Customer Reviews

JFK Myths: A Scientific Investigation of the Kennedy Assassination

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I like this book quite a bit. It is the best book on the technical aspects of this case.

On the whole, I think he provides a scenario with some minor improvements over Gerald Posner's "Case Closed" scenario. It does make more sense to me if James Tague was wounded from a fragment from the third and final shot, if only because the sixth floor window, the position of the limousine at frame 313 and James Tague form a pretty straight line on a map, all that's needed is to have a fragment deflected slightly upwards and to the right to reach Mr. Tague. More importantly, Mr. Sturdivan makes a good case that the first bullet was probably fired too soon to have hit the tree. Using the "Jiggle Analysis" pins down the timing of the shots more accurately, I think.

"The JFK Myths" is a scientific analysis of the evidence in the JFK assassination. As such it is a very different type of book than Gerald Posner's "Case Closed." One here will learn little about the psychology and motive of the participants but it is without a doubt, in its marshaling of evidence, a more convincing book than the vast majority of other books with a non-conspiracy thesis. No one reading "The JFK Myths" with an open mind can conclude other than that there was only one single gunman, Lee Harvey Oswald, who acted alone and unaided.

So why do so many people believe that there was a conspiracy in the assassination of President Kennedy? While there are a fair share of loons attracted to this case the questions most ask are legitimate. How could a bullet have gone through both Kennedy and Connally and come out only slightly deformed? Why did certain witnesses believe that the shots came from the grassy knoll? Why did the President's head move violently back and to the left instead of forward when it was hit? Sturdivan convincingly answers all of these questions and more.

The author takes us through the importance of understanding velocity and density when discussing bullet deformation. As the single bullet went through JFK and Connally it tumbled and lost velocity so that by the time it hit Connally's rib it was moving at a decreased speed capable of shattering bone but only slightly deforming the bullet. By the time it hit the wrist it had even less velocity. Sturdivan also takes on the myth that a bullet has the energy needed to violently push back a person's head. He discusses the experiments which prove JFK's head movement was neuro-muscular in nature.

Sturdivan argues that a close study of the Zapruder film locates the three shots at frames Z-152/53. 221/222. and 312. He does this on the basis of a jiggle analysis of the film and the recognition that there is a five to six frame lapse between the time of the shots and Zapruder's startled reactions. Contrary to conspiracy narratives that postulate a much shorter timeframe, the assassin had almost nine seconds to aim and fire twice after the first shot. The large jiggle that begins at Z-190 has often been used as evidence of a shot by a second assassin since Oswald's view from the Texas Schoolbook Despository at the time was blocked by a tree but Sturdivan convincingly argues that a reaction at 190 would have to have originated from a shot fired a few frames earlier. Neither JFK or Connally show any reaction to a bullet at that time. The jiggle at 190 is thus a tracking error caused by the fact that the limousine just then disappears behind the signpost. A first missed shot at Z-152/153 fits in perfectly with the reactions and testimony of Connally and Rosemary Willis, the little girl in the red dress. The bulge in Governor Connally's lapel at frame-224 also corresponds to a shot at 221-222 because a bulge in clothing would peak two frames *after* the bullet hit.

The most interesting part of the book for me was the author's defense of the original autopsy pathologists' location of the fatal wound of entrance four inches below where the entrance wound was placed by the Clark Panel (1968), the Rockefeller Commission (1975) and the HSCA Forensic Pathology Panel (1978). He believes that their error was based on a misinterpretation of the X-rays and the erroneous belief that the point of exit would extend from a straight line from the point of entrance. Rather, Sturdivan argues that the bullet entered lower in the back of the skull and then underwent a curved trajectory where is burst out in pieces higher up the front side of the skull. Pieces of the bullet fragments then hit the windshield while one fragment left the car to slightly injure citizen Jim Tague.

One of my criticisms of Gerald Posner's "Case Closed" is that Posner has a habit of only going after the kookier conspiracy theorists like Jim Garrison or Jim Marrs. Sturdivan, on the other hand, seems much more familiar with the more convincing conspiracy arguments and disproves them one by one. Heard the one that says the bullet fragments tested by the HSCA did not match the weight of the fragments as originally measured during the time of the Warren Commission? Sturdivan has, too, and discusses it. What about that impossible theory postulated by Harold Weisberg and Cyril Wecht that JFK was hit in the head by a frangible bullet at the same exact time as he was hit in the back of the head? That's covered, too. With the single exception of Vincent Bugliosi's "Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy," Larry M. Sturdivan's "The JFK Myths: A Scientific Investigation of the Kennedy Assassination" is the best book on the topic that I have read. Once you have finished reading it you will be certain that the mysteries of this case have been resolved.

This book was a really good read and proved to me that Lee Harvey Oswald was the lone shooter in Dealy Plaza that day. The Author is very knowledgable in the subject matter and explains in details how the "magic bullet" was not magic at all but a bullet which followed the laws of physics.

Before reading this book, I was not sure if there were other shooters in Dealy Plaza. I visited the site this summer on Vacation and could see where the other shooters could have been located. If you look at the film, without understanding how the bullets deform and cause injuries after thier first impact then I can see why you would think there was another shooter. But the author does a very good job of proving that the shots fired from the Texas School Book Depository can and did cause all of the injuries and reactions from the president and governor.

However, the book does not go into great detail about why Oswald did it (we may never know, thanks to Jack Ruby) and why Jack Ruby killed Oswald. Although, I do think that Oswald was a lone nut, the book does not prove that Oswald was not either part of a larger conspiracy or working for someone else.

This is an excellent book, written by an expert who knows his subject. As someone who has read a fair few books on the Kennedy assassination, from 'both sides' of the conspiracy debate, I found this book to be hard on facts and relatively short on supposition. The author explains (convincingly, to me at least) why JFK's head would have moved backwards even if he was shot from behind, and the 'jiggle' analysis of the Zapruder film was very convincing regarding the alleged shot(s) from the Grassy Knoll.

Mr.Sturdivan's tour de force is a pure zephyr of steel-trap clarity in the blow-hard blunderbuss fallout of the JFK conspiracy community that has captured the tabloid imagination of the country for too many years. Simply by sticking to the evidence and looking at the causal constellation indicated by the evidence, Mr. Sturdivan has shown to any but the most aberrant naysayer, that the Warren Commission got the case just about right. His analysis of the physical evidence rules out most of the shrill rantings of the "assassination researchers" lo these last forty years. As is obvious to anyone who has looked at the evidence without paranoia, mistrust of government, low levels of expertise, or psychologically impaired levels of analytic perspicacity, the author has exploded the puffery and petti-foggery of most conspiracy books which have raised almost everything under the sun except the relevant causal features of the case. Mr. Sturdivan's command of the science successfully eliminates spurious criticism of the Warren findings by a boisterous community unwilling or unable to separate their own psyches from the real world objects crying out for calm analysis.

Anyone who wants to understand the JFK assassination at the physical level and who wants to see what can be said given the physical constraints of the evidence, would be well served to buy this book immediately and read it.

This author was there for all the important points in the investigation from 11/22/63 to the HSCA to today. For the conspiracy minded, this will negate everything he writes. But for rational thinkers, this adds a much appreciated insight to his analysis.

Don't be put off by the reviews that compare his writing to Jed Clampett. Indeed, if you were weaned on the purple prose of conspiracy lit, this book will seem harse and direct. But if you love good science, this is the one for you.

One story illustrates the value of this book. When asked if a Carcano bullet would be deformed by hitting wood, Dr. Wecht answers to the HSC panel that it could. The panel member drops the bullet from a height of four feet onto a wood table - no deformation - dent in the table. Reminded me of Richard Feynman and the frozen shuttle O-Ring; so much common sense in a very simple demonstration.

So, yes indeed, the velocity of the bullet will be a pretty big factor in how much damage it takes at different points in it's flight. The deceleration of that bullet from super-sonic to zero in under ten feet is a miniature timeline that is just as critical to understand as the timeline of the entire day.

Also a nice discussion of the acoustics of bullets.

There must surely be a conspiracy to not review this book favourably ! It is outstanding and one of the very best on this subject.
Several of the more recent books on the JFK assassination have been written by legal, ballistics and medical experts rather than journalists seeking fame and fortune. For that reason much that was considered as conspiracy "gospel" in this case has been debunked in recent years. Mr. Sturdivan is an expert in his field and his conclusions come with a weight and persuasion that leaves the competition from the pro conspiracy side of the fence literally standing.
I have read over 300 books on this subject, I used to believe in a conspiracy and still take an active interest in the subject. This book was the one that finally convinced me that all the shots were fired from above and behind and that they were fired by Oswald. Forget the grassy knoll - it's a huge red herring. Concentrate on the best evidence - the film, medical and ballistics. Read this book and put the case to rest.

By now (late 2005), whatever the vaguely pictured beliefs held by the general public about the JFK assassination, history has largely consigned the multiple-gunman claims to the corner, there to wear a dunce cap and think about the difference between good, better, and best evidence.

Larry Sturdivan is a very good writer and an even better scientist and critical thinker. He is one of the very few people who have written books about this case who is qualified to evaulate the evidence with CSI-type expert eyes.

Mr. Sturdivan's evaluation is that there was only one gunman in Dallas that day, and if that gunman was not Lee Harvey Oswald, someone's got some 'splaining to do.

Although the basics of the tragic and heartbreaking story are familiar to we oldsters, "JFK Myths" presents the story in a way that fairly shoves the scales from one's eyes. Without trying, Mr. Sturdivan shows us what it means to gather and critically evaluate evidence.

If you like your true crime stories more true than false, this is the JFK book for you. When you finish, you will understand what happened to President Kennedy and Governor Connally, without silliness (e.g. faked Zapruder films), impossibilities (fatal gunshot wounds to the head that leave no trace of evidence behind) or other such historical impedimenta.

It is a superb book and if you like nonfiction that emphasizes the 'non' this is a book for you.

Anyone who has spent any amount of time investigating this fascinating case knows that physical evidence trumps conjector, supposition, and myth everytime. This is one of the few books that tackles the complexties of the physical evidence in the JFK assassination with authority and lays bare the myth-making that has become a cottage industry for over forty years.

Author Larry M. Sturdivan, a wound ballistic expert who testified before the 1978 House Select Committee on Assassinations, has written a sterling volume filled with the kind of scientific insight and common sense that many books about the Kennedy murder lack. Sturdivan's credentials are impeccable and his approach to understanding the truth about what happened in Dallas fresh and innovative.

This book is required reading for anyone professing to know what really happened in Dealey Plaza or for anyone wishing to delve into the Kennedy case without wading through the myriad of works promoting myths and falsehoods.

Includes nearly 70 clear and easy to understand illustrations, 15 charts, 5 appendices, bibliography, and index.

A wealth of information for the scientific mind.

The conspiracy crowd has had a field day promoting myth and fantasy about the Kennedy assassination for more than four decades. Larry Sturdivan's "The JFK Myths" drives a stake through the heart of their rantings. No doubt many of their followers will post negative reviews here to discourage you from learning the truth.

I am proud to have made available several illustrations from my Emmy award-winning computer generated reconstruction of the JFK assassination (featured in the 2003 ABC News Special, Peter Jennings Reporting: The Kennedy Assassination - Beyond Conspiracy) for this important book.

I recommend it highly.

The good news: the book deals with the evidence. It doesn't try and bs you that the Warren Commission and the HSCA were right about everything.

The bad news: Sturdivan reaches too many times, trying to prove that Oswald did it after all. For example, he says that the trail of fragments on the x-rays were fragments from a lower trajectory through the skull, but that these fragments blew upwards with the blood when the skull exploded from a temporary cavity. A couple of problems with this. Fragmenting bullets focus the energy around the permanent cavities of the fragments and thus there is no large temporary cavity. This also disregards that Kennedy lay on his back for seven hours before the x-rays. Shouldn't some of these fragments, which are reputed to have lodged in area where there was no brain, have slid towards the back of the head?

FWIW, I concluded the fragments were in fact on the outside of Kennedy's skull. For an alternate take on the evidence:

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