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10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Definitely offers some new and worthwhile material, June 9, 2000
Eight years ago, thirty years after President Kennedy was shot down in Dallas, the Oliver Stone movie rendition of the assassination of JFK inspired the declassification of virtually all the files on the case.Gus Russo had already been involved in investigative reporting on the assassination. This book is the result of his prior knowledge or beliefs, and from his access to the new material. No doubt Russo had strong leanings as a result of his prior involvement. Who wouldn't? Over the years I wavered between the conspiracy and the lone-gunman theories, never really settling on either. Russo's arguments in this book are sufficiently convincing that I believe Oswald could have killed Kennedy single-handed. I must say I found a different Oswald in this book than the inept Marine deserter I had envisioned all these years. It is not all that important to me now, however, who killed JFK or how. While Russo has me believing that Oswald was the single assassin, I do not cringe from the certain belief that a conspiracy could just as well have been employed, for there are people in this country and inside the U.S. Government as capable of pulling off a coup as usurpers regularly do all over the world. What I found interesting about this book, as I labored through its mountains of irrevelance and redundant arguments, were the more human aspects of JFK. It was no secret that JFK was a relentless womanizer, but I was unaware that he was one so determined that he had what seemed to be incurable venereal disease. Russo writes: "JFK suffered from severe and persistent venereal disease -- gonorrhea, specifically. Long-rumored, this fact became conclusive when the notes of JFK's physician, Dr. William Herbst, were made available at the Kennedy Library in Boston in 1992 [following the gov't mandated declassification of all files]. Those notes clearly reveal his treatent of Kennedy's massive 'gonoccal infections.' "Herbst was originally called in 1950, after the renowned Lahey Clinic of Boston had failed to halt Kennedy's VD infection. Not only did the clinic admit failure, but so did Herbst, who treated Kennedy for ten years before passing the baton to Dr. Janet Travell, the new President's personal physician. The available medical record shows that Kennedy continued to receive massive doses of penicillin (600,000 units at a time) throughout his presidency." Massive? Yes, 600,000-unit doses of penicillin are massive. One tenth of that would cure a common case of gonorrhea in a patient who had no built-up resistance to penicillin. The theme laid down by the book's title, "Live By the Sword", is that John and Robert Kennedy were obsessed with ridding the world of Fidel Castro. Perhaps Robert more than John, considering what we now know of the private social demands on JFK. Both RFK and JFK were publicly humiliated by the consequences of the incredibly reckless Bay of Pigs fiasco, yet still they passionately pursued a vendetta against Castro. It was that vendetta, Russo believes, that inspired Oswald to doggedly pursue his plans to assassinate John F. Kennedy. Russo builds a quite reasonable argument that Oswald did what he set out to do. One thing is hardly arguable. The general belief by official USA at the time was that Cuba was somehow accountable for JFK's death -- perhaps justifiably so considering the endless attempts by RFK and JFK to assassinate Castro -- and if a lid wasn't kept on the pot we could find ourselves in WW III. Russo builds a strong foundation for his theory, one shared by many other credible researchers. This book is significantly marred, however, by a large infustion of trivia that is not needed to make the arguments advanced, and which in many cases is so easy to disbelieve that it tends to undermine the rest of the book. For instance, much space was given to intrigue surrounding Dallas's Redbird Airport -- ingrigue that simply fizzled out after being thrashed from every conceivable perspective. At one point in the detour Russo wites, "According to CIA documents released in 1977, two Cuban men (on the night of JFK's murder) arrived at the Mexico City airport from Dallas, via Tijuana, on a twin-engine aircraft." A writer must avoid parroting reports of virtually impossible occurrences, even if they came from the CIA (maybe especially if they were CIA), and even if they were important to his argument (in this case they were not) -- arguments must be founded on credible matter. This material was injurious to Russo's narrative, not to mention that it was an unnecessary diversion. Such a flight would have made no sense even if it was possible. It is about 900 miles from Dallas to Mexico City. Tijuana is 1200 miles in the wrong direction, and it is another 1450 miles from Tijuana to MEX. A twin-engine plane of 1963 vintage (like the 200 mph Beechcraft Baron I was sitting in at the Abilene arport when the first reports of the shooting came over the ADF) could not have departed from Dallas after Kennedy's murder and flown to Tijuana and arrive in Mexico City before the next morning. I got a world of new information from Russo's book, but at an awful price. It was uphill all the way.
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11 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Flawed Book But Still Important, February 23, 2000
As a believer in the guilt of Lee Harvey Oswald, I was intrigued by the thesis of Live By the Sword: The Secret War Against Castro and the Death of JFK (Bancroft Press, Baltimore-ISBN 1-890862-01-0). That thesis, stated simply, is that the Kennedy brothers' "secret war" on Castro (during which they tried to remove him from power through invasion, counterinsurgency, and even assassination) backfired resulting in JFK's death at the hand of Oswald. This concept, while not new, does go a long way toward providing the long sought motive for Oswald's actions and at the same time reinforces his guilt. The author, Gus Russo, is a long time JFK assassination researcher who worked on the highly regarded 1993 PBS Frontline documentary on the life of the enigmatic "Marxist Marine" (Who Was Lee Harvey Oswald). Russo admits to being schooled in the assassination by early Warren Commission critics such as Mark Lane. This could explain his disturbing tendency to lend legitimacy to otherwise unsupported observations by a few of the "thousands" of persons whose interviews he accessed (and conducted) for this book. One has the sensation when reading certain passages that it could be authored by Jim Marrs after undergoing a conversion at the hands of Gerald Posner. This certainly does not destroy the value of the book but it does diminish it. In fact, for most serious researchers, Live By the Sword is bound to be something of a mixed bag. The book's prose is generally very well-written. However, I did notice several typos that may be more the fault of the editors at Bancroft Press than Russo. There is a 32-page photo section near the center of the book that includes some never before published items. Live By the Sword features an "Additional Materials" section that includes three appendices, a bibliography, and 70 pages of endnotes which contain citations and the type of supplemental information sometimes found in footnotes. Russo divides his work into five "Books". These are Kennedy, Oswald, New Orleans, The Fall of Camelot, and A Coverup. Supporters of the Warren Commission defend its work by saying that despite flawed methodology and other gaffes, they were correct in their basic conclusions. This statement is analogous to my feelings for Gus Russo and Live By the Sword. He makes some excellent arguments over the course of the book's 617 pages, but has failed to tie everything together - an admittedly difficult if not impossible task. Russo may have hurt his work by trying to "throw in everything but the kitchen sink" in an effort to prove his thesis. The sad thing is, he probably didn't have to. He certainly seems to have had enough legitimate material (his bibliography covers eleven and a half pages) to make his case without using some of the more questionable data - especially certain interviews. This "information overload" may be partly explained by Russo's frustration at the failure of the Kennedys to release RFK's private papers. As one who believes Oswald acted alone, I was certainly ready to embrace Russo's book with open arms. It is definitely an appealing hypothesis. If the central thesis were more factually grounded, you could even think of it as Case Closed with a greater emphasis on motive. The truth is, history may ultimately prove Russo to be at least partly correct. However, wanting something to be fact doesn't make it so - at least not yet. Gus Russo has not proven his case with Live By the Sword. He comes very close in some areas but more often than not he leads the reader in a tantalizing dance only to stop the music. Having said that, I still recommend the book to any serious assassination researcher. There is plenty of food for thought and enough twists and turns to offer something for everyone. In fact, Live By the Sword may be remembered as being the first book on the JFK assassination that tried to be all things to all people. Russo will win no new friends among believers in the myth of Camelot. His book shatters that myth and shows John and Robert Kennedy to be what they were -human beings. They were no more or less heroic or villainous than many leaders before or since. They made mistakes (some more serious than others) and enjoyed victories as well. They suffered from vices of the flesh and spirit as well as petty jealousies and burning ambition. This pragmatic interpretation of Camelot is likely to be Russo's literary gift to the body of JFK assassination research.
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15 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
A CIA cover story from start to finish, September 10, 1999
The earth is flat, the sun revolves around the earth, the lone assassin of JFK is Lee Harvey Oswald, and the single, magic bullet entered JFK's back, exited through his throat, entered Connally's back, exited through Connally's right breast, entered and smashed his right wrist and was then embedded in his left thigh. If you believe this, there is a bridge in Brooklyn that I'd like to sell you. The absurdity of the author's thesis, that Oswald acted as an agent of Castro, is not made more believable simply by virtue of the number of footnotes located at the end of the book. The author, in effect, puts forth the CIA cover story that Oswald, the lone gunman, acted upon his Communist, pro-Castro beliefs. Wasn't the lone gunman theory decimated by the accoustical analysis conducted by the House Select Committee on Assassinations which found at least 4 shots, one emanating from behind the grassy knoll? Didn't Alpha-66 leader Anthony Veciana observe his CIA handler [David Atlee Phillips]in Dallas in the company of Lee Harvey Oswald? Didn't Syvia Odio observe Lee Harvey Oswald attempt to solicit funds from her in the presence of two anti-Castro Cubans in order to support the anti-Castro cause? I refer intelligent readers to "The Last Investigation" by Gaeton Fonzi for an incisive analysis of the CIA's extraordinary efforts to block the House Select Committee on Assassinations investigation of the intelligence communities links with extreme anti- Castro Cubans and Lee Harvey Oswald, who was involved with them. Russo also takes as fact that Oswald was present in Mexico City, at the Cuban Consulate and Soviet Embassy, without any proof to back his assumptions up. The author is a talented spin doctor for the CIA. I suspect the CIA was involved in funding his research for the book. His reliance on numerous anonymous CIA and ONI sources is indicative of the partisan brief he is arguing. His subtle whitewash on behalf of the CIA may fool readers who long for simple closure in this matter. His pro-CIA spin and his propogation of what I believe is the classic CIA cover story in this matter made me nauseous.
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