Case Closed: Lee Harvey Oswald and the Assassination of JFK [Hardcover]

Gerald Posner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 31, 1993

The assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, continues to inspire interest ranging from well-meaning speculation to bizarre conspiracy theories and controversial filmmaking. But in this landmark book, reissued with a new afterword for the 40th anniversary of the assassination, Gerald Posner examines all of the available evidence and reaches the only possible conclusion: Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. There was no second gunman on the grassy knoll. The CIA was not involved. And although more than four million pages of documents have been released since Posner first made his case, they have served only to corroborate his findings. Case Closed remains the classic account against which all books about JFK’s death must be measured.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Posner, a lawyer and investigative reporter ( Mengele ), has set himself a major task here and brought it off with considerable panache. In the face of a multitude of assassination books propounding dozens of theories, all of them critical of the lone-assassin/no-conspiracy case, he has come out square for Oswald as the sole culprit. Posner propounds--and offers good evidence for--just three shots, all from Oswald in the Book Depository, and spends nearly half the book on a closely detailed examination of the life of that unhappy and, he claims, ultimately paranoid young man. He also scrutinizes every minute of the time Jack Ruby spent between the assassination and the moment he shot Oswald in the police garage, and cannot find that Ruby's act was other than an outburst of spur-of-the-moment rage born of unexpected opportunity. Posner does not ride, testy and rough-shod, over objections , as lesser proponents of Warren Commission orthodoxy do. He scrutinizes many of the conspiracy theories and theorists carefully, sometimes even with respect, but inevitably finds them wanting. If someone has changed his or her story later (as many witnesses did), he tends to give more credence to their first impressions, before the conspiracy theories tempted them to doubt themselves. And in many cases--perhaps too many--he finds that people whose stories have been widely relied upon by writers are mistaken about time or place, crazy, delusional or otherwise unreliable. About New Orleans D.A. Jim Garrison, the hero of the movie JFK , he is merciless, laying out an endless trail of his lies and exaggerations. Posner is occasionally critical of the Warren Commission and the later House Select Committee investigations, but makes extensive use of their findings, adding to them much recent expert testimony--and technological enhancements of visual and auditory material--to which they did not have access. While not exculpating the FBI or the Dallas Police for their erratic work and lack of cooperation, he casts no suspicion on them, or upon the CIA (whose statements he seems to accept uncritically), for possible involvement in, or foreknowledge of, the crime; and he does not even try to explain why a motorcade so bereft of elementary security precautions was allowed to proceed. Still, this is a painstaking and remarkably thorough presentation of what has become an utterly unfashionable approach. There are extensive notes on sources, and some innovative and helpful graphic reconstructions of the shooting scene and the shots. First serial to U.S. News and World Report.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The majority of books written on the assassination of John F. Kennedy focus on the various conspiracy theories. This audiobook, based on a critically acclaimed book by a former Wall Street lawyer, uses hard evidence and interviews to show that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone and that none of the conspiracy theories hold any weight. Posner reads his own material, and his voice grates on the listener; however, as the story progresses, the listener has no choice but to forget the narrator and become wrapped up in the unfolding details. This recording should find a home in all public libraries where there is an interest in Kennedy and the assassination.
- Danna C. Bell-Russel, Marymount Univ. Libs., Arlington, Va.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 607 pages
• Publisher: Random House; 1st edition (August 31, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679418253
• ISBN-13: 978-0679418252
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (339 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #261,606 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John Martin of ABC News says "Gerald Posner is one of the most resourceful investigators I have encountered in thirty years of journalism." Garry Wills calls Posner "a superb investigative reporter," while the Los Angeles Times dubs him "a classic-style investigative journalist." "His work is painstakingly honest journalism" concluded The Washington Post. The New York Times lauded his "exhaustive research techniques" and The Boston Globe determined Posner is "an investigative journalist whose work is marked by his thorough and meticulous research." "A resourceful investigator and skillful writer," says The Dallas Morning News.

Posner was one of the youngest attorneys (23) ever hired by the Wall Street law firm of Cravath, Swaine & Moore. A Phi Beta Kappa and Summa Cum Laude graduate of the University of California at Berkeley (1975), he was an Honors Graduate of Hastings Law School (1978), where he served as the Associate Executive Editor for the Law Review. Of counsel to the law firm he founded, Posner and Ferrara, he is now a full time journalist and author.

He is the Chief Investigative Reporter for the Daily Beast (www.thedailybeast/author/gerald-posner). In the past, he was a freelance writer on investigative issues for several news magazines, and a regular contributor to NBC, the History Channel, CNN, FOX News, CBS, and MSNBC. A member of the National Advisory Board of the National Writers Union, Posner is also a member of the Authors Guild, PEN, The Committee to Protect Journalists, and Phi Beta Kappa. He lives in Miami Beach with his wife, author, Trisha Posner, who works on all his projects (www.trishaposner.com).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A strong argument, but it doesn't "close the case"..., December 7, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Case Closed (Paperback)

There have been several books published in recent years which argue that the Warren Commission's infamous "lone gunman" theory is correct, and that Lee Harvey Oswald, acting alone, did assassinate President John F. Kennedy. However, "Case Closed" by Gerald Posner is easily the best and most reliable of these "anti-conspiracy" books. Posner offers devastating arguments against many of the "loonier" conspiracy theories - such as that Lyndon Johnson or FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover murdered JFK. He also presents detailed arguments against many of the more "respectable" conspiracy theories, such as that Kennedy was killed by the Mafia or by Anti-Castro zealots who were angry at JFK for "abandoning" them during their CIA-sponsored Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in 1961. However, I don't believe that Posner has completely "closed the case" on the JFK assassination, and I doubt that anyone will ever solve the case to the complete satisfaction of most people. If you are going to read this book (and I would highly recommend it), then I would also strongly suggest that you read one of the more credible "pro-conspiracy" books for balance, as there are always two sides to every story. In my opinion, the two best "pro-conspiracy" books are Josiah Thompson's "Six Seconds in Dallas", which is respected even by Posner and most defenders of the Warren Commission; and Anthony Summers's "Not In Your Lifetime". This book was originally published in 1980 as "Conspiracy", and it received rave reviews by such prestigious publications as Newsweek, The New York Times, and The Washington Post, and former JFK aides such as Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. praised it. In "Case Closed" Posner made several stinging criticisms of "Conspiracy", so Summers responded by writing a completely revised and updated version in 1998 (with the new title) in which he offered detailed rebuttals to Posner's criticisms, as well as making his own criticisms of Posner's statements. I'm not saying that I fully agree with these "pro-conspiracy" books either - I just believe that if you read them, as well as "Case Closed", then you'll have seen the best and most credible arguments for and against a conspiracy to assassinate President Kennedy. As for my own personal beliefs, some fifteen to twenty years ago I was convinced that there was a conspiracy, but over the years I have come to believe that it is entirely plausible that Oswald could have killed JFK all by himself, and that the "lone gunman" theory is credible. However, I also believe that there are still enough unanswered questions about the assassination that there will always be some legitimate doubt about whether there was another gunman, and that we'll never be able to state with total finality that the murder of JFK is "case closed". Bottom line: Posner's "Case Closed" is a detailed, well-written and persuasive argument for the "lone gunman" theory - but make sure that you get the "other side" of the story and read some credible "pro-conspiracy" books before you make a final decision about whether or not there was a conspiracy to kill John F. Kennedy.

71 of 90 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good overview of the evidence, but has its faults, March 23, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Case Closed: Lee Harvey Oswald and the Assassination of JFK (Paperback)

I've read about 15 books on JFK's assassination, both pro- and anti-conspiracy. I would say that Case Closed presents the most comprehensive overview of all the evidence that implicates Lee Harvey Oswald. However, there really isn't much *new* evidence presented, although that's what the book's editorial reviews say. The real value of _Case Closed_ is that Posner picks from works such as the Warren Commission, HSCA report, the experiments and observations of John Lattimer, etc., and summarizes these into one volume. He supplements those with some interviews he conducted with some of the players (for example, some of the ER doctors who attended to JFK, Jack Ruby's brother, the Soviet official who dealt with Oswald's case, Michael Baden, etc.). On the negative side, Posner does tend to summarily discount witnesses whose stories don't support his lone-assassin thesis, such as Silvia Odio. Also, he writes about several witnesses whose recollections support his theory on what happened to Oswald's first shot, but doesn't mention others whose Warren-Commission testimony would contradict his theory. I rate this book four stars, because it does present some good evidence that conspiracy books never mention and refutes many of the most common conspiracy canards. It's also very well written. I couldn't put it down the first time I read it. If you were going to read only one book on the lone-assassin side, I'd recommend this one. However, there are several other lone-assassin books that treat specific aspects of the JFK assassination better than did Posner. For a look into Oswald's possible motive, _Oswald's Game_ is excellent. A good interpretation of the medical evidence is given in _Kennedy and Lincoln_. _Case Closed_ is great if you just want a broad overview of the evidence against Oswald and have the time to read just one book.

24 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great intro to JFK assassination, December 30, 2007

By 

C. Ayars "Knowledge Seeker" (Newark, DE) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Case Closed (Paperback)

My search for JFK assassination material began when I booked a trip to Dallas for a football game. I really didn't have any preconceived notions on whether the assassination was a conspiracy or not. I simply wanted to educate myself on what I would be looking at when I visited the Dallas School Book Depository. After reviewing most of the well known theories on wikipedia.com, I decided to purchase a book that went into depth on why Oswald acted along.

"Case Closed" does a good job giving the reader an insight on what Lee Harvey Oswald was all about. It also goes in depth on the background of Jack Ruby. Most impressively, Posner does a fantastic job citing where and how his information was obtained.

When I finally got the the sixth floor of the Depository, I quickly came to the conclusion that the shot from the window was not a difficult shot to make (esp in 3 attempts). I also made a point to go down to the grassy knoll. I couldn't help but think to myself, "the grassy knoll sure is close to location where the president was shot. If the shots came from there how could not everyone notice?"

What sealed the deal for me was watching the assassination on youtube.com. One can clearly see that when the second shot is fired, both the President and Governor react as if they have been hit at the same time. You have to ask yourself, if it wasn't a "single bullet" that hit them both, what is the probability that a conspirator(s) could make it appear as if it were a single shot?

In my opinion, if Jack Ruby hadn't shot Oswald, there would be no conspiracies.