Ultimate Sacrifice: John and Robert Kennedy, the Plan for a Coup in Cuba, and the Murder of JFK (Hardcover)

by Lamar Waldron (Author), Thom Hartmann (Contributor)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. There has been a long hiatus in significant books on the JFK assassination since Gerald Posner's Case Closed argued in 1993 that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. Posner took the CIA's lack of involvement for granted, and that, according to this mammoth and painstakingly researched account, was a big mistake. It is Waldron and Hartmann's (The Edison Gene) contention—bolstered by access to many previously unavailable files, and interviews with little-known as well as prominent figures—that the CIA knew a great deal about the assassination. But the agency couldn't admit what it knew because that could uncover the existence of a U.S. plan for a coup in Cuba, run by JFK's brother, Attorney General Robert Kennedy. The assassination, say the authors, was carried out by hired gunmen on the orders of three noted Mafia dons whose lives were being made miserable by RFK's ruthless pursuit—and these Mafia men knew about the planned invasion because they had worked with the CIA on previous efforts to topple Castro. Oswald, long a hidden CIA agent, was set up as the patsy, and it had always been Jack Ruby's job to eliminate him if he wasn't killed at the scene of Kennedy's shooting. How do the authors make their case? With a relentless accumulation of detail, a very thorough knowledge of every political and forensic detail and the broad perspective of historians rather than assassination theorists. They spend perhaps too much time with people they admire, like the late Enrique Ruiz Williams, who was a crucial early source for them. They also cannot resist chasing stories of only marginal relevance to their principal one, like what really happened to Che Guevara in Cuba. But no future historian of that tormented period in American history will be able to ignore their very convincing presentation, even if a lay reader may feel overwhelmed by the sheer weight of the evidence. B&w photos.
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Product Description
Ultimate Sacrifice reveals, for the first time, John and Robert Kennedy's plan for a coup in Cuba on December 1, 1963 — a plan that involved a U.S. military invasion. Unique, distinctly different, and far more advanced than any previously disclosed operation, this plan is corroborated by many declassified military and CIA documents that have never been quoted in any book before. It provides the missing piece of the puzzle regarding JFK's murder, and explains why Bobby Kennedy told close associates that the Mafia was behind his brother's assassination.

The Mafia had managed to infiltrate the Kennedys' intended coup. Ultimate Sacrifice describes and documents an attempt they made to kill JFK in a motorcade several days prior to Dallas. This attempt had more than a dozen parallels to Dallas.

Building on the work of the seven governmental committees that investigated aspects of JFK's assassination, the four million documents that were declassified in the 1990s, and exclusive interviews with many Kennedy insiders, the authors are able to tell the full story of these incidents.

• New History Reveals Previously Unknown CIA Code Name, AMWORLD— As Well As Linked Assassination Attempt in Tampa on November 18

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 912 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books; 1St Edition edition (November 18, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786714417
• ISBN-13: 978-0786714414
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 2.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (118 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #73,750 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #6 in	Books > History > Historical Study > Essays
  #25 in	Books > History > Americas > Caribbean & West Indies > Cuba
  #51 in	Books > History > United States > 20th Century > 1960s

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Ultimate Sacrifice": The ultimate Kenendy book, bar none, November 22, 2005

By	kareemniji (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) - See all my reviews

"Ultimate Sacrifice"'s authors Lamar Waldron and Thom Hartmann should be commended with a Pulitzer Prie for his amazing work. After all these many years we finally have the definitive story, backed with facts (not fiction or theories or crapola), about how and why JFK died that terrible day in Dallas. This book also briliantly tells the story of the Kennedy brothers involvement in C-Day, the coup to oust Castro in the fall/ winter of 1963 (it is ironic that Castro is still alive, but I digress). My shelves are bulging with books on this subject that I now have half a mind to just throw away (or sell on here haha)-"Ultimate Sacrifice" tells all and answers all regarding 11/22/63 and the brothers Kennedy (and their obsession with Castro/ Cuba). To say that this book is a must-have is an understatement. I am now in the process of rereading it-it gets even better all the time.

A very satisfied reader
Chagrin Falls, Ohio
(a Browns fan all the way haha)

40 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Can you get any better than this? I don't think so, November 22, 2005

By	Ron Coltrain (Egg Harbor, NJ) - See all my reviews

As a 40-something professional adult, I have always been fascinated with all things Kennedy, especially growing up with Kennedy-loving parents. So, naturally, I am drawn to a book like Ultimate Sacrifice, as I am hundreds of other books on the topic of *J*F*K* and his assassination. What makes this book special is that the authors have done their homework in a major way, unlike Gerald What's-his-name of Case Closed infamy.

How anyone can read this book and not be convinced of its findings is beyond me. Unless you are in major denial or cannot read, Ultimate Sacrifice will totally sway you toward the inevitable conclusion that JFK and RFK were playing with fire in their attempts to kill the bearded one Fidel Castro of Cuba.

I encourage you to buy it now or for the holidays as it would make a great gift to any history buff.

137 of 157 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the saga continues, November 23, 2005

By	Melody Englund "songbird" (Lakewood, CO USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Ultimate Sacrifice is a quantum leap toward uncovering what happened prior to and on Nov. 22, 1963. The reasearch done by Waldron over the last 17 years, especially after the release of documents precipitated by the movie JFK in 1992, is thorough and convincing. Waldron interviewed many of the participants and spent days pouring over newspaper microfiche in his effort to uncover the truth.

Waldron presents information in easy to follow pieces, developing a clear and convincing argument for involvement of the CIA with the Mafia in a program that Bobby Kennedy, representing JFK, had ordered stopped. I am left with the awareness of a renegade CIA refusing to follow orders from the President himself.

What impressed me is the message I perceived from Waldron's nonjudgmental reporting, that the Kennedy brothers truly cared about what happened to the Cubans and wanted them to have a fair and democratic government.

Ultimate Sacrifice is well documented and well indexed. I appreciate the attention to detail that went into its production.

I recommend this book for anyone who is interested in a close look at the inner workings of government and a clear understanding of how things can go wrong even with the motive is pure.