Assassinations Books

Lightweight Bond book easily read in a couple of hours isn't awful, just a passable waste of time.

After James Bond is discovered to be alive, but brainwashed by the KGB (he was presumed dead at the end of "You Only Live Twice"), Bond is "reprogrammed" by the British Secret Service and sent off on a suicide mission to kill Scaramanga, the fastest gunman in the world, in order to prove himself once again.

I presume it was the new-found fame that did it. After writing such marvellous, well plotted books as "Doctor No" and "Goldfinger", it is as if Fleming gave up when writing the later James Bond books. I suppose that by that time, the money was practically guaranteed and even his shopping list would have sold. "The Man with the Golden Gun" is the second last of Fleming's fourteen Bond adventures and like "The Spy Who Loved Me" and "You Only Live Twice", it feels more like an extended short story than a fully developed novel. It's not just that it's shorter than the earlier novels; the level of detail of the earlier novels just isn't there. Furthermore, the villain and the "Bond girl", two of the main drawcards of the Bond series, just aren't up to par either. Although there is technically a "girl" in this book, in the form of Bond's former secretary, Mary Goodnight, she barely plays a part in the story, and although Scaramanga is a passable villain, he pales by comparison to Fleming's mega-villains such as Blofeld and Dr. No.

This is not a terrible novel. I enjoyed reading it. However, it is disappointing when compared to some of the previous novels. Read it, by all means, but not as your first Bond novel.

While I didn't feel this was the greatest Ian Fleming novel, This book easily holds its own among the others in the series. Book is dated by time but that doesn't affect how much enjoyable these novels are.

Bond, a victim of amnesia has ended up in Russia. Now an easy target he is brainwashed and sent back to England to kill M. M survives, and they successfuly restore Bond to his former self. After an assassination attempt, his status is iffy, and he is keen to get back in the field.

He is sent to get rid of Francisco Scaramanga, a gangster working with the KGB. Bond again ends up in the Carribean, and works with Leiter and also agent Goodnight, who is now working in Jamaica.

Between Bond and Leiter, many gangsters do the shuffling off thing, but both men are badly hurt.

Bond turns down a knighthood.

They say that all good things must come to an end. In the case of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels, that end is with The Man with the Golden Gun. After this, there would only be a short story collection (Octopussy & The Living Daylights) to wrap up the set. Posthumously released (and supposedly concluded by a ghost writer), this book is generally considered one of the weaker of the Bond books, but I actually found it to be a pretty decent conclusion to the series.

The book opens by resolving issues left open in You Only Live Twice (so if you don't want that book spoiled, read no further). Bond, having suffered a head injury, has lost most of his memory and has wound up in Soviet hands, where he is brainwashed into becoming an assassin. His target is M (whose name is revealed to be Miles Messervy). The plot is quickly foiled and Bond is sent to a clinic to be straightened out.

To determine if Bond is still worthy of his 007 number, M dispatches him to Jamaica to kill Francisco Scaramanga, the title character who wields a special gold plated pistol. Scaramanga is one tough man, a sort of anti-Bond who is probably tougher than his hunter. A la Hamlet, Bond is a reluctant and hesitant killer, deferring his opportunities for finishing Scaramanga to instead infiltrate the Man with the Golden Gun's criminal enterprise. Eventually, like the Shakespearean character, procrastination will have to be replaced by action, leading to a showdown between the two.

This works well as a final Bond novel, with none of the open issues that marked other recent books. Scaramanga is a worthy adversary and there's a decent amount of action. On the other hand, this is a bit shallower of a book than the two previous novels (On Her Majesty's Secret Service and You Only Live Twice) which both gave a deeper look into the British superspy. Overall, this is a good but not great book and a reasonably worthy conclusion to the Bond series.

I've been to Guatemala many times before and since Bishop Juan Gerardi's murder, and Francisco Goldman electrifies readers of "The Art of Political Murder" about one famous Guatemalan murder among thousands of others. His title using "the art" is so well chosen, since that word expresses so well the clever yet insidious minds who designed his murder. Despite those clever designers and their plots to hide their crime, and at the same time because of the courage of many Guatemalans in pursuing those murderers, some element of justice has been meted out to them.
I found Goldman's chronicle of the assassination of Bishop Gerardi to be so engaging that it encourages a reading almost without stopping.

The reviews here seem to fall into 3 camps: the "it's a perfect masterpiece"" camp, the "he was duped by ODHA - 'who killed biship' got it right" camp, and the "he is a lefist fool" camp. I belong to none of these, so let me throw my two cents in here....

I spent a brief time in Guatemala doing human rights work in the mid 80's (a shout out to any PBI alums in the house :)), and so was interested in the subject matter, and had at least a glancing acquaintance with the horrid murderous travesty that was the Guatemalan government, as well as the impenetrable fog of denials, mis-statements, forgeries, violence, hidden agendas, disappearances and murk that hid virtually any attempt to get at any truth.

I found the first half of the book (which focuses on the "who-done-it") outstanding. Here Goldman relates the story of the investigation - the false leads, the disappearing witnesses, the hopelessly (and deliberately) contanimated crime scene, the (deliberately) conflicting evidence, the overlapping areas (and agendas) of the investigators, etc. That the investigators were able to finally pierce it (not completely, but most crimes never are) is just amazing, especially given the very real threat to themselves and their families.

I think the other reviewers who criticize this book for not analyzing the case for/against Monsenor Mario, or for not analyzing the case made by 'who killed the bishop' are being unfair - goldman spends a _lot_ of time on each of these, especially the latter, to the point that you could almost criticize the book for over-focusing on it. Similarly, I think criticizing the book for not telling more of the story of the defendants is ludicrous - when your primary interactions with a defendant consist of their giving you death threats, it's hard to go much further!

The problem with the book lies in the second half, what is called the "second crime" - the multi-year "war of attrition" against the verdict, year after year of judicial games, wars in the press, maneuver after maneuver. Here, while I appreciate the author's work in showing us just how deeply broken the justice system and press were (and are), I just felt the book became a less interesting read - we know who done it, we know why, now we read chapter after chapter of frustration (although it sure made me glad I've never been a guest of the Guatemalan Penal system!). One last cavil - another reviewer says that Goldman never walks us through the final 'best guess' of the final crime, minute by minute - oh yes he does, it's near the end.

So in summary - a good book, an important book, a book alternately deeply depressing and deeply inspring, but not a great _read_, the only reason I am marking it down a little.

Frankly, I wasn't at all sure about this book when I picked it up but I'm so glad I did. It's filled with much detailed and historically fascinating information, including personalities, and written exceptionally well. I simply could not put it down. If you're remotely interested in the topic, READ THIS BOOK.

I got the book expecting to find insightful and unbiased investigation through the point of view of ODHA. Nevertheless, the author views are totally biased in favor of the ODHA lawyers and the Public Ministry. This feature of the book helped me to confirm that the arguments used by them to sentence the two military officers, and the catholic father to 20 years in jail are based on untrustful witnesses and false declarations, which are still supported by the author. The only good thing about this book is that it motivated me to read once again the book "Quien mató al obispo?" written by Maite Rico and Bertrand de Lagrange, which I think that contains much more trustful data, and that I wish it gets translated into English to broader its difussion. I hope that the inocent military people who are now in jail, as a result of an undeserved and unfair sentence could, sometime soon, be free.

I'm surprised by David Stoll's review of Goldman's book. I had a very different reaction when I read it. Like both Stoll and Goldman, I have lived in Guatemala and written about the history and impact of political violence in the country. In addition, as a human rights lawyer, I have worked with prosecutors, rights advocates, and victims in countries throughout the region as they've struggled to ensure that cases like the Gerardi assassination do not end in impunity.

Knowing first-hand the complexities of such cases, I found that Goldman did a masterful job of sifting through the evidence in the Gerardi case and reaching conclusions that were entirely judicious, sober, and convincing. Part of what makes the book so fascinating, in fact, is Goldman's very careful exploration of the limits and strengths of the case put together by the prosecutors and the Archbishop's Office--the contradictory testimonies, the dubious witnesses, etc. And what makes the book such a gripping read is how Goldman, a phenomenal storyteller, narrates the inevitably imperfect but remarkably audacious effort by a group of young lawyers to do something that most of their countrymen thought entirely impossible at the time--bring high level military officers to justice.

This is easily one of the best books written about political violence in Latin America in the past several decades.

This gives old testament and new testament scriptures leading to the end times. Hagee Stresses the importance of the Jewish state of Israel and a new Jewish Temple in Jerusalem.

I tried to read this trash-book almost 10 years ago.This book is only garbage.Don't waste your time or money, reading this trash-book.

John Hagee's book "Beginning of the End" attempts to provide its reader with a vivid illustration of the chronology and events of the end-times according to the prophets of the Bible. The book serves as perfect complimentary reading to other books on the subject from authors like Tim LaHaye, Hal Lindsey, and Grant Jeffery. The historical notes and Biblical commentary add real value to this book, as readers will pick up on certain ideas never mentioned in similar books. For its overall explanation of the end times, this book merits a five-star rating.

However, I rate the book four-stars because of its emphasis on the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin as a major end-time event. The author goes as far as to make the book's subtitle, "The Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin and the Coming Antichrist". And throughout the book, Hagee speculates that Rabin's assassination will cause the Israeli people to charge headfirst into a "peace at any price" movement, which he believes is a forerunner to the Tribulation and the arrival of the Antichrist.

Seven years after this book was written, Israeli and its neighbors are no closer to peace than before, and Rabin's assassination has not assured the "land for peace" doctrine a political victory in Israel. Although I can see the merit of Hagee's work, those unfamiliar with the subject of Biblical prophecy will view his speculations as further evidence that such views are those of "kooks", conspiracy theorists, and wackos. They will point out the seemingly endless history of false speculations made by the Christian community and fail to take end-times prophecy as a serious subject. Speculation should be reserved for fiction, and that's why this is a four-star book...

Britt Gillette
Author of "Conquest of Paradise: An End-Times Nano-Thriller"

This book is just more of Hagee spewing about the end of the world and how Muslims, Arabs, blah blah blah are all evil. He's a dimwitted lunatic, but this book is recommended if you are, too!

Beginning of the End is a fascinating look at where the world is heading in relationship to the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. A vague sort of marker on the timeline of earth's predetermined destiny. He does a fairly decent job of using previously fulfilled prophecies to prove the veracity of the Bible, and then goes on to give his educated opinion of how the end times might play out. While Hagee offers much to learn and ponder, no self-respecting person, especially a Christian, should take his word to be infallible. Read the book, do your own study and research, and come to your own conclusions. As Hagee himself states in the book, most of it doesn't really even matter for Christians because we won't be here when it happens anyway.

This book is quite a stretch and goes to all lengths to clear Erhard and the EST organization with conspiracy theories that don't make any sense when considered. What you can say about the man is he can afford some very good lawyers. The title alone should tell you not to waste your time with this book. As Chris Rock once said about Tupac, Werner Erhard wasn't assassinated...Martin Luther King Jr., that's a man who was assassinated. Werner was simply shot."

What nonsense. Don't believe me? See if you can find anything else written by author "Jane Self, PhD" And check out the rest of the catalog from "Breakthru Publishing." If you think Werner Erhard was run out of town by the Scientologists, ask him why he "made himself a victim," or "created his own victimization," why don't you? This is just another feeble attempt salvage or rewrite or rearrange the facts of his - Werner Erhard's - sleazy reputation. Est "acolytes" and Landmark "followers" are so desperate to prop up an image of their hero they will believe anything. Even this kind of garbage.

The book is well researched and collects plenty of hard to find information in one place. The narrative connects the dots in a way the leaves Erhard's reputation intact (using Erhard's meaning of reputation, relayed somewhere in the book), even as we watch his media image go from bad to terrible. This is an important contribution to the historical record. No matter how cynical one is about Erhard, he deserves to have a say in how the story of his own life gets told (even as he works to remain above the "soap opera" in his philosophical outlook).

'60 Minutes' got its chance. Now we get a low budget response by a journalist who is up front about her agenda.

I'm writing this in 2004, long after the events in this book transpired. Charlene Afermow, mentioned in the book as a member of the anti-Erhard camp (and one my trainers -- Walter Kaufmann and David Raymond enrolled me at Princeton in the late 1970s), is still with Landmark as I understand it (my friend Sara says she led her advanced course). That's interesting. How did that defamation lawsuit filed by Werner's lawyer in a Chicago court turn out? In the book, it's still pending, as was one of the tax court cases.

Again, regardless of one's opinion of Erhard, whether based on first hand knowledge, or a picture of human nature and gurudom in general, he is/was a pivotal figure in my life time. A lot of energy was expended by a lot of people around the programs and organizations he worked to establish, for better or for worse (my own opinion is for better).

I also wonder if Self (the author) has an overly limited view of the scope of the anti-Erhard camp. Sure, the Scientology organization was out to get him at many levels (not true of all scientologists), but perhaps he was considered a threat by others as well -- a global network, connections in the Soviet bloc, rubbing shoulders with policy makers, and in the 1980s, the overlap with Buckminster Fuller. I could see this making a lot of people uncomfortable, besides Church of Scientology execs.

Anyone who reads this book will see that it was very well researched. Jane Self obviously did not enter the writing project with an ax to grind, but as someone wanting simply to uncover the truth. I benefitted greatly from doing the EST training in 1972 and was active in EST programs for many years, including being a guest seminar leader, and know first hand about the truth of many of her assertions.

I was delighted to see someone stand up to the--surprisingly spineless--60-Minute people, who had done a real hatchet job on Werner Erhard in that broadcast. As other reviewers have mentioned, all the seemingly damning allegations have subsequently been recanted.

I worked for Werner's wife Ellen in 1973, and was in close touch with Werner all during the 70's and 80's, and still consider him to be one of the best friends I ever had. I think he has a heart of gold, and his greatest desire is to love and empower people. I assert that he's done a better job of it than just about anyone anywhere.

Which is not to say he didn't make mistakes, maybe some major ones. So who hasn't?? I know for a fact that he put in 100+ hour weeks, every week, putting out the most positive energy he could, once again, to empower the greatest number of people possible. I'd think it is fair to say that he's surely done his best to rectify past mistakes the best way he can...has and moved on. Like I would hope we all do. More power to you, my dearest of friends.

This book is well worth reading.

FYI, I just discovered there is a new movie out about Werner, which has had only private screenings as yet, and which I am looking forward to getting just as soon as it is available on DVD. It's called "Transformation, the life and legacy of Werner Erhard."

This book gets 5 stars for its research effort and zero for wisdom. The author spent a whole day interviewing Werner on Sept. 15, 1991. Too bad this lady author didn't publish her 7-hour taped conversation with Werner. May be her next book?

Interesting that another lady wrote a review on the 3rd anniversary of 911. May be like 911 the lady read the book too quickly and didn't notice that this lady author has already provided the answers to her question in the book.

The first 2 daughters retracted their story while the third one most probably with cohesion with her husband disappeared.

What I find funny is that Werner bothered to take a lie detector test before the March 3, 1991 CBS show. In reality even before the show Werner made preparation to leave the country & EST. The gift of that 60-minutes was to re-enforce the already started process of Werner leaving EST in the hands of the capable hands of his trained coaches that were to form Landmark & Forum.

Just like certain people can see the benefit of Dalai Lama forced to leave Tibet in order to spread the Tibetan version of Buddhism with all its mystical illusions.

As to why his own 3 out of 7 children proclaimed that their natural deserting daddy is a child molester on the 60-min show can be easily explained by Werner's 'own fall from heaven story' which is described in my review of "Werner Erhard Transformation of a man: the founding of EST". That is simple, 44 years later, cause and effect and an example of the pervasiveness of every one's own 'fall from heaven story' in one's own life.

Because of that gift, EST & FORUM can't be said to be cult, since the founder disbanded EST & is now only a researcher that's drawing his revenues from his rigidly crafted & copyrighted course design.

Only a few of the Forum attendees and even coaches bother to read Werner's biography or even heard of his name. By definition a cult must be around a central figure, like Bush's son or Reagan or Hitler, etc, who is supposedly providing central security and correctness for all participants while at the same time at war with all non-participants in the name of future equality and peace. Instead of present equality and peace.

I saw when I met Werner in Japan in 1996, he was being served food while his close attendants were sat with no food in front of them. This is the only thing I didn't like about the hierarchy of coaches vs. attendees or volunteers. There is no equality.

Although I do understand & appreciate that the coaches in 1996, now more to 50 of them according to LandmarkEducation, earned only a paltry $50k annual salary for their original effort and real contribution to humankind. I don't see any reason that they're treated as upper-class, like the apprenticeship for the very hierarchical Japan's Sumo wrestlers or Japan's own very untouchables Buraku sect or any royalty or upper-classmanship. That's feudalism not wisdom.

Werner by choosing Japan, without China. as its audience is making the same mistake as Gandhi. Gandhi chose to use his life energy of non-violence toward the English establishment and could have also chosen for breaking through India's more than 2,000 years tradition of inequality as preserved in the various sects from Brahman to Untouchables. A longer lasting & larger contribution to humankind.

Naturally although "equality" is the cry for emancipation of all revolutions from the Bastille to the US Declaration of Independence to the Communist revolutions the world over. Once the revolutions were over, there was no more mention of "equality"! Why? Is it to preserve the new status quo of a new upper class instead of what the revolution called for EQUALITY?

Builder bumping off means off to Britain.


Falco has an unpleasant discovery in a new structural addition, and the disappearance of those involved leads him to yet another trip to Britain, not his favorite place by any stretch. It is a whole family affair, with kids, and even some in-laws.

Falco sticks his Informer nose in to see if he can solve what is going on with corruption in the building industry and a large Roman project.


3.5 out of 5

Lovely job. This one was just plain fun once it got started. It reads well. I don't think Ms. Davis' strength has ever been the puzzle. No one would mistake her for Agatha Christie. On the other hand, she's a lot more enjoyable to read. Yes, one could wish the mystery were tidied up better, but then the whole thing might not be so nicely spiced. As it is, I enjoyed myself hugely. (Note the wonderful "Briton" playright who gets by without royalties by being popular with the general public and hence sharing in the ticket sales. Several rather delicious references to a Vespasian-era Shakespeare. We were amused.)

Falco revisits old haunts here, returning to Britain "five years" after the start of this series. In the interim he's had many far-flung adventures in increasingly domesticated situations.

The setting provides numerous opportunities for Davis to take jabs at her fellow Britons, while developing Falco's sleuthing after misbegotten building contractors-as if the caustic author were revenging herself on a bad personal experience. The first two-thirds of the story is more scornful witticisms than it is mysterious. Oh, right, there are some bodies falling from the scaffolding but what can you expect on an imperial construction site in barbarian Britannia? Falco has it easy for over 200 pages of banter with hardly a hint of suspense among the evident corruption. Davis is true to the modern archaeological finds at Fishbourne in that the construction of the royal palace hardly rises above its foundations. The story is more fun for its incidents and argot than plot and action. Falco's final apprehension of the miscreants makes little sense because it's so accidental. The slow pace of the first two-thirds of the story corroborates my previous suggestion that Davis, and Falco, are best when they stay close to Rome rather than gallivanting about the Empire into some provincial backwater like Palmyra, Corduba, or Britannia. This volume is not one of my favorites in the series.

This book should be read after Ode To A Banker because some issues and nefarious characters there continue here, along with Falco and his now familiar menagerie. Actually, this volume is the middle of a trilogy that concludes in The Jupiter Myth (still in hardback at this writing). The cover art on my pb copy (with the new circular mosaic theme) differs from that shown on Amazon.

It's been a tough time for Roman informant Falco. First he and his father discover a decomposing body buried under the tiles of his bathhouse. Second, his chief rival begins stalking his sister. Third, Emperor Vespasian wants him to go to Britain to sort out a building project gone bad. Finally, Falco's been asked to find work for his wife's overly energetic but highly impractical brothers. When the chief murder suspects turn up missing, Falco decides to go where the biggest building project is located--Britain--even though he hates that dreary island.

Britain is every bit as dreary as Falco remembers from his days in the military, and it's still a sleepy province far from the civilization of Rome. But Vespasian wants to build a fancy palace for one of the few local kings who supported Rome during a recent rebellion--and he doesn't want to have to pay too much. Falco finds the building crews at war with one another, and nasty hints that the corruption goes even deeper than is usual. Unfortunately, those who benefit from the graft want to keep things just the way they are. It's up to Falco to sort out the problems without creating a diplomatic crisis for his Emperor. Fortunately, Falco's brothers-in-law turn out to be hard-working, if impractical, and his wife, Helena remains a pillar of strength. Which is lucky when the body count really starts to mount.

Author Lindsey Davis delivers an exciting and amusing tale of mystery and history. Falco is a richly detailed character with a lot going on in his life and a lot of constraints that keep him from just throwing out all the scoundrels and starting over. Davis weaves together the multiple mysteries in the novel into a complete whole, gives an intriguing glimpse into what Rome and its provinces might have been like when Rome really did rule the world, and does it with a light tough that keeps the pages turning.

A BODY IN THE BATHHOUSE is a fine and rewarding mystery.

As a Ivy League trained classicist and fan of Lindsey Davis from the time of her very first Falco novel, "Silver Pigs," it's hard for me to say this: frankly and colloquially put, "A Body in the Bathhouse" really stinks. I had begun to sense a growing problem in her last few books- the plots had become thinner, the dialogue more contrived, even the characters seemed to be growing tired of themselves. I had hoped in this book the process would have been reversed, but "A Body in the Bathhouse" only completes the cycle of decline. You get the sense reading her pages that Ms. Davis merely threw together a number of unrelated, superficial characters and plots simply to meet a publisher's deadline. And speaking of the publisher: is anyone editing her series these days? According to the cover, Ms. Davis is an author of "internationally bestselling novels." So why does her editor allow all these supposedly Roman characters to speak in a low-end Birmingham argot that is almost unintelligible to the average American reader? (And I would guess, to quite a few Brits as well, not to mention the Aussies and all other English speakers around the globe.) Enough already! A bit of the King's English, please! And finally, while Ms. Davis' anti-gay bias has been hinted at almost from the beginning of this series, her increasing use of gay stereotypes to portray effeminate and evil men simply smacks of uniformed heterosexual bias. All in all, my recommendation is to wait for this one to come out in paperback, expect little when (and if) you read it, and simply hope for a sea change in future volumes.

What makes this book so great is its limited focus on the Warren Commission itself, and not alternative theories of the JFK Assassination.

The political origins of the Commission are described incredibly well. Virtually no objective reader can have any doubt whatsoever that the Warren Commission went into the investigation already armed with an assigned and foregone conclusion.

This is the book that non-academic namecalling authors, such as Vincent Bugliosi, are afraid to tackle in an open forum.

This is a well written and welcome addition to the seemingly Himalayan pile of works on the world's biggest unsolved murder case and a subject that still haunts America to this day. It is fair to say that the FBI never closed the case and it is no surprise then that works such as this continue to appear. So many however are poorly written, cover the same old ground and present largely unsubstantiated theories of conspiracy. Whilst I disagree personally with the authors stance that Oswald could not have been the lone assassin on the assumption that the single bullet theory must be incorrect, I found much of the text on the on the Commission's work generally to be of high value. Of the many recent ie, post 2000 publications on the subject, I would recommend this book as a good example of a well written pro conspiracy text. It is frustrating though to find yet another author who fails to analyze the magic bullet theory in an open minded fashion - ignoring the ground breaking work of the Discovery Channels documentary "Unsolved History: JFK - Beyond the Magic Bullet DVD" including the work undertaken by a team of Australian medics and wound ballistics experts who reconstructed the shot meticulously to show that it was indeed possible and highly probable that all the non fatal wounds of Kennedy and Governor Connally were caused by the same bullet.
An interesting exercise would be to compare this to Earl Warren's chapter on the JFK assassination in his 1977 memoirs. One would find a resolute assurance that the Commission acted honorably in all aspects from Warren himself, this book however contests that whilst the Commission acted benignly in its path to the conclusion that there was no conspiracy, it failed to investigate properly some key aspects of the case and that had they done so we would have been left with a much less murky past and a rather less suspecting general public.

Groupthink is defined as `a mode of thinking that people engage in when they are deeply involved in a cohesive in-group, when the members' striving for unanimity overrides their motivation to realistically appraise alternative courses of action.' If one reads McKnight's exhaustive book about the Warren Commission, this definition would fit precisely to this group of men. In a recent survey, it was revealed that over a third believe that 9/11 was the efforts of a government conspiracy. Be that as it may, it is not a stretch then to assume that more Americans believe that the Kennedy assassination was a result of a conspiracy. However, the harm that that belief can cause now is minimal at best, because it is more then 40 years after the event, and our citizenry has become predisposed to ignore history. McKnight's large book presents very persuasive arguments that the Commission itself was flawed at the outset, by bureaucratic infighting and persistent groupthink. Early on in the investigation, McKnight argues, the FBI and the White House knew that the answer to the murder must be Oswald acted alone. This is justifiably the way that the new administration should have acted, since we must remember that November 1963 was very near the mid-point of the Cold War, and any thought of a Soviet plot would have stirred a massive amount of unrest.

When the Warren Commission was formed, the Commission at the very least should not have assumed anything when it came to ballistics, suspects, witnesses or foreign connections. Instead, it became merely a rubber stamp for the Hoover-Johnson `official' story that began taking shape even before Kennedy was buried. The very disturbing aspect of the whole investigation is that early on, the FBI and other agencies knew that there were more then 3 shots. How this was swept aside immediately has led some people to believe that a government conspiracy was in effect to hide a previous conspiracy. McKnight contends that dissatisfied elements of the CIA who were incensed with Kennedy's Cuba policy executed the killings as sort of a bureaucratic grudge match. The point, McKnight contends, is that the CIA was trying to force the new administration's hand in dealing with Cuba from a more hard-line perspective. McKnight writes that they were disappointed, because Johnson merely continued the Kennedy policy of politely ignoring Cuba. Not the most well thought out plan! While I find this theory interesting, it does not account for the fact that Central Intelligence, throughout several administrations, has had long standing grudge matches with the executive branch. Yes, the CIA operated with impunity in Iraq, Nicaragua and the Congo, but it should not be assumed that just because the CIA executed these missions that they would have showed the same kind of impunity against an American president on American soil. When McKnight sticks to the leads and the information that the Warren Commission choose to ignore, the book can be very good, but the careless postulating later on becomes a drag on the books' central topic.

Everything you read in this book has been published or aired before. However, the writer has a certain flair and is a tremendous story-teller. It is ten times the book that Joan Mellen wrote about Jim Garrison -- which was an embarrassment to thinking people.

McKnight's book contains little that is "news" those familiar with this case. This is not a book of new disclosures, or examinations of trails gone cold, but perhaps something that will be valued more for it's refusal to move outside it's narrow focus: the conduct of the Warren Commission, and it's relationship with the various investigatory agencies and the handling (and mis-handling) of those who testified and their information. This is a "safe" book, in that there is no speculation (or even examination) of the motives of the WC or possible explanations for the many gaffs pointed out in the committee operations. This is a well documented examination of the flaws in the structure and function of the WC , and ultimately an interesting book for those students of history or government who may be less interested in the results than in the process. This is Meagher or Weisberg without the passion, but very well documented, and of use to those seeking a more recent view of WC activities and participants based on current information.

I can completely see this as a movie. Well written (the paperback got rid of the typos) and very well researched. Just when I thought it could turn into a book that wore it's political bias on it's sleeve, it throws a curve so you never know the author's political views. It seems balanced and fair to both sides and never makes one side just a bunch of stereotypical cardboard characters. Very cool and suprizing ending.

Great job and I am looking forward to the sequel and the movie!

I thought this was a very interesting story. It had a plot twist that I didn't really expect.

But how could ibooks allow a novel with so many spelling, grammatical and punctuation errors ever reach the shelf? There were times when it was incoherent.

For example, from late in the book, an exchange between the Chief Justice and Katie Kessler. Chief Justice - "Now you dose to question me?" Kessler - "To obtain your legal knowledge, sir. Does recognize the Court have any constitutional authority that prevents the Chief Justice..."

What does that mean?

This is a five-star story. It is unfortunate that it had a one-star editor. The people at ibooks need to take a look at the people who are supposed to be proofreading new novels. Because in this case, they dropped the ball.

Granted, the story _is_ somewhat interesting (although improbable in some places) but you really have to be patient to wade through the grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors. I can't believe it was actually published in this state!

My favorite error was the consistent use of "passed" instead of "past". There are a LOT of others, sometimes making sentences totally incoherent.

The best advice I would give is to wait for the used book sales for further titles by this author or publisher.

The plot is interesting, could be 4 or 5 stars. I did read it all the way through. But I will remember this book most for the several hundred obvious spelling and word selection errors, as an example of how low standards have sunk in some parts of the publishing profession.

This is an action packed story about a Presidential campaign.
Congressman Teddy Lodge is running second in the race for the Democratic nomination for the Presidency.His quest to become the
President is going nowhere.At a political rally in New York his
wife is shot and killed by an unknown assassin.Due to the death
of his wife his campaign for the Presidency suddenly gains new life.He gains enough momentum to gain the Presidential nod.He
becomes the hottest political product in the country.He suddenly
becomes the man to beat.President Morgan Taylor is suspicious
about Teddy Lodge.He orders his Chief Secret Service agent Scott Roarke to investigate Lodge.Before he is done with his
investigation of Lodge he will unearth a huge conspiracy.A very
hostile nation is attempting to elect one of their agents President of the United States.His investigation leads him to Fadi Kharrazi,the son of the dictator of Libya.The United States
launches a Special Forces raid to get the needed evidence.They
are racing to stop the forces of evil.This book has an exciting ending.This new author also proved to be a pleasant surprise.

I bought this book based upon the reviews on the cover. They made it sound like a grand slam homerun. I also thought that a true political insider would be able to construct a taut, suspenseful page-turner that I would not be able to put down. However, I found this tome to be a wordy, disjointed, exercise in futility (much like the Clinton administration itself). The monotonous, continuous, cumbersome, seemingly endless tangents that Cohen takes us on were mind-numbing. I kept reading thinking it had to get better and "take off" at some point, but it never did. There was no climax, no hero that one could root for, and to this day, I'm not sure what the plot was.

I agree with another reviewer who wondered if the book would have been published had the author not been in the President's cabinet. I would have to hope not. Although Cohen was the token Republican in a leftist administration, it seems that he wasn't able to avoid the infection of Clintonian loquaciousness. Inasmuch as the former president couldn't shut up in prime time, it seems the former secretary couldn't shut up in fiction. Do not waste your time with this book.

Written by President Clinton's last Secretary of Defense William Cohen (prior to that a Republican Senator from Maine), I thought a nice fiction book about a SecDef might offer some realistic insider accounts of how things work in the Pentagon. I'm thinking not so much on the realist part, but it was still a lot of fun. Perhaps this shouldn't be a surprise, but the hero of the story is a former two term senator who comes on board to help a president by serving as SecDef. Low and behold, the SecDef is basically James Bond on steroids. (Perhaps Barry Bonds is the better comparison.) Anyway, real or not, it was fun.

As a career soldier, I was disappointed and angry that a former SECDEF knew so little about the military and how it works at the operational level. The plot was so improbable as to warrant reclassification from thriller to fantasy. Another reviewer described his writing style as clunky; that's an understatement. Mr. Cohen would do well to stick to politics and leave the book writing to the book writers.

It's frightening to think that such things occur in the shadows of society but they do. This work of "fiction" might just as well have come from the diary of someone's life or from memories and fears chosen to be put to paper before fading into the darkness of old age.

From the Situation Room of the world's most powerful nation to the spys and operatives in the field, the reader will be kept on the edge wondering what will happen next; how will this one turn out? Plan to be entertained, thrilled, puzzled and frightened at the thought of such things actually happening. Could they, have they, or will they? Perhaps this story is a compilation of facts instead of a mere creation of the author's fantasy. Fantasy or disguised facts, I still wonder which is true but you must decide for yourself. Certainly a worthwhile read.

As a Frederick Forsyth fan, I give high compliment to William Cohen.
I loved this book. I tried to read it slowly so it would last longer, but alas, I couldn't put it down. Please write another, Mr. Cohen!!

Harry has always been a true believer. His chapter updating the latest on the autopsy is reason enough to get this book. The newest information will
spin the heads around of the Posnerites. This work is not for the novice, but it will more than sustain the experienced JFK reader.

He's on the right track here.He didn't write about Nixon pardoning Jack Ruebenstein ,from testifying to the HUAC ,in 1947.These men were socially and ideologically ,polar opposites.Yet,they both had a common link,the freemasons.Nixon was more than likey a big-wig in the masonic Scottish Rites and Jack Ruby a big price in the masonic jewish B'nai B'rth. How could a strip-tease nightclub owner escape the Cold War inquisition ,if he provided politicians with escourt girls? Well,very easily. Nixon may have cut a deal with Jack Ruby.If Ruby shot Oswald,Nixon would pardon him ,once he reclaimed the White-House throne,in 1964.Nixon knew if Ruby tried to explain publically the conspiracy-plot,the butterfly nets would swoop him up.So,Ruby followed along. In 1959,Nixon was the heir-apparent.Yet,America wanted something fresh and glamorous,not clammy and shifty.Nixon's quest to break the law ,in order to maintain his control over American politics,is well-known with the Watergate scandal. So, anyone who thinks that L.B.Johnson was the main-schemer in the asssassination plot,take a look at the far-right wing side. Good book !

While some good facts are in the book, I think it could have been better organized. The author goes on and on about wounds whose locations were changed so the "official version" of the assassination made sense to the American people. After awhile, there is too much repeating of the same thing. He covers the wounds in so many different sections, that after awhile he is really not stating anything new. Plus he throws in so many names of people at times that it is hard to figure out who is who and how they fit in. I've read better books regarding the assassination.

Although I waited anxiously for this book, I must admit that as one who read Livingstone's other JFK assassination books, overall I was a bit disappointed in this production. Much of it is a rehash of his other books and borrows the new big picture framework from others, like Peter Dale Scott's Deep Politics and the Assassination of JFK. [Still, along with Michael Collins Piper's Final Judgment, is one of the best books on the JFK assassination.]

On the positive side, I was pleasantly surprised and happy to see that the author finally got religion and joined the ranks of those JFK researchers who see the importance and value of focusing more on the big picture, than groveling continuously in the dirty details without ever coming up for air. In this regard, Livingstone's previous work on the medical evidence is first-rate and seeing most of it repeated here did the book no harm.

Also, his investigative reporting on the pre-assassination party held at Texas oil magnate Clint Murchinson's home on the eve of the assassination is also first rate -- as was the way he connected the dots between the players in attendance there. Previously, the idea that such a party actually took place, remained in the realm of hear-say.

Unfortunately for me this was the high point of the book. It was all downhill from there.

The rest, including the much-touted "new revelations on the J.D. Tippit murder," left me cold. Facts, fiction, hearsay, rumors, "factions" and "factoids," seemed to have been all been given equal weight. The author provided no context, guidance, or analysis to wade through and out of this quagmire of "new information." As a result, one would be insane to try to draw any conclusions based on what amounts to random facts and "near facts" tossed at the reader, with the hope that something would stick. So far, for me none has.

This is especially unfortunate for a researcher of Livingstone's caliber, as now he will surely be cast down into purgatory with another run-of-the-mill researchers as just another "assassination conspiracy kook." This is especially unfortunate for this author, since his previous work has been of such high standards and generally held in high regard.

Despite this, I gave the book three stars.

As Mr. Livingstone has stated elsewhere, the entire establishment is a conspiracy. Well put!

This whole JFK case has been subverted (or "faked" if you will) to cover up the involvement of those reaching into the very top of the US government.

It's very important to remember nearly 50 years later that ANYTHING less would have been "Old News" by now, pronto.

As Jim Garrison once said, it's not a question of whether Oswald's (US intelligence and/or military) handlers were or were not responsible for the assassination -- they WERE responsible.

But you won't hear about any of this from the Executive Branch, the Congress or the Mainstream Media because this story still has the potential to undermine the whole US political system, one that serves these folks quite nicely just like it is.

Gonna keep this short and sweet. The book is an exhaustive document of the dirty dealings and black ops that were happening around JFK. Sometimes the overwhelming amount of information makes it a hard read, but that may be just me. I have been following the JFK assassination for many years and I think the author states his case pretty well, except for one assumption.

No matter what has been documented about Lee Harvey Oswald, yes he most definitely was set up. All factions of the government underworld manipulated him to create plausible deniability. But, and this is a big but, he did not pull the trigger. Throw everything else out, remember these two facts: no one proved he fired a weapon, much less a rifle that day and there were no fingerprints on the alleged rifle until after the FBI visited the morgue after LHO was murdered.

The Mob and CIA provided the ammunition and the patsy and the coverup. But LHO did not pull the trigger.

First of all I have not read a whole lot of books on the JFK assassination so I can not compare this book to other books which is just as well. The Road To Dallas is meticulously researched and the endless details can be confusing at times and trying to keep track of all the names is impossible but I found this book very hard to put down. It was an easier read then I thought it would be because it is so well laid out and the facts certainly buttress the author's theory. A fascinating hard look at the players and the facts many from declassified documents released over the last few years.

This book is lopsided. Some highly questionable conclusions are just accepted wholesale without any discussion of contradictory evidence. Other parts about relations between the CIA and Mafia do provide fresh insight, but there attempts to put these insights into context seem arbitrary, and based on a fixed idea that the mob done it.
Unconvincing.

A much better book is James W. Douglass' JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters. This one is not only a game-changer; if enough people read it it could prove a world changer. This is the best answer yet, to
left-liberal critics at the Nation Magazine who argue that JFK was just another Cold Warrior. It ansers this critique so thoroughly because it meets it head onJFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters

The Author assumes Oswald is Guilty because he carried the Murder weapon(Manlicher Carcano) into the Depository yet offers no evidence for his claim.Frazer's unswerving testimony before the WC demonstrates that the package that Oswald was carrying was no more than 26inches in length yet CE-139 Manlicher when broken down is 34.8 inches. Frazier said Oswald carried the Heavy Package with one end in the palm of his hand and the other under his arm. for the package that Frazier saw to have contained CE-139 Even broken down would have required Oswald to have an arm length of over 36 inches!!it was simply too small to have contained The Manlicher Carcano!What did the WC Had to say about Frazier's Testimony they said he was probably Mistaken.also how is it that no depository employee testify seeing Oswald with any package in his hand of some 90 employees some one had to see him!According to The WC Oswald carried the Rifle Wrapped in a Brown Paper package up the 6th floor and set up the Snipers Nest unnoticed.!yet, no scratches,tears,not a single crease,gunpowder residue or any gun oil was found on the paper bag upon examination by the FBI.No Witness saw Oswald at the so called ''Snipers Nest'' window. only Mr.Brennan claimed he saw somebody that resembled Oswald yet could not make a positive identification!he changed his testimony so many times it look suspicious. in a court of law his testimony would have been thrown out!!

I decided to take this book with me on a long 9 hour flight to Hawaii. Big mistake. I don't profess to be an expert but I have read at least 50 books on the assasination and this one ranks among those that were quite unsatisfying. My frustration stemmed from the author going page after page with good reserach and then seemingly summing up an assumed conclusion in a sentence or two, to which I'm saying to myself "that doesn't make any sense". In fact I'm not sure what exactly the point of the entire book is. He seems to imply that LH Oswald was the lone gunman but he didn't act alone.

From my perspective, he never persuades me on this point. In fact from the evidence set out in this book, one more likely would come to the conclusion that Oswald was being manipulaed by others to be "the patsy". No one who sets out to prove the "conspiracy but lone shooter scenerio" ever seems to ever have an answer for the question of why you would choose as your shooter...an unstable, unreliable poor shot...and arm him with a joke of a rifle. It simply does not make any sense.