Customer Reviews

Who's Who In The JFK Assassination: An A to Z Encyclopedia

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I have been reading books on the assassination of John Kennedy my entire life. Then I came across this book, "Who's Who in the JFK Assassination", I couldn't beleive it. Never before did I read through a book so fast and when I was done, I had to go back and start over. It's not really meant to read cover-to-cover, though. When I am reading a book on the assassination, and see a name I don't know, I can flip to it in this book and know just who this man is. For anyone who has looked at the assassination, they know you come across hundreds of names and you can't remember them all, thats where this book came in. Let's say I see the name Ruby Henderson; I can look her up in this book and find out she saw TWO men in the 6th floor of the TSBD, one of whom had a rifle, but she thought they were with the secret service. Anyway, I would tell ANY person looking for information on the Kennedy Assassination to get this book anyway they can. What else can I say, Michael Benson did a GREAT job.

Just got through reading this book. What a wealth of info. I am now going to read High Treason, which is referred to many times in the A to Z book. If you don't walk away from this without a doubt that there was a major conspiracy, I don't know what planet you're from. Just when you think you know who did it, there are more and more people introduced to the theory, leaving you consumed by curiosity. What a great book. This books lists alphabetically the people who were involved in the assassination, the Oswald shooting, and the Tippit shooting.

Michael Benson's "Who's Who in the JFK Assassination" is an outstanding reference book for the assassination hobbyist. The book is like a cheaper version of the "Master Index to the JFK Assassination" by Sylvia Meagher and Gary Owens. Benson's book has an alphabetical listing of all the major and minor players in the JFK assassination (like Meagher and Owens' book) but Benson's book has a brief synopsis of who or what these players were to the assassination.

The book weighs in at 532 pages. The first section of the book is a critical apparatus telling the researcher what Benson's abbreviations (used throughout the book) mean. This section also tells the researcher about the source material used to support this work.

The main part of the book is an alphabetical listing of movers and shakers associated in some way with the assassination of President John Kennedy. Because the book is an encyclopedia, it doesn't have to be read sequentially. Indeed, the reader is encouraged to pick through the topics of his choosing and review the data therein. Benson ends each encyclopedia entry with a "See Also" section--a type of keyword tag that give the reader tips on further research. Then the entry has footnotes (in Benson's abbreviated notation) which inform the reader as to where Benson got his information (usually the Warren Report or the HSCA).

I have found it invaluable to have a brief, digestable and alphabetical synopsis of who someone was in the JFK assassination. The notes and the "See Also" sections are the icing on the cake. The author has filed a valuable niche for the assassination hobbyist.

This book makes a good "bathroom reader": the entries are relatively short and the book doesn't have to be read sequentially. If you want an introduction to the JFK assassination, this book can supplement that need. If you are a researcher, this book is quite handy. If you are looking for interesting "bathroom reading", this book can fill that need as well.

I've recommended this book to two people. They looked it over and became so engrossed, they immediately went out and bought their own copies! Benson deserves our kudos. My highest recommendations! *****

I first obtained this book in the softcover edition some years back. The kindle edition is very welcome. The kindle edition takes its place with the Warren Report (two different digital editions; Jim Marrs' Crossire; The Book of Facts; The Report of the HSCA. Its summaries of the people who were involved and those who became involved in the President's assassination is invaluable. For those of us who are old enough, this book is a good memory enhancer. What the reader thinks he/she knows about the main facts and events pales in the face of some of the information. No one actually knows what the original sniper's nest looks like because because were moved and rearranged as anyone and everyone tramped through the 6th Floor of the TSBD and those same boxes were staged into a "sniper's nest" arrangement for news crew filming the search for evidence. A reminder that the TSBD was not immediately sealed by the Dallas Police as reported in the Warren Report. All of the information contained in this book focuses on the people involved which makes the information that much more vibrant and poignant. It is a must have book. It is vital for its bibliography as well.

i keep this book right by my side and i read other books about the jfk assassination.when i come across a new name,i find the name in my a to z reference book and read a quick summary that gives me a fairly complete picture om who this person is.

Michael Benson, whom I know from research conferences (and who mentions me a few times in his follow-up book), has written a great compendium of information on the JFK assassination. This is truly a great all-in-one-place volume. Get this!
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