The Killing of a President: The Complete Photographic Record of the Assassination, the Conspiracy, and (Paperback)

by Robert J. Groden (Author), Oliver Stone (Foreword) "On November 21, 1963, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 35th President of the United States, flew to Texas on a mission to cement relations between liberal and..." (more)
Key Phrases: Warren Commission, Dealey Plaza, Lee Harvey Oswald (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
More than 650 full-color and quadratone photographs provide a definitive photographic record of the Kennedy assassination, refuting the findings of the Warren Commission and providing a step-by-step chronology of the events of the murder. Reprint. 50,000 first printing.

Product Details

• Paperback: 223 pages
• Publisher: Studio; 1ST edition (September 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140240039
• ISBN-13: 978-0140240030
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #678,170 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars As a photographic record: Excellent!, April 23, 1998

By A Customer

First the good.

Robert Groden has assembled an amazing array of photographs of and related to the assassination. For JFK buffs (yes I'm guilty of being one) it is an invaluable resource, especially for someone outside the US who hasn't been to the scene. In conjunction with some of the best JFK assassination videos and research books it can really make the scene come to life again. There is an almost preternatural beauty in some of the Dealey Plaza scenes shown in this book. Groden has been able to obtain photographs from private hands, some of which were not publicly available.

The Not So Good
Groden has a habit of ambiguously captioning some of the photos he presents. At times it is difficult to know exactly which one the caption refers to. This is a minor annoyance but more significant is when he assumes that the reader can see what he sees. Groden has, no doubt, subjected these pictures to major enhancements and blowups which perhaps show things that the ordinary reader cannot discern in the "normal" photos in the book. One example is his use of film of LHO distributing pro-Castro leaflets outside the Trade Mart. He categorically states that Clay Shaw is in the background walking towards LHO. This may well be true, however I couldn't identify Shaw as that tiny figure with a dash of white (hair?) from the photo in the book.
I would prefer a comment like "enlargements reveal that the figure in the background may well be Clay Shaw".

Other researchers will (and have) taken issue with Groden's theory (he presents it as absolute fact) of minimum 6 shots from at least 3 directions. I personally have no problem with that but would prefer that he presented it as "my theory" rather than "this is what happened".

Having said all that I would strongly recommend:
1.Purchase the book (would make a great gift for someone interested in the JFK assassination but who hasn't any books on it).
2.Don't take the text as gospel.
3.Cross check with other works.

A caution re the autopsy photos. They are necessary but not for the faint hearted! Parents may want to keep this book away from impressionable kids until they're ready for it.

25 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Speaks thousands upon thousands of words, March 15, 2004

By	Rocco Dormarunno (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

The reason why this book is among the best written about the JFK conspiracy is because it doesn't contain so many words. Wisely, Robert Groden has elected to let the pictures, for the most part, do the talking in his book, The Killing of a President: The Complete Photographic Record of the JFK Assassination, the Conspiracy, and the Cover-Up. No crackpot theories, no half-truths supported by whole lies, no official whitewashing. If you look at the pictures--not just of the limousine--but of the crowd, there's no doubt that shots came from several directions. One of the nails on the Warren Report's coffin is the photo of the man sitting on the DalTex Building's fire escape, suddenly leaping to his feet and looking in the OPPOSITE direction of the Texas Schoolbook building during the shooting.

There's no denying Groden's position on the conspiracy issue, but he reins in his usual heavy-handed prose and keeps his theory to a minimum. (However, based on other reviewers, it's apparent that there was more than one man involved in the writing of the scant text. Whatever.) AND BE WARNED: Please listen seriously to the other reviewers here when they alert you to the graphic autopsy photos. They are extremely gruesome and not for the weak-hearted.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I was the artist for High Treason and The Killing of a Pres., October 23, 2003

By	e chiarini (Dallas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Killing of a President: The Complete Photographic Record of the JFK Assassination... (Hardcover)

Most of you comment on Grodens photo captions were incorrect. Although he wrote the book the captions were written by the assistants to John Goodchield who graphically laid out the piece. I was the Illustrator for High Treason and this book. I was the one who created all of the origional artwork along with the dealy plaza sketch the full size plaster bust of Kennedy with the actual wounds according to the Doctors. I was there for 90% of the books creation and can say the majority of Gorden and my suggestions were overwritten by the publisher. Number one being the fact that the book went on sale wrapped in plastic.

How can you review a coffee table book of photographs at the book store while still wrapped?

But still our views fell on def ears. Other than that the book was the first to combine the entire valt of photographic evidence into one volume. It's a must read for anyone who is interested in the events of November 22, 1963.

I can be reached by email for requests, questions, or comments @ [e-mail]

Thanks
Ed Chiarini