dyslexzak's review
challenging
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
slow-paced
3.5
Great book, but long. There are a few things that even repeat.
markm's review
5.0
Perhaps the best JFK assassination book out of the scores of them.
The book is pretty eye-opening.
There were two Oswalds, even resembling one another. Two arrests at that theater after the assassination. One arrestee led out the front, the other thru the back. The concessions guy saw both arrests and the look-alike aspect.
The book reports that the Soviets tracked Oswald after his return from there to the US and saw he was being set up as a patsy with the aim that the Soviets would ultimately get the blame for the assassination, and hired a double agent to dissuade Oswald and kill him if he wouldn't cease. The agent said Oswald was evasive, but the agent did not kill him putting the agent in trouble with the Soviets.
The Ruby-killed Oswald was actually not seen as psychopathic such as when he was truant from school around age fourteen and was tested after they caught him, and a Marine roommate said Oswald was his best roommate, etc.
Oswald told his wife and friends that he admired JFK.
More than one witness to the Warren Commission said that what was published by the commission was not what they testified. And many people only came forward years after the assassination telling stories at odds with what the Warren Commission would have us believe.
The book is pretty eye-opening.
There were two Oswalds, even resembling one another. Two arrests at that theater after the assassination. One arrestee led out the front, the other thru the back. The concessions guy saw both arrests and the look-alike aspect.
The book reports that the Soviets tracked Oswald after his return from there to the US and saw he was being set up as a patsy with the aim that the Soviets would ultimately get the blame for the assassination, and hired a double agent to dissuade Oswald and kill him if he wouldn't cease. The agent said Oswald was evasive, but the agent did not kill him putting the agent in trouble with the Soviets.
The Ruby-killed Oswald was actually not seen as psychopathic such as when he was truant from school around age fourteen and was tested after they caught him, and a Marine roommate said Oswald was his best roommate, etc.
Oswald told his wife and friends that he admired JFK.
More than one witness to the Warren Commission said that what was published by the commission was not what they testified. And many people only came forward years after the assassination telling stories at odds with what the Warren Commission would have us believe.
tonydecember's review
5.0
This book looks at the political climate of Kennedy’s presidential years without the taint of conspiracy that followed and still dogs us relentlessly. Instead, the author reveals the maneuverings of Cold War gamesmanship and the tenor of the time as one framed by fear: of nuclear annihilation and military emasculation. Where that tension met Kennedy’s behind-the-scenes diplomacy is how deep state affairs were put into stark relief. If you only read the opening twelve-page timeline overview of events in this history, you’ll at least have the immediate and necessary context. If you read the next two dozen pages you’ll have an idea of whether the book will appeal to you (which is how far along I am). It reminds me of Robert Caro’s biographies: extraordinarily researched and even-handed. A good companion to “The Devil’s Chessboard”: the biography on Allen Dulles.
veryliterarykari's review
5.0
This is one of the best books I've ever read on the JFK assassination. Much like Col. Fletcher Prouty's book which connects Kennedy's plan to remove troops from Vietnam to the assassination, this book connects the dots between Kennedy's peace making initiatives and various elements of the assassination conspiracy. Surprisingly, there were a few witness testimonies included in this book which I was unfamiliar with. Many of the testimonies included gave more credence to the "two Oswalds" theories.
heavenlypit's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
inspiring
medium-paced