Charles Manson is one of the most sinister and evil criminals the world has ever seen. His troubled childhood and twisted view of society led him to organize a cult that committed bizarre and brutal murders that shocked the media and struck fear into the hearts of all Americans in the 1960s and it is still the case today. Charles Manson and his family had a huge and crucial influence on American culture, which ultimately led to the downfall of the Love Generation and the hippie counterculture. Charles Manson's illicit upbringing helped shape him into the manipulative criminal he became. He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1934, to a 16-year-old single mother and a father he never met. When he was just 5 years old, his mother was sentenced to prison for armed robbery. After moving from home to home to foster care and then being kicked out of boarding school, Manson committed his first crime in 1948 when he was arrested and convicted for robbing a grocery store. He spent the rest of his adolescence and early adulthood in prison for car theft, check forgery, and running a prostitution ring. Between two sentences, he married and divorced two women and had two children. In prison, where he grew up most of his childhood, he learned to play guitar and became obsessed with the Beatles. Manson was released in the spring of 1967, although he asked to stay (Bugliosi 14-38). Manson never felt like he belonged in normal society, as he spent much of his time in prison. “I never realized that the people outside [the prison] were very different from those inside. The people inside, if you lie, you get beaten… There is a certain amount of truth in prison. And having grown up in prison, I was raised in the light of this truth” (Journey). ...... middle of paper ......uTube, November 18, 2013. Web. April 29, 2014. Cosgrove, Ben. "Charles Manson on trial: Photos of the cult leader and his followers | LIFE | TIME.com." LIFE. LIFE Magazine, June 29, 2012. Web. Wilson, David. “What Makes a Born Killer?” The Mirror. 3 star edition. The Mirror (2011). Print.Hickey, Eric W. Serial Murderers and Their Victims. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company, 1991. Print. Norris, Joel. Serial killers: the growing threat. New York: Doubleday, 1988. Print. Bugliosi, Vincent and Curt Gentry. Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders. New York: Norton, 1974. Print. Livingstone, David. White soldiers of black terror: Islam, fascism and the new age. Place of publication not identified: Sabilillah Publications, 2013. Print.Library, CNN. “Fast Facts About the Manson Family Murders.” CNN. Cable News Network, January 1, 1970. Web. April 28. 2014.