Customer Reviews

The JFK Assassination: The Facts and Theories (Signet)

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First, it must be said that this book is misleadingly packaged. The cover copy promises a disinterested, comprehensive overview of the JFK assassination and all the competing theories of how it happened. Instead, it's a collection of essays, journalism, and reviews spanning two decades, covering the assassination in particular and secret government in general, written by a left-leaning political analyst who presents his own ideas and opinions (except for a truly perfunctory afterword entitled, all-too-aptly, "Round up the Usual Suspects").

As such, however, it is an excellent book. If you've never read Carl Oglesby, you should try him. His work is characterized by laser-like intelligence and crystalline, energetic writing. He is always a pleasure to read. If I had to characterize him in terms of better known writers, I'd call him a cross between Robert Christgau and Renata Adler (in terms of both content -- Christgau for politics, Adler for analytic ability -- and style).

This is an ideal starting place. After this, scramble to find a copy of The Yankee and Cowboy War, his major work. For me at least, the lack of a steadily accumulating body of work by Oglesby over the last two decades is a gap in our national intellectual life. With any luck, the Y2K coup will get him writing again.

As the leading civilian authority on the U.S. Secret Service (and President Kennedy's interaction with the agency), I was much interested in this book by Carl Oglesby. Oglesby is to be commended for a very well written and put together work. That said, it is a little dated, what with the advent of the ARRB and all the work that has come out in the last 15 years or so. Still, a decent book. Vince Palamara

I bought this on the advice of a JFK researcher and he said that this was one of those to get. You don't need this book. It offers nothing new. Not another perspective, no new info, nothing needed in reading this book. If you need some books, go with Jim Marrs' "Crossfire," Jim Garrison's "On the Trail of the Assassins," Gaeton Fonzi's "The Last Investigation" and Anthony Summers "Not in Your Lifetime." Those books draw it all together and offer a lot of first-hand knowledge.

This book is poorly written, not cohesive and offers nothing at all but another writer's outline of other writer's work. Who needs it?

This book addresses the issues from the Warren Commission to the theories at hand about "Who" killed Kennedy.

Several JFK conspiracy theorists I've talked to over the years seem to have fallen in love with the general idea that President Kennedy's assassin (Lee Harvey Oswald) could not have possibly shot JFK from a southeast corner window on the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository Building and then travelled across the length of that 6th Floor, hiding the rifle along the way, and then ran or walked down four flights of stairs in time to be seen by Dallas policeman Marrion L. Baker (who saw Oswald in the Depository's 2nd-Floor lunchroom approximately 90 seconds after the last of Oswald's three shots was fired at the President).

Conspiracy buffs like to occasionally drag the above argument out of their stale "CT" closet in order to buttress the theory that has Oswald being totally innocent of any wrong-doing on November 22nd, 1963 (the day of President Kennedy's assassination).

Unfortunately for the CTers who embrace the silly notion that Oswald's trip from the sixth to the second floor was "impossible" to accomplish in the allotted timeframe, the verifiable evidence proves that those conspiracy believers are 100% wrong when it comes to this aspect of the assassination timeline. Because it was easily a doable trek for Oswald, or anybody else with two legs who wasn't walking on crutches.

Here's why:

A.) Multiple re-creations were performed by the Warren Commission during its nearly ten-month investigation into JFK's murder which verify the fact that a trip from the "Sniper's Nest" window on the 6th Floor of the Book Depository to the building's 2nd-Floor lunchroom could be accomplished in less than 80 seconds (and without the person doing the re-creation being the slightest bit out of breath upon reaching his second-floor destination).

John J. Howlett, a Secret Service Agent, twice re-enacted Lee Oswald's probable post-shooting movements. It took Howlett 78 seconds on his first attempt and 74 seconds on his second (which was done at a slightly quicker pace, but not a "running" pace).

These re-enactments also included taking the time for Howlett to hide a rifle near the sixth-floor stairwell (which is where Oswald's rifle was found less than an hour after the shooting on 11/22/63). And Agent Howlett was not out of breath upon reaching the 2nd Floor on either of the re-constructions. ... "Howlett was not short-winded at the end of either test run." -- Quote from the Warren Report (Page 152).

Hence....

B.) Lee Harvey Oswald (whose legs were not in plaster casts on 11/22/63 the last time I checked on that) could most certainly have traversed the necessary distance in approximately that same amount of time.

Plus (and I think this is rather important too, but rarely, if ever, talked about)......

The Warren Commission did re-creations of Oswald's probable (alleged) movements AND Officer Baker's known 11/22 movements.

Now...let's put these two "re-created" scenarios together:

1.) SSA Howlett was able to ditch a rifle and then travel the required distance in an average of 76 seconds based on his two separate "run-throughs".

2.) Officer Baker was able to re-trace his steps from Elm Street to the second floor (where he saw Oswald) in an average of 82.5 seconds (covering two runs).

The difference in this "average" is 6.5 seconds. And it's in favor of Oswald getting to the second-floor lunchroom FIRST, which is also important -- because that's exactly what DID happen for real on 11/22/63 (based on the totality of the "best" evidence concerning the events of that day).

When put together, those 4 re-creations perfectly match the scenario which has Oswald on the 6th Floor at 12:30 PM, but in the 2nd-Floor lunchroom by approximately 12:31:30 PM.

The re-creations perfectly "line up" with one another...with Howlett (Oswald) getting to the lunchroom just SECONDS prior to Baker -- just exactly what would have happened if Oswald had shot President Kennedy and then scurried down those stairs to the lunchroom right after performing the murderous deed.

In fact, this "combined" bit of re-created "piecing together" of people's known and alleged movements further enhances the likelihood that the Warren Commission's version of Oswald's trip to the 2nd Floor is the truth. For, the Commission didn't just "make up" these re-created times.*

* = Or do some CTers think that Howlett's and Baker's re-created timelines are merely lies being spun by the WC? Many conspiracists think the entire 888-page Warren Report is full of nothing but lies and misrepresentations, so they probably also are of the unsupportable opinion that these re-creations are inaccurate as well.

But, IMO, there's no good enough reason to believe that the WC deliberately skewed any of the facts in their final report. Most CTers would laugh right in my face at having uttered that last pro-WC comment. But, my response to such laughter would be to say with glee: To Hell With The CT-Kooks!

I, myself, think it's about time for the assorted JFK Conspiracy Nuts to either "cook or get off the stove"! That is to say -- the kooks who cry "conspiracy" at the drop of a hat need to come up with a verifiable, logical, workable, believable, reasonable, and (above all) COHERENT conspiracy-slanted scenario to show once and for all -- shot-by-shot -- how John F. Kennedy was assassinated by more than one gunman in Dealey Plaza on November the 22nd, 1963.

Then the CT-Kooks need to accomplish the daunting task of telling the world (again in a believable, reasonable, and non-laughable fashion) just how in the heck those amazing "plotters" who cooked up such a multi-shooter assassination scheme were able to somehow get rid of every last scrap of "non-Oswald" (i.e., non-Rifle #C2766) bullet evidence so that only bullets and fragments and spent cartridges from Lee Harvey Oswald's weapons were found and placed into the official record of JFK's murder case (including the J.D. Tippit murder as well).

"The JFK Assassination: The Facts And The Theories" lays out many of the scenarios that have surrounded the John F. Kennedy murder case. And sometimes it's difficult indeed to separate "fact" from mere "theory" -- which is a big reason (IMO) why some of the crazy things purported in Oliver Stone's theory-riddled motion picture ("JFK") have seemingly sprouted legs since that movie burst onto the national scene in late 1991.

Many conspiracy theorists seem to possess the following attitude --- Well, you can't PROVE that Oswald didn't have some accomplices on 11/22/63, so I (as a conspiracy believer) get to believe any theory I please, no matter how stupid it is -- such as the Oliver Stone "3-Shooter, 6-Shot, 1-Patsy" theory, which has a trio of gunmen firing at John Kennedy while at the SAME time these idiot plotters were attempting to frame a LONE PATSY named Oswald for the death of the President. (Can theories GET more lamebrained than that one? If so, please tell me how?)

The Lone-Assassin (Oswald) scenario makes infinitely more coherent sense than any of the piecemeal, scattershot conspiracy theories that have been splashed up against the wall in random, unconnected fashion since 1963 (including Oliver Stone's absurd theories that somehow made it to the movie screen).

And my JFK essays and comments (which are available via the "Web Page" link that can be found on my Amazon Profile page) provide many more reasons for why I am of the opinion that all conspiracy theories relating to the assassination of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy should be flushed down the nearest porcelain bowl.