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<p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style="text-align:right">Hello,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Our Potomac Chapter book club will meet at 6:30 PM Wednesday April 3.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We need to start early because at 8:00 PM President Riccobono will present his monthly Presidential release.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Attached and below are questions for Killers of the Flower Moon.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Zoom credentials are also below.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">John<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Killers of the Flower Moon<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">by David Grann<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Questions<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">1. What do the contemporary media reports on the wealth and lifestyle of the Osage
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">reflect about white perceptions of Native Americans (pp. 6–7; pp. 76–77)? In what way
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">do they lay a foundation for the way the murders and mysterious deaths were treated
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">by law enforcement?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">2. What was your first impression of William Hale (p. 17)? How does Grann bring to life
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">his strengths and appeal, as well as the darker side of his nature? What qualities does
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">he share with people who achieve power and influence today?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">3. How did you respond to the description of law enforcement in America during the
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">1920s (p. 19)? What elements most shocked or surprised you? What made the
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">situation in Osage County particularly chaotic? What effect did this have on the
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">investigations into the deaths of Anna Brown and Charles Whitehorn?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">4. What does Grann’s account of the relationship between the United States government and Native Americans
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">contribute to your understanding of the country’s history (pp. 37–44)? How did government policies affect individuals
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">like Mollie and her family? What does Grann capture in his description of Lizzie’s death: “Lizzie’s spirit had been claimed
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">by Jesus Christ, the Lord and Savior, and by Wah’Kon-Tah, the Great Mystery” (p. 36)?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">5. Discuss the circumstances that distinguished the Osage from other Native American tribes, including the actions taken
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">by tribal leaders early in the century; the influx of white settlers and oil prospectors; the granting of headrights; and the<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">guardianship system (pp. 78–80).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">6. What is the significance of the murder of Barney McBride, the oilman who went to Washington to seek help for the
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Osage (p. 68) and of W.W. Vaughan, the attorney who worked with private detectives investigating the murders (p. 93–<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">4)?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">7. What does Grann’s portrait convey about J. Edgar Hoover (p. 107)? What traits stand out and what do they foretell
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">about Hoover’s future as director of the FBI?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">8. In what ways does Tom White combine the qualities of the Old West and of the modern bureaucratic system Hoover
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">is trying to create? How does this influence the steps he takes in investigating the murders? How do the various views of
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">White, including the stories of his childhood and his work as a Texas Ranger (pp. 137–153), shape your impressions of
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">him? Would you define him as the hero of the book?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">9. How were manufactured evidence, suborned testimony, and false confessions used to divert the FBI investigation?
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">What role did independently hired private eyes and informants play in the search for the truth?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">10. The crimes in Osage County involved many levels of deception and betrayal. In addition to the actual conspirators,
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">who else either directly profited from the crimes or was silently complicit in them? In what ways did accepted mores
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">encourage the corruption that plagued the investigation?Unlabeled graphic11. What role did new methods of criminal investigation play in uncovering the<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">guilty parties? In addition to introducing <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">up-to-date forensic science, how did Hoover use the case to transform the Bureau of Investigation and simultaneously
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">enhance his own image?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">12. During Hale’s trial, a member of the Osage tribe said, “It is a question in my mind whether this jury is considering a
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">murder case or not. The question for them to decide is whether a white man killing an Osage is murder—or merely
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">cruelty to animals” (p. 215). Why does this observation resonate beyond the immediate circumstances?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">13. Perhaps the most chilling aspect of Killers of the Flower Moon is the marital and familial connections between
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">murderers and their victims. What explains Ernest Burkhart’s actions even as he remained married to and had children
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">with Mollie? How does Grann bring to life the particular horror of crimes committed within a family and a close-knit
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">community?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">14. What does the evidence Grann uncovered when he visited Osage County in 2012 reveal about the lasting legacy of
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">the “Reign of Terror”?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">15. Killers of the Flower Moon combines the fast pace of a true-life murder mystery with the scope and detail of a
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">narrative history. How does Grann integrate these different aspects of the book?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">16. We are familiar with many American crimes and criminals during the early twentieth century from movies, books,
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">and television shows. Why do you think the story of the Osage murders hasn’t received similar attention?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">17. Are there recent examples of racial prejudice and injustice that parallel those described in Killers of the Flower
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Moon? What has changed about the approach taken by law enforcement? About the attitudes expressed by the white
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">community in the face of racial or religious discrimination? In what ways have things remained the same?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">David Grann is a staff writer at The New Yorker and the bestselling author of The Lost City of Z, which was chosen as one
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">of the best books of the year by The New York Times, The Washington Post, and other publications and has been
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">translated into more than twenty-five languages. He is also the author of The Devil and Sherlock Holmes. His work has
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">garnered several honors for outstanding journalism, including a George Polk Award.
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Suggested Additional Reading<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Peter Cozzens, The Earth Is Weeping; <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Dee Brown, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee; <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Dennis McAuliffe, Jr., Bloodland: A Family Story of Oil, Greed and Murder on the Osage Reservation;
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Daniel J. Sharfstein, Thunder in the Mountains; <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Tim Weiner, Enemies: A History of the FBI;<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoPlainText"><a href="https://zoom.us/j/8297256345?pwd=SFAyamlQNU44ZTJ6dUZNMTV4RmhCQT09">https://zoom.us/j/8297256345?pwd=SFAyamlQNU44ZTJ6dUZNMTV4RmhCQT09</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">One tap mobile<o:p></o:p></p>
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