Assassinations Books

This book was one of the best books I have ever read on the subject of the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith and and his brother Hyrum. It was historical, it was unedited, and gave me a unique perspective into the events that lead to their death. I had no idea that the entire state of Illinois was virtually at war with the Mormons.

Posners joke of a book ignores so much evidence of a conspiracy its mind boggling.The Zapruder film absolutely proves that the fatal shot came from the fence behind the grassy knoll.Kennedys head goes back and to his left.He ignores pictures showing someone firing from behind the fence.Puffs of smoke in the air drifting off from the grassy knoll from the shots.People ducking for cover from the shot from behind the grassy knoll.Eyewitnesses that saw these murderers behind the same fence.Gerold Posner is a lying sack.Dont waste a penny on anything he touches.You want a book on the Kennedy assassination,get Crossfire(The plot that killed Kennedy)by Jim Marrs.Once again,this guy Posner is ridiculous.You will see what I mean when you see him on TV.You can literally see that he is a liar from his face.I cant believe Olbermann has this guy on his show sometimes.

...this should be a must read. Very detailed, well written.

Question: How many people can conspire to keep a secret on such a tremendous scale for decades, especially people in government (notorious leakers in general)?

As much as apparently many people would like to believe there must have been some grand conspiracy that brought down a very popular President who was larger than life, the evidence (which, as Posner's book details, is quite overwhelming) proves that the Warren Commission's conclusion was absolutely correct: that a "sole nut" brought down President Kennedy. No grand conspiracy, just a horribly sad tragedy.

Years ago I came to the conclusion the assasination MUST have been a conspiracy. But later in life after some research started to be open minded to the idea that Oswald acted alone.
I read this book with the hope, that it would close this case (for me). Incredibly, what Posner did for me, was leave me thinking that it is impossible all these events are just a series of random coincidences.
It is clear after reading the book that Oswald was not just some nut who acted alone. .

Gerald Posner's book, Case Closed is a real eye opener. If, like many people, you base all of your opinions on the JFK assasination on the Oliver Stone film, then you need to read this book.

Posner's book, incredibly well researched and annotated, demonstrates beyond a shadow of a doubt that Stone's film, while remarkably entertaining, plays fast and loose with many of the facts surrounding this historical event.

As Posner details, most of the so-called "evidence" of a conspiracy presented in the film does not stand up to close examination. Some of it is no more than wild speculation, much of it flat out untrue, but has through years of retelling entered the public consciousness as if it were fact. For instance, the alleged eyewitnesses featured in the movie have largely been discredited over the years, many changing their stories several times, others having been shown not to have even been in Dealey Plaza on 11/22/63. Posner also takes on the so-called scientific evidence of the conspiracy buffs, dismantling their arguments piece by piece in convincing fashion.

The important thing to realize about this book is how thoroughly and meticulously researched it is. There is no conjecture - merely cold hard facts, presented as found. As convinced as I was before I read this book that there was a conspiracy to kill JFK, I am just as convinced now that there was not.

I can't even give it a star but it's a requirement. Part surmise part fact, this is not definitive in any aspect of the word. He cherrie picks his way through the evidence.

For a proper assessment of Bugliosi's disinformationist book read Jim Di Eugenio's review on CTKA Probe Website !

This is simply more of the same LIES the gov has been feeding the American public since the day JFK was killed.This guy is a moron and doesnt know anything.He even profited from the Charles Manson case. Go research "Operation Mockingbird" and see for yourself.Anyone with a brain can see JFK being shot from the FRONT in the zapruder film. His head goes BACK away from the grassy knoll.

Bugliosi combines 4 Days in November with reviews of evidence and the life of Oswald, and Conclusions of the Warren Commission to prove that the Kennedy Assisination was the work of one man. As you read it, though, you wonder, at least about possible Soviet involvement since he was in contact with the Soviets in Mexico just weeks before the assassination. Could he have been an Manchurian Candidate? My only question.

Like a trial Lawyer he starts off with his premise that he will prove that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone and then he proceeds to attempt to peel back the evidence a little at a time. This books is really quite a read. Frankly, I have been caught up in reading the many different perspectives of the authors of the conspiracy books over the years and when he asks how many of them and how many of us and others who believe there may have been a cover up had ever read the Warren Commission Report. Apparently, none had or rarely have.

I have one of the more famous of the books about the consiracy, frankly it is rather unreadable to me, a jumble of information that from the start leads nowhere. There are others that are very compelling, but if Bugliosi is correct, that the Warren Report, much maligned, has never been read, well, what can I say, I need the full picture, so, I will read on.

This has been his lifes work after leaving the world of prosecution. One area that remains though is he mentions that no one has ever come out to say it was a conspiracy among the conspirators. However, if you believe the Alex Jones website that E. Howard Hunt had a 'deathbed confession' before he died and also that a pupported mistress of LBJ had information regarding the VP at the time. Interesting as these may be, neither of those two apparent revelations ever made a ripple in the conspiracy world.

Bugliosi has a way to get to the heart of the matter. Not always agreeing with him, he definately writes to your heart as well. You would think that if he is willing to take on the current president he would be willing to think the 'Military Industrial Complex' would be a target of his.

No matter what the real conclusion, this book will challenge all of us to think about the cold blooded murder of a president that many of us looked at for hope. I still think about, looking back, at how much our nation changed after this day in history. We became a much sadder folk, and went a little inward with despair, almost imploding in Vietnam. May the truth prevail some day.

The good `ol Texas Oil Boys (increasingly invested in defense industries) want to control, possibly by eliminating, JFK so as to expand & preserve the nation's War Economy, about which JFK seems to have had second thoughts, with an eye on de-emphasis.

So they hire the C.I.A. to deal with the issue; especially in the case of the need to off Kennedy, whom else would YOU hire to kill the U.S. president on American soil?

The C.I.A. (as in "Corporate Interests of America") tries first to muscle their way past Kennedy in a showdown over Vietnam in the months just prior to 11/22/63, a "last chance" of sorts for the President. Waiting in the wings is Oil Lackey LBJ, whose political career is on the line due to scandal.

Then, the decision to kill JFK becomes necessary & final and the C.I.A. does the dirty deed, providing a covert operation complete with designated patsy at no extra charge and backed by a fine "cover thy butt" propaganda & hit squad apparatus.

Madeline Brown has publicly stated that LBJ emphatically informed her that the assassination was the work of "the Texas oil boys and the C.I.A," a connection well represented and aptly symbolized in the form of Texan and C.I.A. bigwig David Atlee Phillips.

In the immediate aftermath of the murder, the hotshots from Texas exert their influence over the Dallas Police while LBJ and Hoover work towards snuffing out any potential independent inquiries. In addition, Johnson's new power as the nation's Chief Executive very quickly puts him into position to control the autopsy of JFK at Bethesda (as the new Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces) and soon after to force Earl Warren to head up a Johnson-controlled committee of investigation.

The short-term goal of eliminating John Fitzgerald Kennedy has been stated, and begins paying off when the U.S. fakes an incident in the Gulf of Tonkin less than a year later that sparks the Vietnam War, and tons of profits for the likes of Brown & Root, Bell Helicopter and LTV.

And that's the truth, whether Vince likes it or not!

Does Mass Equal Conclusive Fact? Former federal prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi seems to think so. Bugliosi prosecuted Charles Manson, in the easiest murder trial of the century. Here Bugliosi has a much more difficult time and it shows.

Had Bugliosi read or researched what other trained, professional snipers determined about the JFK "hit", he might not have wasted his (or our) time with this literary anchor. Unlike many of VB's fellow attorneys, I read the WCR and also Case Closed. However, I also dissected and gained a great deal more factual insight from Garrison's "On The Trail of The Assassins: and one slim book called, "Kill Zone: A Sniper Looks At Dealey Plaza." Then, having picked up a battered 30.06 rifle with scope, I attempted to hit a stationary target with three quick rounds in less than 6 seconds. Then I penned my own critical essay called "Count The Bullets: Blow Away All Arguments" (Google).

Former top US Marine sniper, detective and author, Craig Roberts deduced: "The reason I knew that Oswald could not have done it, was because I could not have done it." Credited with numerous kills while serving in Vietnam , Roberts turned an objective eye on the shot heard `round the world. After he visited Dealey Plaza, after viewing the so-called sniper's lair, on the sixth floor of the book depository, and after staring at the large oak tree overspreading much of Elm Street, Roberts said, "I walked away from the window in disgust. I had seen all I needed to know that Oswald could not have been the lone shooter."

But Roberts, a retired police investigator, wanted to know what did happen. Not content to dismiss the improbable feat, he delved into the crime from every angle.

"First, I analyzed the scene as a sniper...I looked at the engagement angles. It was entirely wrong...Here, from what I could see, three problems arose that would influence my shots. First, the target was moving away at a drastic angle to the right from the window, meaning that I would have to position my body to compete with the wall and a set of vertical water pipes . . . This would be extremely difficult for a right-handed shooter. Second, I would have to be ready to fire exactly when the target emerged past some tree branches that obscured the kill zone. Finally, I would have to deal with two factors at the same time; the curve of the street, and the high-to-low angle formula--a law of physics Oswald would not have known."

From my research in "Count The Bullets: Blow Away All Arguments," I decided to examine the OBJECTS STRUCK rather than focus on the sound of gunfire witnesses claimed to have heard. Bugliosi, a competent prosecutor rather than a damn good detective failed, as did the Warren Commission, to perform this simple task. And simply by counting the objects, we realize Oswald would have needed an automatic rifle with a ten shot magazine to kill Kennedy.

Case Closed.

very detailed and complex to follow.as a college grad,i had to stuggle to digest the writing.

I Always Have Great Luck at amazon.They are very prompt and prduct quality is great.

James H. Fetzer exposes all the altered or destroyed evidence in the murder of JFK (the replacement of the windshield of the presidential limousine, the autopsy and the photographs of the body, the alteration of the Zapruder film), the silencing and strange death of witnesses and the still exceptional resistance of the government to open their secret files. As G. Orwell said: `Who controls the present, controls the past.'

For the author, the only hypothesis withstanding the impact of these new findings is that of a large-scale conspiracy, a coup d'Etat by Lyndon Johnson, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the intelligence community and the military industrial complex, because `neither the Mafia, pro- or contra Cubans, or the KGB could have extended their reach into Bethseda Naval Hospital to fabricate X-rays, substitute another brain of that of JFK, or subject the Zapruder film to extensive alteration in order to mislead and confuse further investigations and to impose a permanent falsification of history.'

He makes the hypothesis that Lee Harvey Oswald was all alone responsible for the death of JFK completely ridiculous.
He shows the baffling cowardice of the professional historians, who are afraid of research into one of the most important events in world history given its national and international consequences, and depicts the guild of journalists as the `most amateur of professions'.

All in all, J. Fetzer's book brushes a very bleak picture of a country run by its intelligence agencies, which accept democracy only if the outcome of `free' elections corresponds to their particular interests.

A must read for all those interested in the past, the present and the future of mankind.

The first adult book I ever read was my father's copy of Jim Marrs "Crossfire" I lapped up everything I could on the assignation until I was 15, when other school work became more important. Deciding to start reading more again, I found this book at my local Borders. What a disappointment! This was the book I credit with making me aware that the conspiracy theories are nothing more than hogwash.

The only thing discussed on this book I would consider myself an expert on is windshields (through my job). Now when having issues with Fetzer's dealings with w/screens, I initially assumed that w/screens at that point were made from flat glass. Not so. On page 136 (bought in Australia) Fetzer states that the w/screen was made from safety glass (which I'm assuming he is referring to laminated glass) and that "Safety glass responds to an object striking its surface in the opposite way of regular glass. A nontransiting shot at safety glass will leave the outside surface smooth while the inside surface will fragment" WRONG, WRONG, WRONG. Laminate glass is two pieces of glass with a bit of vinyl in between. If the glass is broken on the inside, the damage happened on the INSIDE of the w/screen. NOT the outside. They are two completely different pieces of glass, and it is very rare circumstances where an object will penetrate both pieces of glass.

I then read the ridiculous chapter on how the Zapruder film was faked. Now having read the conspiracy theories in the early to mid 90s, everyone was championing the Zapruder film as proof positive that JFK was hit from the front. Now that physicists have proven the shot came from the rear, the Zapruder film is faked!

If you want to have an open mind, there are a number of other books that are much better than this pile of excrement. Read them and you'll be smarter for it.

For students of the Kennedy assassination, Murder at Dealey Plaza offers a chilling chronology of personal movements and actual events leading up to, during, and directly after the murder of John F. Kennedy. The book packs an enormous amount of information into its 468 pages. Fetzer supports earlier premises, presented by Jim Garrison, Oliver Stone, and others, that Lee Harvey Oswald could not have kiled President John F. Kennedy.

Fetzer gives the reader times and locations of persons surrounding the assassination, building his case as he goes. Details abound throughout the book. Hobos, who were pictured in Jim Garrison's book, On The Trail of the Assassins, as riding a freight train into Dallas the morning before the assassination, arrested and released by Dallas police before the assassination took place, were identified by Fetzer, with a face and name. Fetzer also challenges Warren Commission findings on Lee Harvey Oswald as the lone gunman, presenting detailed information on Kennedy's autopsies, and disproving the "magic bullet" theory. Fetzer demonstrates through depositions and other documentation, that there were at least 6 shots fired in Dallas that day, 4 of which hit Kennedy. The author makes a convincing argument that Kennedy was hit twice from behind and twice from the front, and that he was killed with high velocity bullets-not the type of bullets used in Oswald's defective rifle. Fetzer presents evidence that could have made a case for Oswald's innocence, while describing how information was manipulated to the press at the time, for the purpose of assigning guilt for the assassination squarely on Lee Harvey Oswald.

Fetzer's book supports evidence of a plot to kill Kennedy. He notes with impecable details that warnings Kennedy might be killed in Dallas during his stay there were sent to every major city in the United States except for Dallas. Other strange scenarios the reader is told about include the 112th Military Intelligence Group at 4th Army Headquarters at Fort Sam Houston in Dallas, usually in charge of protecting the President, was told to "stand down" that day, rather than report for duty in Dallas, over the protests of the unit commander. Local sheriff's deputies and uniformed policemen were instructed to take no part in the security of the Presidential motorcade, and to stand with their backs to the crowd during the parade. Fetzer also tells the reader that Mrs. Kennedy remembered that in all their stops in Texas she was presented yellow roses, except for Dallas. In Dallas, the roses she was presented with upon arrival were red.

Was the JFK assassination a coup d'etat? The reader is left with a question.

Fetzer's style of presenting information in a minute by minute format through much of the book adds importance to facts surrounding the case. For seekers of truth on the Kennedy assassination, Fetzer's book is a wealth of information.

In the same line of "The Day of the Jackal" Meade offers an entertaining WWII thriller. The story is a little farfetched, another conspiracy to assassinate one world leader and change the course of the war. Nobody has done that better than the original Frederick Forsight. But the recreation of Africa on the verge of War is still first rate.

If you are not very demanding and forgive some plot holes this will make a very nice reading and you will enjoy the adventure, heroism and romance

the plot to make did not make any sense.
send two people who hate hitler and his cause to kill Roosevel and Churchill.
the germans in this book are portrayed as pure evil.
like in the starwars series where the sith and darth vader are pure evil.
it seems to may as yet another copy of The Day Of The Jackal where one man can change the course of history and bla bla bla.
even though The Jackal is by far the best book I ever read.
as i already mentioned, the germans are potrayed as pure evil and the allies as pure saints.
the plot doesn't make much sense as i don't see the dificulty of assassinting two men.
if your german, DON'T READ THE BOOK.
if you hate germans, you'll love to see how "coldblooded" they are.
instead, read The Day Of The Jackal if you like them conspiracies.

Sands of Sakkara is set in 1943. The war is starting to go bad for the Nazis, so they decide to launch an audacious plot to murder U.S. President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, as he meets British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, for a conference, in Cairo. They hope this assasination will turn the tide of war back in their favour.

Enter the books main characters, Harry Weaver, Jack Halder, and Rachel Stern. Three people from different backgrounds, who became close friends, during an archelogical dig, in Egypt, back in 1939. However, the fortunes of war sees them on opposing sides, and their friendships tested to the limit.

I found this book an enjoyable read, with a relentless pace, particularly towards the end. Character development is good, and I really felt for two of the protaganists, in particular, and the desperate situation that they had been forced into, by the Nazis.

The only drawback to the book, I felt, was that there was an element of 'Keystone Cops' at times, when the authorities were trying to chase down the spies. Overall, though a good read.

This is a wonderful World War II story. It is unique in that it details the attempted assassination of Roosevelt and Churchill by the Germans, during their Cairo Conference in Egypt. There are three key characters in the book, Jack, Rachael and Harry, who were friends, and at times lovers, before the outbreak of the war. Each is extremely well developed, as are the convoluted and at times desperate relationships between the three of them. The story essentially deals with a contest between Jack, who has been dispatched to Cairo by the SS with the task of carrying out the assassinations, and Jack, who has been assigned (by US military intelligence) the task of preventing the assassinations from happening. This novel is a wonderful combination of suspense and adventure, set in wartime Berlin and Cairo, and I believe that Meade has done an excellent job of describing the atmosphere of those two locations during World War II. The novel is classical Glenn Meade and I wholeheartedly recommend it.

I'm a fan of this genre and was looking forward to my first book by this author. Very disappointed. The idea of a plot against FDR and WC is fine (though we know outcome ahead of time) but the writing sinks the book. The coincidences relied upon to keep the plot moving are rediculous (coincidences usually play a role in spy thrillers but here seem to be used simply out of laziness or lack of imagination). The dialogue is wooden beyond belief as if taken from Hollywood B movies of the 1940s. If the book was "extensively researched" (see Amazon review) it doesn't show. The period touches amount to the simple mentioning of makes of old cars, military planes and weapons. For far superior WWII espionage fiction read Alan Furst.

I'm a history buff and am learning details about post World War I that I never knew.

Book based on "Ifs", "Could have happened", "Must have happened", "Can't be trusted", an so on, but no definite facts. Really, based on no facts at all. I've got the impression that the authors want to show a "loving" Lenin, stating that he wasn't involved in the massacre of the whole family, failing to explain from which documents they arrive to such conclusion. I highly regret having bought the book. It is not serious at all.

"The Fate of the Romanovs" by British historians Greg Wilson and Penny Wilson looks at the life and tragic death of Nicholas II and his doomed family who died in a hail of Bolshevik bullets on July 17, 1918.
The book is long and very detailed in its depiction of what happened to the eighteenth and last Tsar. Nicholas began his reign in 1894. He was a good father and husband but a terrible ruler of the vast land he ruled!
Nicholas was a virulent anti-semite, persecuted Jews and minorities, cruely sought to stifle dissent and lived in a fabulously wealthy cocoon
supported by the reaction Russian Orthodox Church and the Tsarist army.
Nicholas was a uxorious mate to his formidable Darmstadt born wife Queen Alexandra. She was disliked by the public and aristocrats at court for her haughty and unfriendly behavior. Alexandra was deeply religious although her support of the starets Rasputin was deplored by the Russian people.
Nicholas and Alexandra were the parents of five children: Olga, Tatiana, Marie, Anastasia and the tsarevich Alexis who was a hemophiliac.
The family were taken prisoner by the provisional government of Kerensky in the spring of 1917 following the signing of the treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany. The Romanovs who had ruled Russian for 300 years were taken into captivity at their home Tsarkoye Selo. Later they would be moved under guard to the Siberian city of Tobolsk and their final destination of Ekaterinburg in the Ural Mountains. The Bolsheviks were now their captors. Ekaterinburg was under attack by the White Russian army and the Czechs as the Russian Civil War was in full force. Lenin did not favor the execution of Nicholas unless he were tried in a public trial before the nation.
It was the Ural Soviet Council that wanted Nicholas and his family to die before their city was taken by the Whites/Czechs. And so on the night of July 17, 1918 the Romanovs were forced to enter the cellar of the Ipatiev home where they were being held prisoner. Here they were shot to death and bayoneted by a squad of 10 men led by Yurovsky. Their bodies were first put the Four Brothers Mine nine miles outside the city deep in the forest. This was proved to be unacceptable and they were then buried in a mass grave in a forest meadow.
This story takes 300 pages to tell. It was, to this reviewer, the most interesting part of the book. The second half deals with inept attempts by the Soviet government to invesigate the scene of the crime, exhume the bones and make a report on their findings. We also learn of the controversy in the Russian Orthodox Church on granting the Romanovs sainthood. The Romanovs were buried in the Fortress of St. Peter and St. Paul in St. Petersburg on July 17, 1998 in a controversial funeral pitting political & religous forces against one another.
The major mystery remains the whereabouts of the bodies of Anastasia and her brother Alexis. Their bodies were never found in a mystery which will probably never be solved. King and Wilson inform us that the Romanovs have become the center of a cult glorifying past Russian glory.
As one who is not privy to all the controversies in this Royal murder mystery this is still an excellent book for the history buff or general reader. The account of the brutal and horrific murders will shock and sadden you. I recommend this book as a worthy addition to your shelf on Russia and her leaders.

For anyone with an historical interest in the last Tsar this book is a must read. The historical analysis is well done and up to date (excepting the recent find of Alexei and Maria's grave sites). The work is well documented with footnotes and sources, but at the same time it is thoroughly enjoyable to read. Although there are some different approaches to the Romanov tragedy, I did not find it so "revisionist" as it proclaims, except perhaps to put a more human side to the captors of the family and the somewhat lack of responsibilty Lenin had for the murders. It stays on my library shelves as a great reference to the events described and explained.

Very well but selectively researched. I was disappointed by the obvious sympathies to a group of people that comitted the most henous act of genocide in history.

Over bloated and irrelevant in places. Don't bother.

Although this book is a credible continuation of Garrison's impressive work, unlike Garrison's three books, which are beautifully, coherently and convincingly written, the style of this one is self-destructively disjointed, gossipy, and just barely coherent. Sadly, it has adopted a style reminiscent of the very CIA disinformation tracts that have been used over the last 40 years to discredit Garrison and his impressive work. Despite its self-destructive style, this is still an important book --among only a handful that seem to have a secure handle on the events and people that led to JFK's assassination. It correctly ridicules the Warren Commission Report as an exercise in "exorcism," a fantasy that at least for a while, accomplished its task of "pinning the tail of the assassination donkey" on "everybody's favorite Commie," Lee Harvey Oswald.

Importantly, it recognized (as did District Attorney Jim Garrison) that the epicenter of the plot that ended in JFK's death was probably hatched in Langley, but finalized in New Orleans and carried out by "hired mechanics" in Dallas. It was New Orleans and its environs where most of the dots could be connected that led up the chain to offices in Langley and inevitably on to Dallas. It was there that Clay Shaw, as the Managing Director of the "CIA front," the New Orleans International Trade Mart, was also the apparent "second line" manager of the JFK assassination plot. The New Orleans International Trade Mart was itself but one link in a longer and tighter chain connected directly to a similar "CIA front" in Rome called "Centro Mondiale Commerciale," which was a replacement for the more notorious "CIA Front" PERMINDEX, based in Switzerland. All three apparently were at Shaw's disposal for among others nefarious things, funneling untraceable money to fund CIA activities.

Jim Garrison went to his death with the belief that the same team within the CIA that had carried out the overthrow of Arbenz in Guatemala, namely, Lawrence Houston, Richard Helms, James Jesus Angleton, E. Howard Hunt and David Atlee Phillips, also planned the JFK assassination. And although there is only scant circumstantial evidence presented here that this was in fact the case, it is powerful evidence nonetheless. This book demonstrates "guilty and conspiratorial connections" all along the chain of the plot: from the ground grunts, the actual shooters (probably rabid anti-Castro Cubans or hired foreign professional hitmen), to the third line managers and planners of the mechanics of the assassination (Guy Bannister and David Ferrie), to the second line manager, Clay Shaw (Bannister's handler), on up the chain to the first line managers in Langley mentioned above.

It was New Orleans where the den of vipers, headed by ex-FBI SAC and CIA asset, Guy Bannister, at 544 Camp Street was engaged in all manner of nefarious activities designed to undermine and embarrass JFK and his Cuban policies: from directing Cuban exile attacks against Castro, to purchasing and storing weapons, to managing the activities that would advance the "legend" of Oswald as a patsy. New Orleans was where the mysterious but central player David Ferrie operated ubiquitously engaged in all manner of activities associated with assassination planning and execution. It was also New Orleans where mobster Carlos Marcello, lived. Recall that it was Marcello (as well as Santos Trafficani) who had accurately predicted that "JFK would be hit." It was Clinton, Louisiana, near New Orleans, where Shaw, Ferrie, Bannister and Oswald were spotted together during the summer of 1963, apparently in an effort by them to "darken" Oswald's record as a "Communist Pro-Castro malcontent." We also discover here (on page 43) that Lee Harvey Oswald at the age of 16, was recruited into the CIA via the Marine Corps by (CIA Asset) David Ferrie, who was at the time Oswald's Civil Air Patrol (CAP) Commander. Recently released document also reveal that Oswald also went on to become both a CIA, FBI, ONI, and a Customs undercover agent and asset.

These are a few of the many isolated facts that are unnecessarily thrown together willy-nilly in this book. Undoubtedly one of the reasons it may have been done has been to protect anonymous sources, but it could have been done also as a way of "stretching tenuous facts." However, without the necessary connective tissue, without a context, without a convincing theory of the assassination, throwing facts together willy-nilly does not add up to a convincing case against those who are "probably guilty." This case, very much is presented like the O.J. Simpson case was presented: the evidence against "the guily" is overwhelming, but the case is so badly botched, that any sensible jury would have to give the accused (the CIA in this case) "a pass."

There is no theory, no overarching theoretical framework, no hypothesis in which to place this mosaic. It gives hints and suggestions that mere hatred of the Kennedys was sufficient for CIA's clandestine services, to begin the wheels turning of a "vast right wing conspiracy" that ended in JFK's murder. How credible is that? It is simply left up to the reader to draw his own conclusions.

Well, the fact is that most of us have drawn our own conclusions, what we needed but did not get here was an author who could put together a coherent and logically sound case that refuted the "cock-and-bull story" sold to us in the Warren Commission Report. This book came close, and gets "an A" for effort, but still gets no bananas.

Five stars for the research, three for the writing, and four for the book as a whole.

The book could use some editing (the writing is ponderous and repetitious at times) but the research supporting Garrison's "trail of assassins" is edifying and compelling.

Joan Mellen takes on the Jim Garrison/Clay Show trial in New Orleans in this highly frustrating book on the JFK Assassination. While she presents much worthwhile information and makes a very strong case that Shaw was a CIA employee involved in the assassination, her conclusions are dragged down in a morass of poor writing. Much is out-of-order chronologically, years are not given to orient the reader, aliases are used interchangeably with real names, etc. The organization at times seems random. All in all, combined with the vast amount of information presented, this ends up being extremely difficult to read.

Troublesome also is that Mellen includes well over 100 pages of end notes but many, many quotes and other salient points have no citation listed.

Worthwhile, but be prepared to put in a lot of work.

While the information contained in this book is very interesting, it is presented so poorly, I could not finish it. There is virtually no structure to the book. Follow a timeline, or a character or anything, but pick something and give me linear story. This book made me dizzy.

For J. Mellen, it is an open secret that US intelligence services were directly involved in JFK's assassination. For their deadly feud with JFK, the latter himself gave the reasons: he wanted to `curb activities of spook outfits' and `splinter them in thousand pieces and scatter them to the winds.' He put all local intelligence offices under control of the US ambassadors.
Beside intelligence (`the clandestine arm of warfare interests in the US government'), the war machine corporations wanted in no way to attach their fortunes to the Kennedys.

The only legal action against the alleged perpetrators of the assassination came from a courageous district attorney, Jim Garrison. That he was very near (part of ) the truth is proven by the frontal vicious attacks launched against him and his investigation by intelligence itself. All legal and illegal means were good enough to destroy him.
But he was only near a part of the truth: the ground staff, not near those who ordered the murder, the upper level of the plotters.
Joan Mellen shows profusely how Oswald was continuously surrounded by intelligence agents and how the latter shared their beds with the Mafia. J. Garrison knew that he fought against `a secret state of its own' and `a major menace to the democracy we live in'.
The author reveals also that there was an alternative scapegoat in the wings, if the framing of Oswald would not succeed, and, more controversially, that Bob Kennedy was against Garrison's investigation, because he thought he needed `to gain the presidency to deal with the facts of his brother's death.'

This book throws a shrill light on the Pravda-like media (C. Johnson) who are creating a Kafkaesque world which has nothing to do with this world's political and economic realities. Another example in this book: the U2 Powers incident in 1956 was a provocation to kill détente between Eisenhower and Khrushchev.
This book is a must read for all those who are interested in the most important coup d'état of the 20th century and who want to understand the world we live in.

I went into this book based solely on the description on the dust jacket. Big mistake! After about 20 pages it became painfully clear that the writer lacked any imagination and his writing any originality. The book read like a cliche festival but I had hopes that the plot line would improve and the pace pick up. No such luck. After clawing my way thru about a quarter of the book I gave up. The characters are so unbelievable that it simply wasn't worth going any futher. With writing this bad you don't care how the story ends or what happens to the characters.

This novel had the potential to be so much more. I found the story line interesting-enough to hold my interest until the end-but also too drawn out. Several times throughout the book, I found the author giving redundant descriptions of situations and conversations that occurred within the text. I also found the format to be awkward-chapter breaks in places for each minute or two of action, chopping the text into one and two sentence bites. This is a cheap, artificial way of building suspense and totally unnecessary. The body of the story was gripping and reminiscent of Robert Ludlum's novels, but tended to drag on too much. I feel the book should have ended much sooner and with a better finish. The ending was a disappointment and another example of cheap tactics to hold interest.

This continuation of detective Marten's knack for hooking into trouble doesn't quite have the speed of Folsom's (previous) EXILE. There's less blood shed with lots more intellectual problem-solving, but it didn't keep me up late like EXILE did. Never-the-less, Folsom is good with words and obviously likes the brain twists that he inserts. I'm wondering though, (in the next book)will we really know who was knocking on Marten's door at 2:22 am or will it be left to dangle like who the hell found Marten on the beach and wrote on his car?!

I have really enjoyed a couple of Folsom's books but lately they have been disappointing. This book at best is so-so. The story is interesting but not engaging enough to keep your attention for 500+ pages. It was entertaining at points but by the end I was just trying to get through it. Not recommended....

"The Machiavelli Covenant" was entertaining to say the least. It didn't waste any time drawing the reader in, which is something not enough books seem to do. Although the story was far fetched, it was action packed, and detailed vividly. Some of the narrating was repetitive, but I did appreciate the chronological structure Folsom created. It's certainly one of those books that will keep you up late, continuously saying "just one more chapter." I look forward to the sequel.

Having read several books on MLK's assassination, and well over 100 on JFK's, I am not what you would call anti-conspiracy. When you mix in the fact that I found Posner's "Case Closed" to be absolutely horrible, well, you can understand why I expected to hate this one as well. Boy, was I wrong.

Posner's study of James Earl Ray and the MLK is far more reasoned - and reasonable - than "Case Closed" ever hoped to be. He does a terrific job of painting a portrait of Ray as a potential killer. And, while debunking most of the existing conspiracy theories, Posner does not dismiss conspiracy entirely. In fact, he implies that Ray conspired with his brothers to commit the crime in order to collect the bounty on MLK placed by a St. Louis man.

Read with an open mind and you just might be surprised!

This book outlines the events leading up to the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., together with the subsequent investigations and controversies. Posner, trained in law, has hunted down the details of the case used as evidence in the various legal hearings over the years. He explains why King happened to be in Memphis that fateful day, and describes who King had been with and what they had been discussing in the minutes before the assassination. He also provides an extensive profile of James Earl Ray, from his parents' stormy marriage, to Ray's first arrests and incarcerations, to his jail break and attempts to flee the country prior to murdering King. Posner traces Ray's movements, both those substantiated through independent records and witnesses, as well as Ray's own accounts, written to fulfill media contracts to pay for his legal defense. Posner goes on to describe the various legal proceedings concerning Ray and the King case, and the development of conspiracy theories regarding the King assassination. He makes it clear, however, that any reasonable examination of the evidence points to Ray as the sole assassin.

A particularly disturbing aspect of King's assassination is that from the time of Ray's first detention in England following the murder, Ray's defense lawyers were to receive their compensation from the sale of Ray's story. Thus, Ray and his lawyers had every motivation to develop a sensational story to explain the damning evidence. Indeed, the more sensational, the better, since increased sales of the story would mean higher fees for the defense team. Posner describes here how the lawyers who agreed to defend Ray on these terms also had little motivation to provide a strong defense once the matter of the fees had been settled, and how this led to the decision to push for a plea bargain instead of a jury trial. From Posner's telling, it's unclear whether Ray was a schizophrenic who believed in his own tales, or a pathological liar who was especially skilled at weaseling out of crimes with preposterous stories. What is clear, though, is that Ray was extremely racist, so full of hate for Blacks, that while serving a prison term prior to shooting King, he wouldn't accept a transfer from a high security prison to the lower security prison farm because it would mean having to live and work with Blacks for the first time in his life. With this in mind, it is unfathomable that Ray was able, through construction of his stories, to convince members of the King family and other prominent African Americans of his innocence. Aside from the King assassination itself, that's the real tragedy of this story.

Posner does a remarkable job of uncovering what really happened in the case and pointing out the inconsistencies with Ray's claims. Posner details some of the more recent claims of conspiracy theorists, showing how they are completely unsubstantiated by military records and interviews with supposed witnesses. In some cases, Posner overstates himself, declaring that certain of Ray's actions are "clear evidence" when, at best, they might "strongly suggest" his motivations. Nevertheless, the story is well told and provides an informative account of this important episode in American history.

This book, like Posner's book on The Kennedy Assassination, is one that claims (but fails to) solve the case. Posner's ego aside, this book also mimics the book He did on the Kennedy Assassination because this book, like the Kennedy one, is a book that is long on speculation, long on twisting things to suit his own opinion, but short on facts and short on truths.
This does not serve the readers of his books well, at all.
Then again, Posner cares so little about history that he doesnt even care enough to study the facts of history, so why should we be surprised when he cares less about his readers, and more about getting his name in the "spotlight"?
This book, like Posner's "Case closed" book, fails to close the case....in fact on its absurdity alone, it strengthens the notion that we the people have not been told the truth about the political assassinations that have killed our most talented leaders.
This book, true to Posner's writing style, is all one sided.
It does not consider other possibilities. It just tries to debunk alternative theories, but fails miserably, thus actually giving credence to the alternative theories.
Is this surprising? No. After all does anyone truly believe that this guy, this ONE man has actually solved two of the most mysterious murder cases in U.S. History, while thousands of others have failed? Posner wants us to believe that he has solved the cases that NOBODY else has been able to solve for decades. That alone should make him suspect.
Posner's books are propaganda for the government's "version" of these events (I.E. The version they WANT us to believe). The fact that one of the people who helped Posner to publish his books was once married to the Secretary of James Angleton, the CIA Counterintelligence chief (I.E. Disinformation Chief) should be a signal for people to not be suckered in by this man's books. But, by all means, enjoy them.

Posner's book is an exhaustive and compelling study of the assassination of MLK, focussing almost entirely on James Earl Ray, the barely-bright loser who decided to kill him. The level of detail is really staggering-- Posner deserves praise for following up every smidgen of info about this cretinous character. The book is worth reading-- but I would recommend reading Posner's supremely accomplished "Case Closed" first, if you haven't. The JFK murder offers thousands of fascinating sideroads to explore, and Posner digs into each. "Case Closed" is a masterstroke, so this book, covering a crime with a less compelling mystery, pales next to it.

I'm not sure where Gerald Posner was for the last 36 years, but this country certainly could have used his cool logic and investigator's sharp nose for truth.

In "Killing The Dream," Posner traces the life of James Earl Ray, the man who shot Martin Luther King, Jr. at Memphis's Lorraine Motel in April 1968. A small-time criminal and drifter, Ray nevertheless harbored a need for accomplishment. But without education, limited intellectual gifts and with a stultifying background in poverty, he never stood a chance. His one shot at money and fame as to bring down someone big, and in 1968, that someone was Martin Luther King, Jr. By the time I finished "Killing the Dream," any doubt I harbored that Ray killed King had been shredded by Posner's meticulous investigation.

Ray's post-assassination fantasies about being part of a shadowy conspiracy -- painstakingly chronicled by Posner -- threw the public, and even the King family tragically off track for nearly four decades. If there is any consolation it is that with "Killing the Dream," Posner has left a neatly gift-wrapped narrative for future generations to follow, giving them insight into the mind of the killer and that of a society that still cannot believe that small men can annihilate greatness.

The idea is interesting, but the execution leaves much to be desired. Between utterly unlikable characters and a story that is thin to start out with and devolves into heavy-handed preaching on animal rights and what appears to be a rationalization of violent acts in the support of said rights. This is one of the few books that I haven't been interested in finishing.

To preface, I think Liss is a great author and I really loved his first novel, A Conspiracy of Paper: A Novel (Ballantine Reader's Circle) was fantastic and completely riveting. I picked up this book in a discount bin, and I understand why it was there.

The story isn't entirely uninteresting, but he frequently substitutes a rant for a story. Liss seemed more interested in telling me what he wanted me to think rather than telling me a story. It made the characters completely one dimensional.

Ultimately, if you want to read a mishmash of a novel and animal rights propaganda, get this book. If you want a great story with fantastic writing and interesting characters, try one of his other books.

I too am a huge fan of David Liss's writing, and I love his two Benjamin Weaver books. This book is as different from these as possible. For one thing the setting is 1985 Florida, not some much earlier historical time in Europe. For another, this book has a different storyline altogether. It chronicles one wild weekend in a 17-year-old Enclopedia salesman's life when he gets on the wrong side of the law, and on the right side of a strangely ethical assassin. Poor Lem doesn't know what he has gotten himself into when two potential customes are shot right in front of him. The book kept my interest, and it was actually quite funny, but somehow it fell short at the denouement stage. The book is certainly worth reading if only for the sheer fun of it, and its probably as bizarre as fiction can get. But I can't help hoping that Liss will get back to a much earlier time in history with his next book.

This is quite an entertaining book with a murderer that has a unique as far as most killers go view of the world along with morals and ethics that he follows. The main narrator character Lem is quite a likeable character and you do want to keep turning the pages to see how escapes the predicament he has fallen into. You could mildly compare this book to a Carl Hiaasen, Bill Fitzhugh, Dave Barry type novel but its not really like those authors' work. It is however a fun, light thriller of a read.

Lem has grown up in Florida and hated every minute of it. At school he was fat and the constant victim of bullying. His stepfather promised him that he would help him out financially if he could get into a leading university so Lem sacrificed his childhood and took daily beatings and abuse from Florida child bullies to get the grades for a partial scholarship to a New York university. His dream is shattered when his step father renegs on the deal but Lem isn't prepared to keep living the life of torment that Florida is to him. Lem signs up to become a door to door educational material salesman to raise the funds he needs to live on when he's a student. Lem is very, very good at his job which impresses his boss who in return gives him the very Moochy areas so they'll both make more money from his commision, but this angers two of his redneck coworkers who see Lem as a fun victim for their bullying. While on a sales walk one day Lem is picked on by a local who is sporting the very first mullet Lem has ever seen. Lem can't understand why anyone would do such a thing to themselves unless they are mentally deranged so decides to escape him and try and get inside the nearest caravan he can, even though the place doesn't look like it has much potential for a sale. Inside for a long time he is pleasantly surprised to pull off a sale but just as the cheque is written a man enters the van and puts a bullet in each of the heads of the couple. Lem thinks he's about to die but the assassin tells him he doesn't kill people without a valid reason (he's not going to tell Lem what that reason is) but Lem had better keep quiet or he'll frame him as the killer.

Over the days ahead Lem will constantly run into or be rescued by this ethical assassin who he learns name is Melford. Melford becomes Lem's mentor in a way pointing out to Lem the evils of the world in his eyes such as encouraging the evils of animal cruelty through eating meat. Lem agrees with some viewpoints and follows Melford's lifestyle where he can see it makes sense, but to Lem's credit he's not afraid to argue the more extremist viewpoints. As his courage and self esteem grows he has the courage to argue Melford's ethics a bit more but every time he does he wonders if he's going too far and may in fact become Melford's next victim. Lem is also learning that the Florida cesspool town (mostly trailer park community) he is selling in is full of a large number of dimwitted, redneck or eccentric characters (some have all three traits) and the company he works for is part of a much larger criminal underworld. He must work out why Melford killed the trailer park couple to be able to make a clean getaway from Florida. The local corrupt mayor/sheriff however has his own plans for Lem and Lem knows he has to avoid any alone time with him.

I might have given the novel four stars, but the chapters shift between characters and are sometimes out of chronological order. That complicates an already complex plot. What you have is a small town police chief/mayor abusing his authority; a speed trap supported town; an animal rights activist; a factory type hog farm; drug manufacturing and distribution; and an encyclopedia sales organization. A lot of people are out for a buck, by whatever means available. Into this mix, we add Lem Altick, trying to earn money for college. Lem stumbles into a cold blooded assassination type murder. He is trying to disentangle himself, and keeps getting deeper.

This is one of those novels where you have to figure out who is doing what to whom, and what motivations are driving people. Bad guys don't trust each other, especially when a chunk of money is missing. In some cases the punishment fits the crime.

What's a nice girl like you doing in a place like this? Lem at least finds some romance along the way.

The novel has adult situations and some gruesome scenes.