Praise from a Future Generation: The Assassination of John F. Kennedy and the First Generation Critics of the Warren Report [Hardcover]

John Kelin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2007

Finely written and meticulously documented, this book describes how—very early on—a small group of ordinary citizens began extraordinary efforts to demonstrate that the JFK assassination could not have happened the way the government said it did. In time, their efforts had an enormous impact on public opinion, but this account concentrates on the months before the controversy caught fire, when people with skeptical viewpoints still saw themselves as lone voices. Material seldom seen by the public includes a suppressed photograph of the grassy knoll, an unpublished 1964 interview with an eyewitness, the earliest mention of the "magic bullet," and an analysis of the commotion surrounding New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison's charge that anti-Castro CIA operatives were involved. 

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

For more than 40 years, a small band of self-anointed investigators have made a cottage industry out of critiquing the Warren Commission Report on the assassination of JFK and postulating elaborate theories associated with that tragedy. Kelin—one of the second generation of critics and the founder of the JFK assassination Web magazine Fair Play—pays homage to the first generation who, unlike craven mainstream historians, he says, refused to buckle under the most subversive lies ever told the American people. Kelin explores in detail the work of a parade of investigators, including prosecutor Jim Garrison (immortalized in Oliver Stone's controversial film JFK); Rush to Judgment author Mark Lane; smalltown newspaper editor Penn Jones Jr. (who made a specialty of investigating the strange deaths of assassination witnesses over the course of several decades), and poultry farmer and Whitewash author Harold Weisberg. The book retreads the familiar territory of the Zapruder film and the grassy knoll and concludes with this year's revelation of the existence of another film of the assassination, taken by a spectator. If Vincent Bugliosi thought his mammoth Reclaiming History would put an end to this debate, Kelin is determined to prove him wrong. (Oct.)
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Review

"Kelin shows us how a small band of average Americans, through relentless dedication, perseverance, and a tireless pursuit of truth, permanently altered the consciousness of a nation."  —James DiEugenio, author, Destiny Betrayed

"In his fine account of this endeavor by [a] tiny band of researchers, [Kelin] preserves that which would otherwise have been lost forever."  —Vincent J. Salandria, author, False Mystery: Essays on the Assassination of JFK

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 608 pages
• Publisher: Wings Press (October 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0916727327
• ISBN-13: 978-0916727321
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 1.8 x 9.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,092,360 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 41 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars At Last! October 22, 2007

By Steven M. Martin

Format:Hardcover

John Kelin's book, "Praise from a Future Generation," does what no other book on JFK's assassination has done before. For the first time, the story of those first brave few who dared challenge the official findings of the Warren Commission has been told. They were ordinary citizens: lawyers, housewives, reporters. Together, however, they managed to change they way an entire nation percieved those bloody days in November, 1963. Kelin's research is extraordinary, his storytelling equally skilled. Whether you see yourself as an expert on the Kennedy murder or just an interested novice, this book is a historical must!

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Impressive January 8, 2008

By Doug Weldon

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I have read over 500 books on the Kennedy assassination and have been involved with this for thirty years and I have met some of the individuals in this book. Even absent my interest in the assasination, this is one of the finest books on any subject that I have ever read. The writing is superb and the organization is outstanding. This is a book that merits being on top of the best seller list. As I work on a book on this topic, it places in perspective the fact that truth is not determined by consensus, but is determined by its own virtues. These people never forgot that meaning. Any step one makes towards truth can only come from standing on the shoulders of many giants. The people in this book were such giants. Thanks to the author (who I have not met)for offering this gem.

Doug Weldon

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent work! January 17, 2008

By Thomas M. Durham

Format:Hardcover

This is a very fine effort that deserves the attention of a vast audience. It is well referenced and sourced. Of the many JFK books, this one ranks very high. Most knowledgeable JFK researchers will know of the early Warren Commission critics covered within the work, and the battles they fought, but Mr. Kelin also introduces the little known Oklahoma housewife, Shirley Martin. Mrs. Martin loaded her car with her children in 1964 and headed for Dallas, interviewing many JFK witnesses even before the Warren Commission. What a woman!