the persons involved in this story made them concrete. According to Grann as he began to dig deeper, the extent of the fraud, abuse and betrayal involving millions upon millions of dollars has never been exposed. There are a few "white hats" in this story, but sadly they are few and far between. I couldn't help but wonder if Arctic oil fields are opened, if the Inuits might face similar problems in the future; it would hardly be surprising.
This book should be on your "Must Read" list.
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