Blood, Money & Power: How L.B.J. Killed J.F.K. [Hardcover]

Barr McClellan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2003

Inside details of assassination plot from former LBJ attorney.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

McClellan's overwrought conspiracy theory claims that Lyndon Johnson-motivated by power lust, fear of being dropped from the Kennedy ticket, and the need to cover up various scandals-masterminded Kennedy's assassination with the help of his evil "superlawyer" Ed Clark. But his evidence is meager and murky, even by the standards of Kennedy conspiracy scholarship. The main exhibit is a smudged partial fingerprint from Oswald's sniper's nest that may or may not belong to a Johnson associate, depending on which fingerprint expert you ask. Otherwise McClellan relies on what he heard during his years at Clark's law firm-e.g., a partner told him that Clark arranged the assassination-and the description of scenes in which a "a fixed stare," vague, unspoken understandings, and "code words" proved that Johnson and Clark were conspiring. Sample accusations include: "I knew Clark was admitting to the payoff for the assassination even though he never said he received a payoff for assassinating Kennedy...." The book offers many detailed accounts of conspiratorial meetings that turn out to be not fact but "faction" or "journalistic novelization"-that is, conjecture designed to distract readers from the lack of evidence. McClellan styles the assassination as the defeat of Camelot by Texas's sleazy nexus of dirty politicians, slick lawyers and oil money; the unmasking of Johnson, the personification of such back-room power politics, therefore promises a public "emotional purging" leading to the renewal of democracy. His confusingly structured, evasively argued, often nonsensical theories attest to the crime's continuing potency as a symbol of America's mythic heart of darkness. Photos.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

". . . Barr McClellan's insider's voice is a valuable addition to those who earnestly seek the truth of what really happened . . ." -- Nigel Turner, creator of "The Men Who Killed Kennedy" (Discovery Channel)

". . . President Lyndon B. Johnson ordered the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, according to . . . McClellan." -- The Atlanta Journal Constitution

". . . the book offers . . . proof that Edward A. Clark, . . . led the plan and cover-up for the 1963 assassination in Dallas." -- Dallas-Ft. Worth Star Telegram

"It's hard not to read this work and not shout 'Guilty as hell'." -- Walt Brown, editor of JFK / Deep Politics Magazine

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Hannover House (September 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0963784625
• ISBN-13: 978-0963784629
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (105 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #347,222 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #26 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( J ) > Johnson, Lyndon
  • #91 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( K ) > Kennedy, John F.

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

110 of 112 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A coup d'etat -- the murder of JFK by his vice-president LBJ, October 5, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Blood, Money & Power: How L.B.J. Killed J.F.K. (Hardcover)

I found this book to be utterly compelling, forgiving the "faction" sections in favor of the real facts presented. Barr McClellan, former attorney of Lyndon B. Johnson, steps forward and claims that LBJ assassinated JFK. The evidence better be good.

The key piece of evidence given is a latent fingerprint. It was taken from a box, possibly used as a sniper's mount, on the 6th Floor of the Texas Schoolbook Depository Building (TSDB) where Oswald allegedly shot at Kennedy.

But the fingerprint is not Oswald's.

An expert chosen by McClellan was shown the latent print with no prior knowledge of its context, and found that it matched a fingerprint on record for a Texan named Mac Wallace. The affidavit of this expert, Nathan Darby, is impressive, as are his credentials. Darby found a minimum of 14 matching points, whereas the FBI had inferior prints and far fewer matching points from the barrel of the gun Oswald ostensibly used. (Publishers Weekly, in their recent review, referred to this key latent print as a questionable "smudge," and devalued the book as a result. But on what basis? The reader should note that the Warren Commission took this latent print extremely seriously; so seriously that they circulated an internal memorandum among themselves -- exhibited in the book -- expressing "anxious" concern over it.) That memorandum and the latent fingerprint set the stage.

Together they are certainly worthy of examination -- and of a book, if the right links can be proven. That this book is written by Barr McClellan, Texas insider and former lawyer for Johnson, makes the potential all the more compelling. From behind the wall of the attorney-client privilege, the details come forward.

The question then becomes this:

If the latent print proves Mac Wallace was on the sixth floor of the TSDB, then what was Wallace's relationship to LBJ's inner circle?

Wallace, it turns out, was the lover of Josefa Johnson, LBJ's sister. Wallace murdered Douglas Kinser, her other lover, in a fit of rage. The trial was handled by LBJ's attorneys, Edward Clark and associates. (Clark, a Texas super-lawyer, was the kingmaker behind Johnson and the leader of their group. He made Barr McClellan the youngest partner in his law firm.)
Wallace was convicted of the murder, but walked away with a suspended sentence.

Soon after his conviction, Wallace was hired at LTV, a company owned by D.H Byrd, a player in Texas big oil.
Clark got him the job. It so happens that Byrd owned the Texas School Book Depository building.

The connections do not end there.

Read the book for the whole story. It's really worth the time. The chain of causation explaining Wallace's link to the Clark-LBJ inner circle is fascinating -- and very probably incriminating. The beginning of the text is a little circuitous, but McClellan hits his stride soon enough and lays the evidence bare. Walt Brown - a very good, solid JFK author and noted assassination expert -stands behind McClellan.

Bottom line for this reader: If Darby's 42 years as a fingerprint expert are valuable; and if the Warren Commission did not see this print as a "smudge," but as a key piece of evidence to be reckoned with - and they documented it as such -- then McClellan has some very real evidence and a strong case. See for yourself, I say. There is enough evidence presented in the book to enable careful readers to form an opinion of their own.

(Note: The details of LBJ's life are also compelling on their own. Here is a bio on him written by someone who represented his political and money interests.)

85 of 86 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Valenti pressures the History Channel, and proves the point!, April 7, 2004

By 

E. Parkinson "Film & Book VIP" (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Blood, Money & Power: How L.B.J. Killed J.F.K. (Hardcover)

Anyone questioning the veracity of Barr McClellan's information would be fully convinced after watching the embarassing job of back-peddaling that Jack Valenti and other powerful Johnson administration millionaires forced upon the History Channel in a rebuttal of November's broadcast of "the Guilty Men" documentary (based in part on some of the evidence in McClellan's insightful book). Three dubious "historians" were paid to rebut the evidence in McClellan's book and the History Channel documentary... but instead of dissecting any of McClellan's 68 exhibits of courtroom quality evidence, they chose instead to attack his character through complete falsehoods about McClellan's past. They glossed over McClellan's 14 years as a member of the Clark Law Firm (handling all of the legal, personal and professional business transactions for L.B.J.), and blatantly lied about the circumstances surrounding McClellan's departure from the firm and their attempts to discredit him with accusations (...)(which were fully dismissed and characterized as harrassing abuses of power by the Clark-Texas-Power mob). Now the Texas / Johnson apologists have pressured the History Channel to present a one-hour "discussion" about the facts presented in McClellan's book and the "Guilty Men" documentary. So why didn't they discuss the evidence? Could it be that it's easier to attack the messenger than disprove the obvious message? I've been ashamed of Johnson and his organized mob for decades... now I'm ashamed that the History Channel would succumb to the bullying of rich and powerful old men, all of whom made millions on the back of Johnson, and on the blood of our soldiers killed in Vietnam. Kudos to McClellan for not being intimidated by this old-generation of corrupt Texas politicians.

144 of 166 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible revelations!, October 21, 2003

By 

Sue M. Bruns "flying pig" (Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Blood, Money & Power: How L.B.J. Killed J.F.K. (Hardcover)

November 22, 1963: As a senior history major at The University or Texas, I was not a supporter of JFK nor was I interested in his scheduled visit to Austin later that day. Then the unthinkable occurred - the assassination of OUR President.

Fall, 1972: a history professor at Southwest Texas State (LBJ's college) loaned me a book to read concerning the Zapruder film. The Warren Commission was not really satisfactory, and after reading the book about the assassination and the "magic bullet" my doubts increased.

October, 2003: BLOOD, MONEY AND POWER - is this what really happened? Did LBJ kill JFK?? This book is an intriguing and disturbing presentation of that possiblity. There are incredible revelations made by the author, Barr McClellan. Names are named, events are detailed, and the motive (of course) is obvious. It's time to finally uncover the truth. No man is above the law. Let's "recall" LBJ's legacy through the proper legal channels to determine his guilt or innocence.

You don't have to be a conspiracy nut to read this book. It's a "good un".