Reasonable Doubt: An Investigation into the Assassination of John F. Kennedy [Hardcover]

Henry Hurt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1986

A thorough, objective, well-documented study of the Kennedy assassination. 48 black-and-white photographs.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Investigative reporter Hurt here assembles an overview of evidence, circumstance and theory about the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963. In addition to reviewing the eight official inquiries and the various conspiracy theories, he minutely examines seemingly outlandish notions, such as the involvement of a Lee Harvey Oswald impostor in a Cuban conspiracy. The latter theory does not seem so outlandish after he produces a likely candidate and a witness whose testimony, though "terribly sullied," provides an abundance of plausible detail. Hurt builds a powerful case that Oswald did not kill the president or police officer J. D. Tippitt, and that he was the "patsy" he called himself shortly before Jack Ruby shot him to death. The prose is a bit breathless at timesHurt refers to the crime of the century, the autopsy of the century, etc.but after reading this book, few readers will doubt that the circumstances surrounding Kennedy's assassination remain among the mysteries of modern times, or that the components of that mystery are laid out with notable clarity here. Photos. January 27
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Except for confirmed Kennedy assassination freaks, most readers will approach yet another study of that killing with mixed feelings. In a well-researched work, as this appears to be, the story does not lose but gains in murkiness and contradiction. Hurt highlights problemsthe apparently flawed FBI investigation, the botched autopsy (with a glance at David Lifton's work, Best Evidence, LJ 4/1/81), the role of organized crime (see G. Robert Blakey and Richard Billings, The Plot To Kill the President , LJ 2/15/81), the role of the CIA, etc.and to that extent he helps. He claims to have found and interviewed at length a minor participant in the larger conspiracy and this claim may well set the issue off again. Thus, Hurt provides no new grand theories, but plenty of purportedly new evidence and intricate reasoning. Henry Steck, Political Science Dept., SUNY Coll. at Cortland
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 555 pages
• Publisher: Holt, Rinehart & Winston; 1St Edition edition (January 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0030040590
• ISBN-13: 978-0030040597
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #554,219 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For those who want to know more..., May 9, 2003

By 

Jefferson T. Packer (Taos, NM) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Reasonable Doubt: An Investigation into the Assassination of John F. Kennedy (Paperback)

Perhaps your interest in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy was piqued by the Oliver Stone Film "JFK." Maybe you are an American History buff who wants to know more about one of the most terrible moments in the 20th century. Maybe you are just tired of listening to so-called "conspiracy theorists" and want to go straight to their sources to find out just how nuts they really are. No matter where you are coming from, you are in for more than you bargained for with this book.

In a nutshell, this book sets out to prove that a President of the United States was murdered by a conspiracy that involved the military industrial complex, organized crime and the CIA, along with disgruntled Cuban expatriots who were enraged at JFK for his handling of the Bay of Pigs. It also attempts to prove that this conspiracy was covered up by an amazing level of cooperation between various people and organizations who all had a reason to want President Kennedy dead. It seeks to show that the most powerful of these groups, was the group made up of all those who wanted, indeed needed, a war in Vietnam. It seeks to show that President Kennedy was murdered because he was committed to having all U.S. military forces out of Vietnam by 1965.

If, after reading this, you still have the stomach to venture into this nightmarish theory, you will find a well-reasoned, exhaustively researched, meticulously footnoted and beautifully written book of scholarly construction, with copious endnotes, a complete bibliography, and a full index. You will find well-reasoned paragraphs, incisive reasoning and theories that would be impossible to believe, if Henry Hurt did not do such a professional job of both documenting and interpreting his sources.

In the end, you may well find yourself feeling dismay and grief, at the realization that this book has shattered your illusions about America and its institutions right down to their foundations. More than any other book in my experience, "Reasonable Doubt" reinforces the timeless truths, that ceaseless vigilence is the price of freedom, and that the responsibility of every citizen in a democracy is to keep his/her eyes, ears and mouth open.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The book I was looking for, May 6, 2005

By 

jimenerik (Rochester, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Reasonable Doubt: An Investigation into the Assassination of John F. Kennedy (Hardcover)

I just returned from a trip to Dallas where I toured the Book Depository, etc., and was eager to find a good book that thoroughly and critically reviewed the evidence. This is the one. I couldn't be more satisfied with the level of detail and careful, skeptical analysis. I'm surprised this book is out of print!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars One fatal flaw prevents this from being the best introduction to the subject, September 13, 2009

By 

Christopher K. Halbower "Christopher Halbower" (Muskegon, MI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Reasonable Doubt: An Investigation into the Assassination of John F. Kennedy (Paperback)

Henry Hurt's "Reasonable Doubt" is an overview of the JFK assassination. Hurt was a researcher for the book "Legend: the Secret World of Lee Harvey Oswald" by Edward Epstein. Hurt's research involved little more than contacting US Marines who knew Oswald. After providing research for Epstein, Hurt set aside the JFK case.

In 1981, his odysessy started anew. A man named Robert Easterling contacted him. Easterling was prepared to confess his role in the assassination of President Kennedy. Hurt, in an effort to prepare himself for this unusual interview, Hurt versed himself in the JFK assassination lore.

Hurt's overview of the case is amazing. His prose is easy to follow. His conclusions are logical. The biggest flaw in his research is, unfortunately, the inclusion of the Robert Easterling testimony.

The first chapter reads like a newspaper report. It's nine pages of who, what, where and when. After finishing this, the reader knows the basics of the official story.

Hurt then turns a critical eye to the Warren Commission's findings. There is no index from which to review the Warren Commission's hearings and exhibits. The report is hardly the corrollary of 26 supporting volumes. Congressional committees concluded that the FBI and CIA were derelict in submitting evidence to the Warren Commission. The FBI had destroyed or altered testimony or evidence. Credible leads that pointed away from the Warren Commission's main thesis were ignored.

After concluding the Warren Commission had not settled the issue, Hurt then looks at the autopsy and the Magic Bullet. The doctors in Dallas do not agree with the doctors at Bethesda. The Magic Bullet is pristine whereas test bullets fired into cadavers show significant deformation.

The author spends the next two chapters looking at the Texas School Book Depository and Dealy Plaza in general. Could Oswald have moved that quickly from the 6th floor to the 2nd floor? Were there two men on the 6th floor when the shooting began? And were there shots fired from the grassy knoll? Hurt looks at many witnesses who either were not called to the Warren Commission to testify or whose testimony was not used to draw the conclusions that the Warren Commission drew.

The shooting of Dallas police officer JD Tippit has been called the "Rosetta Stone" of the JFK assassination. Hurt entitled chapter 7, "Tippit's Murder: Rosetta Stone or Red Herring?". He proceeds to cover ground that the Warren Commission covered and some ground that the Warren Commission ignored.

The Warren Commission concluded that Jack Ruby had no ties to organized crime. The House Select Committee on Assassinations concluded that Ruby did have ties to organized crime. Hurt examines this discrepency in chapter 8, "Jack Ruby: Pimp for all Seasons".

Oswald learned the Russian language while he was a US Marine. He was discharged from the USMC and then defected to the Soviet Union. When he came back to the US, he was an open Marxist and an outspoken supporter of Castro--in cities with strong conservative or strong intelligence ties (New Orleans and Dallas). Was Oswald affiliated with some branch of US intelligence? Hurt examines this in chapter 9, "Fingerprints of Intelligence".

The only case ever brought to court regarding the assassination of President Kennedy was the case brought forward by New Orleans Parish DA Jim Garrison. Oswald spent the summer of '63 in New Orleans. There are tantalizing connections between Oswald and elements of US intelligence including ex-Cuban patriots, Guy Bannister and David Ferrie. The author spends a considerable amount of time looking at Oswald's ties to New Orleans in chapter 10, "New Orleans, USA".

The last two chapters are a summation of the conspiracy information up to 1985, the year this book was published. The information is good. Hurt gives you the names of the researchers who put forward certain aspects of the case and how he feels about them. It is hard to disagree with Hurt--he calls them like he sees them. If a conspiracy theory is bizarre, he says so. This section of the book is particular good for the beginner. The beginner can get a brief review of the other researchers and their works here. This section can be used as a stepping stone to other areas of research the beginner may find interesting.

Alas, Henry Hurt's book, "Reasonable Doubt" has one glaring flaw. This flaw is chapter 12, "The Confession of Robert Easterling". Hurt dedicates almost 50 pages to the laugable premise that Robert Easterling was involved in a conspiracy to JFK. Easterling claims he was at a bar having a drink when an acquaintance of his named Manuel Rivera came up to him. He had not seen Rivera in some time so the men had a drink while making small talk. Then Manuel asked Easterling to be a part of a plot to Kennedy. This highly unlikely event is followed up with numerous other claims which not only are unsubstantiated but are completely based in fantasy. Here's one example. Easterling claims that to make their escape, the real assassins repelled from the 6th floor of the Texas School Book Depository to the ground via grappeling hooks and rope. Obviously, no person witnessed such a dramatic escape despite the fact Dealy Plaza was filled with throngs of people.

I'm not sure what to make of Easterling's confession other to conclude it's not accurate. Was Hurt duped? Was Easterling a plant? I don't know. But the fact that Henry Hurt dedicated so much time and energy to Easterling is why I have to give this book a mere 3 stars.