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The Assassinations: Probe Magazine on JFK, MLK, RFK, and Malcolm X

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If you want to read the most current knowledge about the truth of the political assassinations of the 1960's this is the book to read. The Assassinations is a collection of the best articles to appear in a little know publication called Probe magazine from 1994 to 2000. These articles were written by serious citizen researchers who invested the time and money doing the work our major news media failed to do--that is to sift through the many new declassified documents about the assassinations that have become available during the past decade. With an introduction by Judge Joe Brown of TV fame the book is filled with in depth articles that you won't read anywhere else.
Examples of offerings include Professor Donald Gibson discussing how de-classified telephone transcripts from the early Johnson Presidency in the days after Nov. 22, 1963 show us how the Warren Commission was created, and for what purpose. John Armstrong has spent years of his life devoted to the study of Lee Harvey Oswald. Here Armstrong shows us that there was much more to the Oswald story than we were ever told.
Radiologist David Mantik has spent many more hours studying the JFK autopsy x-rays than did any offical government investigating body. Mantik has submitted the x-rays to sophisitcated tests unavailable during the 1960's and 70's and has proven that the x-rays now in the National Archives are forgeries.
Lisa Pese fleshes out the details of the RFK murder that have never been published before. James Douglass explains how a 1999 civil trial in Memphis proved beyond any doubt that our very government executed a man whose birthday it honors with a national holiday. And much, much more.
Perhaps the most enlightening and disturbing part of the book is the section titled, "The Failure of the Fourth Estate." Here the reader will learn why the news media never informed you about any of this information. You will learn of the all too cozy relationship that exists between our mainstream news media and the U.S. government intelligence agencies. You will learn specific names of well known journalists who got their stories cleared with intelligence agencies before writing, and who acted as government informants and "propaganda assets."
The book closes with a thoughtful afterword by one of the editors, James DiEugenio, who places the assassinations in their political context and explains how they impacted our lives and changed the course of our collective history.
This book is not for those who practice the superficial, shallow, "my country right or wrong", flag-waving type of patriotism so in vogue these days. This book is for true patriots who care about their country and aren't afraid to look straight into it's ugly, evil side. This book is for those who want to learn from the past and want to understand when and how the United States began to go from being a much loved beacon of democracy to becoming a loathed and feared nation. This book is for patriots who want to help ensure that we once again return to having a government " of the people, by the people and for the people."

When a concerned citizen reviews the publications of official government investigations of the major assassinations of the 1960s, they are faced with a maze of truths, half-truths, and conclusions, both reasonable and indefensible. The single consistent theme that emerges is that when Power Lies, it does so with Authority. It also does so with the full cooperation of the Media, whose livelihood depends on ready access to power.

The best we can probably hope for now is the simple release of information without comment, where (most of) the documents are made available to the public, and it is left up to them to make sense out of it. This is a job that will go on for many, many years, but Probe got a running start at it.

Probe Magazine was the publication of CTKA (Citizens for Truth in the Kennedy Assassinations). The group was formed in the wake of the release of Oliver Stone's movie, by a group of men and women, mostly critics from years before, but some new to the issue. I was fortunate enough to be there for some of the early meetings of this group of motivated individuals, but was little more than a fellow consumer when it came to their publication.

But what a publication it was. Accomplished professionals, and individuals with highly developed and specialized knowledge of the case came together to produce articles of breathtaking depth and analysis on a bimonthly basis. Not only did they delve deeper into the JFK case, they also expanded their focus to include the other assassinations of the 1960s and events peripheral to them - the understanding of which helps to put these cases in their proper historical perspective. From one issue to the next, the material just continued to improve. Then, when Lisa Pease joined the effort, her intellectual strength, and energy of commitment helped to spark the project into heights likely not imagined during the organization's humble beginnings. Then, perhaps most amazing to me, they just sustained that greatness until they could go no longer, and stopped publication.

As a result, Probe became a small monthly with wide influence, and deservedly so. I read every issue cover to cover, and saved every last one of them, but I still bought this book, not only for its new material, but perhaps more importantly, for the index that serves to convert this amazing project from great history paper to definitive reference - The People's Report on the Assassinations of the 1960s. This is a report that is rational and honest, and not written for political expediency or to cover anyone's behind, which makes it the best reference on the topic available.

Probe was the product of maximum effort by a few individuals over a relatively short period that produced a result of historical proportions. If you missed it the first time, you definitely do not want to miss it this time. If you were a Probe reader the first time around, this book still demands a prominent place on your bookshelf.

Besides the furious establishment media counterattack, Oliver Stone's JFK lead to the release of long surpressed documents and evidence and the re-flowering of research and publishing concerning JFK's assassination. Probe was the best journal to come out of the post-JFK enlightenment. It is now, sadly, defunct but Feral House has published an anthology of Probe's best articles, some revised and expanded, along with some new work. The Assassinations is edited, as was Probe, by James DiEugenio and Lisa Pease. James DiEugenio is the author of Destiny Betrayed: JFK, Cuba and the Garrison Case, and he also provides a commentary track on a recent DVD reissue of Stone's JFK. The anthology covers the assassinations of JFK, Martin Luther King, Robert Kennedy, and Malcolm X with over half of the 677 page paperback volume dedicated to JFK.

Some of The Assassinations highlights:

John Armstrong's research into the "Two Oswalds." If you've been a student of the Kennedy assassination for 37 years, your mind is seldom blown. Enter John Armstrong. Armstrong's argues and offers proof of two Oswalds walking among us since childhood.

Lisa Pease on the CIA's Prince of Darkness, James Jesus Angleton.

James DiEugenio and Bill Davy on the Garrison investigation. Some researchers avert their eyes when Garrison's name is mentioned. No such embarrassment here. Clay Shaw's perjury and his CIA connections are revealed in detail.

John Newman on Oswald and the CIA.

Dr. Gary Aguilar's brilliant analysis of the magic bullet. Aguilar is your best guide through the briar patch of medical evidence. No tangles or scratches, guaranteed.

An essential section on the media's complicity in the cover-up, with an emphasis on the Garrison investigation.

The clear and highly readable writing in this anthology is based on meticulous research into the recent disclosures of long suppressed documents and other evidence. Although the fresh material is shocking it is also, in a sense, liberating. You see behind the lies, the propaganda, the disinformation. You don't have to be a longtime student of the bloody politics of the sixties to appreciate the many riches in this volume. The Assassinations is an essential addition to the literature on our secret history. [This review is adapted from my longer review in The Anderson Valley Advertiser (May 21, 2003)]

Probe Magazine has always fascinated even lone nut theorists.
The reason why is because it was an extremely investigative Magazine.
James DiEugenio, Lisa Pease, etc have been known for their tireless investigative research into the true circumstances surrounding the death of America's 35th President.
Now, you can read the wonderful articles that the Probe writers worked on concerning the conspiratorial Assassination of not only John F Kennedy, but also the suspicious assassinations of Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.
Some have said that perhaps these assassinations werent merely isolated events, but that they were all connected in some way.
This is not far fetched when one considers that Bobby Kennedy was shot within a week after he said "Only the powers of the Presidency will reveal the true circumstances of (JFK's) murder" or words to the effect.
Also J Edgar Hoover, who clearly must atleast be suspected in the murder of Martin Luther King Jr, was THE man in charge of the "investigation" of JFK's death.
Also Hoover hated Bobby Kennedy with a purple passion.
It may be true that the same establishment that felt threatened enough by JFK that they decided to kill him, may have killed his Brother to remain in the shadows that they had hid in since '63.
And Martin Luther King Jr, had, at times, made the same enemies, that the Kennedy brothers had.
One cant help recognize the eerie similarities between Lee Harvey Oswald and James Earl Ray.
Whether these assassinations were related or not, this is for certain: This book will really make you think about these assassinations, if you havent before.
This book is so interesting, you will want to read it and reread it again and again.

Not only is this the best book about the assassinations I've read, but these are the best reviews I've read on Amazon. No stone is left unturned and I weep for the past and fear the future. I will NEVER trust the media to tell the whole truth again. After returning this to the library today, I will buy this book for my collection. Thank you to the authors.

"The Assassinations" is one of the very few books which present a comprehensive and well-organized look at the *big* picture. It is a volume which deserves the attention, not just of people who are convinced that the assassinations of the Kennedys, King and Malcom X were not the work of "lone nuts", but of everyone who is genuinely interested in the recent history of the United States. Whether you are convinced, skeptical or simply curious, this is the book to read if you want to find out the facts, not the latest spin from the mass media.

Jim DiEugenio and Lisa Pease in their book, The Assassinations, did what the House Select Committee on Assassinations failed to do--thoroughly research and objectively present the truth about the assassinations of JFK, RFK, and MLK. This is an excellent book for all Americans who want to understand the true history of our country during the 60's and its impact on our lives today.

I have read about thirteen books on the JFK assassination, and I found this book incredible. I learned all kinds of new material, and understood long sprawling arguments for the first time because of their concise summaries in some of these articles.

The articles are especially good on the Corporate Media and in this sense are more relevent to today than almost any current event. The level of detail that is provided about the relationship between the media and intelligence agencies, really makes one think even more profoundly than Chomskys writing, about the implications of this centralized media power for today's news.

I disagree with Vince Palamara. I think this book is much more valuable than Ultimate Sacrifice. This book says what the evidence in that tomb wants to say, but the authors are too cautious to write.

I should mention that this book features two articles by John Armstrong. The hypothesis presented here, at first seems incredible. But it is very well argued and it sure does tie up loose ends and makes impossible timelines seem quite plausible. Armstrong makes his case for a Harvey and a Lee, quite convincingly.

Deserves ten stars.

Collaboratively compiled, organized and edited by James DiEugenio and Lisa Pease, The Assassinations is an extensive collection of articles drawn from Probe magazine concerning the murders of President John Kennedy, the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., Robert Kennedy, and Malcolm X. A questing compendium of tantalizing truths, cover-ups, obvious and hidden motives, and the struggle to track trails and pin down culprits, The Assassinations is a fascinating, involving, informative, and occasionally iconoclastic resource especially recommended to the attention of conspiracy buffs.

In the late 1960's, the Hollywood producer Robert Evans premiered the movie "The President's Analyst". It was, in many ways the touchstone movie of that period. Edgy, subversive, with a sense of creeping paranoia, it was nevertheless a funny and enjoyable couple of hours.

Jumpcut to the subject of this review. Take out the funny and enjoyable part, and you get a very serious treatment of the seminal events of this very turbulent decade. The assassinations of John F Kennedy, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King and Robert F Kennedy are covered here in a series of expose's printed in Probe Magazine. The scope is ambitious. Collusive conspiracies are indicated in each of these events.

The lion's share of the book is devoted to the murder of JFK. The single bullet theory has been assailed for forty five years as of this writing. However, the authors go further than taking on this concept. They find that there were actually two Oswald's. One they call Lee, and one Harvey. This gets to be a stretch, as they trace them both back to their high school years, as if they were both born, bred and fated to play a crucial part in one of history's ultimate dramas.

Special animus is given to the establishment figures of the time, J. Edgar Hoover, Richard Helms, and the super-spook, James Angleton. Inconsistencies in the Warren Commission are detailed, and the findings of Jim Garrison, the New Orleans Prosecutor whose ideas Oliver Stone based many of the ideas from JFK on are applauded.

I found fault in the final chapter of the writing of the JFK portion in which they write about the assassination of JFK's character after he died. The author seems to find conspiracies in the fact that people wrote about his infidelities and recklessness, as if it never happened, and JFK was really an innocent who just liked the company of women to make small talk with. I think this argument took credibility away from the rest of the writing.

The most shocking subject was that regarding Robert F Kennedy. I had always believed that this was an open and shut case, with Sirhan Sirhan being a lone, deranged, Palestinian gunman. This book makes a convincing and eye-opening case that this was not the case. There were at least ten bullets fired, Bobby had four wounds, and Sirhan's gun only fired two shots. This is an appalling gap in what has been reported in mainstream news. There is the Manchurian Candidate angle presented here, which now looks astonishingly viable.

The treatise on Martin Luther King takes on a new light as well, given the information that his own family asked for a new trial for James Earl Ray, the convicted (presumably innocent) killer of the former. There is ample evidence of a large scale cover-up after the murder. The author's lose some credibility when they attempt to speculate on why the conspiracies and cover-ups occured. They would do better to merely present the facts, which they sometimes do. However, free press reigns, and they are entitled to their opinions.

However, there is shocking evidence of wide scale and well coordinated cover-ups and conspiracies here.

Malcolm X story is presented more as an informational timeline of the harrassment of him and his family, his falling out with the Nation of Islam leadership, and his premonition of his own death. There were five gunmen who killed him, but only one convicted.

At this writing (2008) there is a new re-examination of the the 1960's decade. Tom Brokaw's book "Boom" talks about the influence of the actions and political climate of the times, and today's leadership.

For anyone who wants a thought provoking, albeit dark look at this decade, this book is required reading.