The Killing of Robert F. Kennedy: An Investigation of Motive, Means, and Opportunity [Hardcover]

Dan E. Moldea (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1995

On June 5, 1968, Robert F. Kennedy was shot and killed, stunning a nation still recovering from JFK's assassination five years before. Officials insisted it was an open-and-shut case--Sirhan Sirhan acted alone. This book reveals Moldea's crusade to uncover the truth, turning the supposedly closed case inside out to discover the probablity of a second gunman.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The 1968 slaying of Kennedy in a Los Angeles hotel kitchen has never achieved anything like the legendary quality-or the bibliography-of his brother's assassination; there have always, however, been unbelievers in Sirhan Sirhan, still serving time for the killing, as the lone gunman he seemed to be. Moldea (probably best known in the book world as the author who unsuccessfully sued the New York Times over a review) is one of them, and has done an extremely painstaking investigative job of showing why. For one thing, Kennedy appeared to have been shot at point-blank range from behind, and witnesses saw Sirhan shoot from several feet in front. For another, his gun held only eight bullets, all apparently accounted for by the wounds in Kennedy and others-yet there was evidence that other bullet holes were found in the walls and doors of the kitchen. The Los Angeles Police Department hardly helped deflect suspicions by destroying some evidence and by being generally defensive. Moldea's account of all this, and of his many exclusive interviews and carefully pursued leads-he gave a polygraph test to a security guard who was also a possible suspect, and interviewed Sirhan in jail-is highly readable, often exciting. His concluding chapter-which we feel constrained not to reveal-though cogent and believable in itself, offers a distinct sense of letdown. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

From the one author with the guts to sue the New York Times Book Review.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: W W Norton & Co Inc; 1st edition (June 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393037916
• ISBN-13: 978-0393037913
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,144,018 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

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23 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A disappointing finish, September 26, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Killing of Robert F. Kennedy: An Investigation of Motive, Means, and Opportunity (Hardcover)

This book begins as a fascinating saga of a rational man dedicated to determining the truth of Robert F. Kennedy's assassination. It develops into a real-life detective thriller, posing many provocative questions that challenge the official theory that Sirhan Sirhan acted alone.

Then, inexiplicably and incredibly, the author finishes his account with an assertion that Sirhan DID act alone, based only on his 3rd conversation with Sirhan, who evidently is no role-model for sound-mindedness. Mr. Moldea appears to just "give up" at this point, and offers only vague "explanations" as to why he resigns himself to Sirhan's complete responsibility for the assassination. What haunts the reader here is that the author's formerly penetrating, precise methodolgy DISAPPEARS, and we are abandoned to an implausible dismissal of the woman in the polka-dot dress and her companion (Mr. Moldea now asserts that he doesn't believe any of that now, though he certainly made a convincing case earlier in this book). Mr. Moldea then offers an embarrassingly weak theory of how Sirhan could have gotten to within 2 inches of RFK, after virtually proving -earlier in this book- that this was impossible!. Finally, the author too easily absolves Thane Eugene Cesar complicity in RFK's murder, largely on the basis of a polygraph (so-called "lie detector") examination, administered many years after the event. Polygraph "tests" are hardly reliable, as their inadmissability in court demonstrates. Mr. Moldea's entire book COLLAPSES as he contradicts himself on the "more than 8 bullets" evidence and other previously-presented indications of others' involvement in the assassination. I read this volume late into the night, only to be profoundly disappointed by the author's sudden change of character. His almost bizarre, bland ending must be the reason that this hardcover book is now available on bargain shelves for around $4.00. Readers desiring a sincere effort to investigate RFK's tragic death will need to consult other authors than Dan E. Moldea!

30 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Wasted Time, August 20, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Killing of Robert F. Kennedy: An Investigation of Motive, Means, and Opportunity (Paperback)

Moldea writes 304 pages explaining the problems such as coroners finding that RFK was shot from the right rear, more shots fired than Sirhan's gun held, etc., etc.

Then in the last chapter he concludes that Sirhan acted alone and fired the shots that killed RFK. He doesn't give any new evidence to support this claim. Oh, he charges the LAPD with botching every aspect of the case but says they got it right for the wrong reasons.

Don't waste your time on this book. If you support the original findings you won't like the charges of incompetence. If you are looking for a book to support a second gunman theory this isn't it.

21 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Somewhat Disappointing, March 30, 2000

By 

James S. MacDuff (Victor, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Killing of Robert F. Kennedy: An Investigation of Motive, Means, and Opportunity (Paperback)

My first adventure in investigative journalism, I was immediately captivated by the beginning: cast of characters, general overviews, and the excitement that, based on the overview of how the book was to go, it was worth reading. The material was well written in that Mr. Moldea went into fine and captivating detail asto what the investigators were thinking, what EVERYONE was thinking. I was a little suspicious of the passage where he describes visiting with Sirhan Sirhan, and given the result of the encounter, maybe made the author a little biased asto how his investigation would lead to. The ending left me in a completely different place, where I believe the author's evidence lead me to. His conclusions were not anything I had agreed with. I feel he made the evidence ultimately fit the official version of the tragic downfall of RFK that fateful June evening in 1968.