On the Trail of the Assassins: My Investigation and Prosecution of the Murder of President Kennedy [Hardcover]

Jim Garrison (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 094178102X | ISBN-13: 978-0941781022 | Publication Date: November 1988 | Edition: 1St Edition

Index, endnotes. Several pages of photographs. New Orleans District Attorney Garrison's account of his investigations into the background of Lee Harvey Oswald and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, which differs sharply with the official Warren Commission conclusions. This book was used as the basis of Oliver Stone's film "JFK". Jacket lightly scuffed, else a clean, tight copy with no other markings, remainder dots, owner names, etc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 342 pages
• Publisher: Sheridan Square Pubns; 1St Edition edition (November 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 094178102X
• ISBN-13: 978-0941781022
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #494,531 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Every American should read this book, September 13, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: On the Trail of the Assassins: My Investigation and Prosecution of the Murder of President Kennedy (Hardcover)

There was abuse of power involved in this case, but it wasn't by Jim Garrison as some people would have you believe. The government's pursuit of various trumped up charges against Garrison, after the failed Clay Shaw trial, was an egregious abuse of governmental power against its citizens, in this case against Garrison. This occurred under President Nixon and was basically an extension of the abuses associated with Watergate. The discussion in the book of Garrison's experiences in this regard is a reminder of the fragile state of our freedoms. As for the heart of the book, the discussion of the conspiracy to kill Kennedy, Garrison covers a lot of ground. Appropriately, he focuses key parts of the discussion on Guy Banister. It was apparently out of Banister's office that Oswald seems to have been working in August 1963, when the conspirators set Oswald up, such that when a pro-Castro sympathizer (ie. Oswald) would get arrested in the case, they could argue for their long-sought war against Cuba. Garrison may not have been correct in everything he said, but he makes a strong case in this book that he was on the right track. He was undertaking a difficult job in resolving such a complex case, but the job was made much more difficult by the killing of witnesses and the penetration of his investigation by those seeking to obstruct justice. Up until now, the conspirators have won. Maybe if enough people read this book and demand justice, tomorrow will be different.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Post-Mortem of the Investigation, May 12, 2003

By 

Acute Observer (By the Shore NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: On the Trail of the Assassins: My Investigation and Prosecution of the Murder of President Kennedy (Hardcover)

This is the chronicle of the experiences of his investigation into the murder of President Kennedy. At first, most people believed in a "lone gunman", but too many facts and witnesses changed people's opinions. The revelations created the House Select Committee on Assassinations (1976-79) whose conclusion was more than one shooter, and a conspiracy. There were a number of books written afterwards. But when Jim Garrison began his investigation the US government and the major media came down hard on him (p.xv).

On 11/22/1963 Guy Banister pistol whipped his associate Jack Martin, who then told Assistant DA Herman Kohlman that David Ferrie had made a quick trip to Texas that Friday (p.7). DA Jim Garrison ordered Ferrie jailed for questioning by the FBI. His doubts about the case began after a talk with Senator Russell Long in 1966 (p.13). JG found the Warren Report to be "disorganized and confused" (p.15). Page 25 tells how Lee H Oswald acted as an agent provocateur in New Orleans for Guy Banister.

In 1966 JG started to re-investigate the case (Chapter 3). In Chapter 4, JG compares the real Oswald to the Warren Commission caricature. Oswald had the character for an intelligence recruit: a military family, close-mouthed by nature, above average in intelligence (p.47). All the facts of his life say Oswald worked for a government agency (p.55). Pages 101-3 tell of the original route for the Presidential motorcade, but not who had it changed. Pages 110-2 shows their detective work on a telephone call. Page 115 shows use of the "red book" (lists individuals by addresses). JG tells what he accomplished as DA of New Orleans (p.128).

Chapter 13 tells of "The Assault" on his investigation by the corporate media (p.161). Page 167 tells of the witness tampering by NBC. The criminals who testified for NBC later took the Fifth, and a contempt conviction, rather than repeat their stories under oath (p.170). JG's staff was infiltrated by the CIA (p.179). Extraditions and subpoenas were returned without action. Chapter 15 explains why Oswald did not kill Officer Tippit: he didn't match the description, there was a problem with the shells (pp.198-202). In telling about his appearance on the Johnny Carson show, JG wonders why the NY media industry was "so allergic to the very concept of conspiracy" (p.214).

Chapter 18 has his history of the trial of Clay Shaw. The autopsy testimony is on pages 246-249; were these errors deliberate, or due to incompetence? The jurors agreed that JFK was killed as the result of a conspiracy (p.251). The prosecution of Clay Shaw for perjury was stopped, in violation of Federal law (p.253). Then Jim Garrison won re-election as district attorney. Two years later the IRS arrested him on allegations of gambling pay-offs. One example of the desperate tricks used is on pages 259-260. Pages 265-270 tell how the case against JG was forged. But the trial derailed his re-election campaign, and he lost. Chapter 20 has a retrospection on the history of those times. JG believes the JFK assassination was to continue the Cold War and spending by the military-industrial complex (p.277). He discusses the various theories of who was behind the conspiracy. JG believes it came from within the CIA, with civilian help; just like Contragate (p.290). Page 293 suggests to me that Richard Condon's "Winter Kills" is a symbolic solution to why JFK was killed.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WHAT REALLY HAPPENED ON NOVEMBER 22, 1963?, February 22, 2005

By 

Steven Hancock (Winston Salem, NC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: On the Trail of the Assassins: My Investigation and Prosecution of the Murder of President Kennedy (Hardcover)

Jim Garrison's powerful book, "On the Trail of the Assassins," is important reading. In it, Garrison recounts his investigation into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and a possible cover-up of the real facts of the case. It questions the validity of the Warren Commission Report, and provides startling evidence that the Central Intelligence Agency may have been involved, and that Kennedy's assassination was a coup d'etat. The evidence Garrison presents leaves little room for doubt.
If there wasn't a conspiracy involved to assassinate Kennedy, then why does the U.S. government, OUR government, withold information in connection to the assassination? I think that we have a right to know who killed Kennedy, why he was killed, and who benefitted.
"On the Trail of the Assassins" is a superb book. A great resource for those new to the conspiracy theories, and a great companion piece to Oliver Stone's "JFK." Grade: A+