"Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann - Islington Branch Book Club - Past Titles

About the Author: David Grann

David Grann is an American journalist, author, and staff writer for The New Yorker magazine. Born on March 10, 1967, in New York City, Grann grew up in a Jewish family in New York. He attended Connecticut College, where he earned his undergraduate degree, and later received a master's degree in international relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

Grann began his career as a journalist working for publications such as The Hill, The New Republic, and The Washington Post. In 2003, he joined The New Yorker as a staff writer, where he has written extensively on a wide range of topics including crime, justice, history, and exploration.

Throughout his career, Grann has gained acclaim for his investigative journalism and narrative storytelling. He is known for his meticulous research and compelling writing style, which often combines elements of true crime, history, and biography to explore complex issues and events.

Grann has authored several books, including:

"The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon" (2009)
"Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI" (2017)
"The White Darkness" (2018)
"The Devil and Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder, Madness, and Obsession" (2010)

Grann's work has received numerous awards and honors, including several nominations for the National Magazine Awards and the Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime. His books have been widely praised for their depth of research, compelling narratives, and exploration of historical mysteries and injustices.

In addition to his writing, Grann has also served as a visiting professor of nonfiction writing at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism.

Overall, David Grann is recognized as a talented journalist and author whose work has made significant contributions to the fields of investigative journalism and narrative nonfiction.

Synopsis

In the 1920s, the richest people per capita in the world were members of the Osage Nation in Oklahoma, thanks to the oil that was discovered beneath their land. Then, one by one, the Osage began to die under mysterious circumstances, and anyone who tried to investigate met the same end. As the death toll surpassed more than twenty-four Osage, the newly created Bureau of Investigation, which became the FBI, took up the case, one of the organization's first major homicide investigations. An undercover team, including one of the only Native American agents in the bureau, infiltrated the region, struggling to adopt the latest modern techniques of detection. Working with the Osage, they began to expose one of the most chilling conspiracies in American history. In this adaptation of the adult bestseller, David Grann revisits his gripping investigation into the shocking crimes against the Osage people. The book is a searing indictment of the callousness and prejudice toward Native Americans that allowed the murderers to occur for so long.

Discussion Questions

Historical Context:
- How does the book shed light on a lesser-known aspect of American history? What new perspectives does it offer on the time period and events it covers?
Character Analysis:
- Analyze the motivations and actions of key characters like Mollie Burkhart, Tom White, and William Hale. How do their backgrounds and experiences shape their roles in the story?
- Discuss the complexities of identity and cultural assimilation depicted in the characters' lives, particularly for individuals like Mollie Burkhart who straddle multiple cultural worlds.
Themes:
- Explore the theme of justice versus injustice. How does the narrative highlight systemic injustices and failures in the legal system, and what does this say about broader societal attitudes towards marginalized groups?
- Consider the theme of greed and its consequences. How does the pursuit of wealth drive the actions of various characters, and what are the repercussions for the Osage community?
Narrative Structure:
- Assess the effectiveness of the book's narrative structure, which blends elements of true crime, history, and investigative journalism. How does Grann weave together different narrative threads to create a cohesive story?
Symbolism and Imagery:
- Discuss the significance of the "flower moon" as a symbol throughout the book. What does it represent, and how does its meaning evolve over the course of the narrative?
- Analyze the use of imagery and descriptive language to evoke the landscapes, cultures, and historical settings depicted in the book. How does Grann bring these elements to life for the reader?
Ethical and Moral Dilemmas:
- Consider the ethical dilemmas faced by individuals like Tom White as they navigate the complexities of the case. How do personal values and professional responsibilities come into conflict, and how are these dilemmas resolved (or left unresolved)?
- Reflect on the broader ethical implications of the events described in the book, particularly in terms of how society grapples with issues of racial prejudice, exploitation, and accountability.
Legacy and Memory:
- Reflect on the lasting impact of the Osage murders on the Osage community and American society as a whole. How has this history been remembered, memorialized, or forgotten over time?
Film Adaptation (if applicable):
- If discussing the book in light of the film adaptation, compare and contrast the two mediums. How does the adaptation capture the themes, characters, and historical context of the book? What are the strengths and limitations of each medium in telling this story?

MLN Materials

book
large print book
spoken CD

Ebook Versions

Libby

Audiobook Versions

Libby

Yellow Bird by Sierra Crane Murdoch
Call Number: 364.1523 Murdoch
When Lissa Yellow Bird was released from prison in 2009, she found her home, the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota, transformed by the Bakken oil boom. In her absence, the landscape had been altered beyond recognition, her tribal government swayed by corporate interests, and her community burdened by a surge in violence and addiction. Three years later, when Lissa learned that a young white oil worker, Kristopher "KC" Clarke, had disappeared from his reservation worksite, she became particularly concerned. No one knew where Clarke had gone, and few people were actively looking for him. Yellow Bird traces Lissa's steps as she obsessively hunts for clues to Clarke's disappearance. She navigates two worlds--that of her own tribe, changed by its newfound wealth, and that of the non-Native oilmen, down on their luck, who have come to find work on the heels of the economic recession. Her pursuit of Clarke is also a pursuit of redemption, as Lissa atones for her own crimes and reckons with generations of trauma. Yellow Bird is an exquisitely written, masterfully reported story about a search for justice and a remarkable portrait of a complex woman who is smart, funny, eloquent, compassionate, and--when it serves her cause--manipulative. Drawing on eight years of immersive investigation, Sierra Crane Murdoch has produced a profound examination of the legacy of systematic violence inflicted on a tribal nation and a tale of extraordinary healing.
Love and Death in the Sunshine State by Cutter Wood
Call Number: 364.1523 Wood
When a stolen car is recovered on the Gulf Coast of Florida, it sets off a search for a missing woman, local motel owner Sabine Musil-Buehler. Three men are named persons of interest--her husband, her boyfriend, and the man who stole the car. Then the motel is set on fire; her boyfriend flees the county; and detectives begin digging on the beach of Anna Maria Island. Author Cutter Wood was a guest at Musil-Buehler's motel as the search for her gained momentum. Driven by his own need to understand how a relationship could spin to pieces in such a fatal fashion, he began to talk with many of the people living on Anna Maria, and then with the detectives, and finally with the man presumed to be the murderer. But there was only so much that interviews and transcripts could reveal. In trying to understand how we treat those we love, this book, like Truman Capote's classic In Cold Blood , tells a story that exists outside documentary evidence. Wood carries the investigation of Sabine's murder beyond the facts of the case and into his own life, crafting a tale about the dark conflicts at the heart of every relationship.
The Ghosts of Eden Park by Karen Abbott
Call Number: BIOGRAPHY REMUS Abbott
The epic true crime story of bootlegger George Remus and the murder that shocked the nation, from the New York Times bestselling author of Sin in the Second City and Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy In the early days of Prohibition, long before Al Capone became a household name, a German immigrant named George Remus quits practicing law and starts trafficking whiskey. Within two years he's a multi-millionaire. The press calls him "King of the Bootleggers," writing breathless stories about the Gatsby-esque events he and his glamorous second wife, Imogene, host at their Cincinnati mansion, with party favors ranging from diamond jewelry for the men to brand-new Pontiacs for the women. By the summer of 1921, Remus owns 35 percent of all the liquor in the United States. Pioneering prosecutor Mabel Walker Willebrandt is determined to bring him down. Willebrandt's bosses at the U.S. Attorney's office hired her right out of law school, assuming she'd pose no real threat to the cozy relationship they maintain with Remus. Eager to prove them wrong, she dispatches her best investigator, Franklin Dodge, to look into his empire. It's a decision with deadly consequences: with Remus behind bars, Franklin and Imogene begin an affair and plot to ruin him, sparking a bitter feud that soon reaches the highest levels of government--and that can only end in murder. Combining deep historical research with novelistic flair, THE GHOSTS OF EDEN PARK is the unforgettable, stranger-than-fiction story of a rags-to-riches entrepreneur and a long-forgotten heroine, of the excesses and absurdities of the Jazz Age, and of the infinite human capacity to deceive.

*audiobook & e-book on Libby
Young J. Edgar by Kenneth D. Ackerman
Call Number: BIO HOOVER
In 1919, when J. Edgar Hoover was 24 years old, a New York City postal clerk discovered sixteen bombs wrapped in individual packages - America's first instance of homegrown terrorism. Then-Attorney General Palmer vowed a crackdown and enlisted Hoover as his deputy. Amid the hysteria, details of abuses emerged, Palmer fell, and the rise of J. Edgar Hoover began. Hoover's drive to gain immense power, as well as his coolness and calculation, is explored in Young J. Edgar. With the Palmerraid a as a lens through which to view the terror-hysteria of post-9/11 America, Young J. Edgar reaches the heart of our modern debate over personal freedom in a time of war and fear.
Mean Spirit by Linda Hogan
Call Number: FICTION Hogan
Native Americans made rich by the Oklahoma oil boom of the 1920s fall victim to a campaign of fraud and intimidation on the part of white businessmen eager to rob them of their new-found wealth.