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The Kennedy Assassination Tapes
A major work of documentary history–the brilliantly edited and annotated transcripts, most of them never before published, of the presidential conversations of Lyndon B. Johnson regarding the Kennedy assassination and its aftermath.
The transition from John F. Kennedy to Johnson was arguably the most wrenching and, ultimately, one of the most bitter in the nation’s history. As Johnson himself said later, “I took the oath, I became president. But for millions of Americans I was still illegitimate, a naked man with no presidential covering, a pretender to the throne….The whole thing was almost unbearable.”
In this book, Max Holland, a leading authority on the assassination and longtime Washington journalist, presents the momentous telephone calls President Johnson made and received as he sought to stabilize the country and keep the government functioning in the wake of November 22, 1963. The transcripts begin on the day of the assassination, and reveal the often chaotic activity behind the scenes as a nation in shock struggled to come to terms with the momentous events. The transcripts illuminate Johnson’s relationship with Robert F. Kennedy, which flared instantly into animosity; the genuine warmth of his dealings with Jacqueline Kennedy; his contact with the FBI and CIA directors; and the advice he sought from friends and mentors as he wrestled with the painful transition.
We eavesdrop on all the conversations–including those with leading journalists–that persuaded Johnson to abandon his initial plan to let Texas authorities investigate the assassination. Instead, we observe how he abruptly established a federal commission headed by a very reluctant chief justice of the Supreme Court, Earl Warren. We also learn how Johnson cajoled and drafted other prominent men–among them Senator Richard Russell (who detested Warren), Allen Dulles, John McCloy, and Gerald Ford–into serving.
We see a sudden president under unimaginable pressure, contending with media frenzy and speculation on a worldwide scale. We witness the flow of inaccurate information–some of it from J. Edgar Hoover–amid rumors and theories about foreign involvement. And we glimpse Johnson addressing the mounting criticism of the Warren Commission after it released its still-controversial report in September 1964.
The conversations rendered here are nearly verbatim, and have never been explained so thoroughly. No passages have been deleted except when they veered from the subject. Brought together with Holland’s commentaries, they make riveting, hugely revelatory reading.
From the Hardcover edition.
The transition from John F. Kennedy to Johnson was arguably the most wrenching and, ultimately, one of the most bitter in the nation’s history. As Johnson himself said later, “I took the oath, I became president. But for millions of Americans I was still illegitimate, a naked man with no presidential covering, a pretender to the throne….The whole thing was almost unbearable.”
In this book, Max Holland, a leading authority on the assassination and longtime Washington journalist, presents the momentous telephone calls President Johnson made and received as he sought to stabilize the country and keep the government functioning in the wake of November 22, 1963. The transcripts begin on the day of the assassination, and reveal the often chaotic activity behind the scenes as a nation in shock struggled to come to terms with the momentous events. The transcripts illuminate Johnson’s relationship with Robert F. Kennedy, which flared instantly into animosity; the genuine warmth of his dealings with Jacqueline Kennedy; his contact with the FBI and CIA directors; and the advice he sought from friends and mentors as he wrestled with the painful transition.
We eavesdrop on all the conversations–including those with leading journalists–that persuaded Johnson to abandon his initial plan to let Texas authorities investigate the assassination. Instead, we observe how he abruptly established a federal commission headed by a very reluctant chief justice of the Supreme Court, Earl Warren. We also learn how Johnson cajoled and drafted other prominent men–among them Senator Richard Russell (who detested Warren), Allen Dulles, John McCloy, and Gerald Ford–into serving.
We see a sudden president under unimaginable pressure, contending with media frenzy and speculation on a worldwide scale. We witness the flow of inaccurate information–some of it from J. Edgar Hoover–amid rumors and theories about foreign involvement. And we glimpse Johnson addressing the mounting criticism of the Warren Commission after it released its still-controversial report in September 1964.
The conversations rendered here are nearly verbatim, and have never been explained so thoroughly. No passages have been deleted except when they veered from the subject. Brought together with Holland’s commentaries, they make riveting, hugely revelatory reading.
From the Hardcover edition.
- GenresHistoryTrue Crime
453 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 31, 2011
The book is well written and makes excellent use of these primary sources. The text is well footnoted and primary source material is used well. One might wonder why there is so much reliance on Manchester's "Death of a President", as that is a secondary source, but having read Manchester's autobiography, as well as his book on General MacArthur, I have little doubt that his book is as good a reference as any and is no doubt solidly researched itself.
What does this book do? There is no inside look at the JFK assassination nor LBJ's involvement in the investigation of some (and anyone believing that a "smoking gun" might point to LBJ's involvement in the actual crime itself will be sorely disappointed." The author presents the story from a non-conspiracy point of view, and what the book does is describe Johnson's political maneuvering in the immediate wake of the assassination - and then talks about how he put together the Warren Commission. Johnson, in actual fact, knows virtually nothing of the details of the crime that took place and seems not interested - that is, in the end, why he started the commission in the first place.
So anyone hoping to read a real thriller will be disappointed. What the book does do is provide a look at the relationships between Johnson and all the branches of government as well as the various agencies at his command - Secret Service, FBI, CIA etc. The book is recommended to those with an above average understanding of how the government of the US was organized in the 1960s, however, even a layman such as myself found it interesting. My own personal bias comes from having read Groden, Lane, Garrison on the conspiracy theories but eventually being convinced by Posner that the Warren Commission had it right.
Holland seems to proceed from the same conclusions.
The book is thus not going to entertain those who enjoy the conspiracy books, but will probably appeal more to those that are interested in Johnson as a historical character (his personality is very much evident), or those interested in how the Warren Commission was formed.
The book presents an almost minute to minute look at Johnson's first days as the President, then shifts to cover entire months at a time by focusing solely on assassination-related work. An interesting focus which will also not please those looking for a broad overview of Johnson's presidency. However, having said that, Holland does provide very good historical synopses and does take pains to make the uninitiated reader understand the significance of each person mentioned and their relationship to Johnson, the Commission, and each other.
Only problem with sources is a reliance on newspaper articles from which Holland seems to draw a lot of conclusions. A minor point, perhaps.
What does this book do? There is no inside look at the JFK assassination nor LBJ's involvement in the investigation of some (and anyone believing that a "smoking gun" might point to LBJ's involvement in the actual crime itself will be sorely disappointed." The author presents the story from a non-conspiracy point of view, and what the book does is describe Johnson's political maneuvering in the immediate wake of the assassination - and then talks about how he put together the Warren Commission. Johnson, in actual fact, knows virtually nothing of the details of the crime that took place and seems not interested - that is, in the end, why he started the commission in the first place.
So anyone hoping to read a real thriller will be disappointed. What the book does do is provide a look at the relationships between Johnson and all the branches of government as well as the various agencies at his command - Secret Service, FBI, CIA etc. The book is recommended to those with an above average understanding of how the government of the US was organized in the 1960s, however, even a layman such as myself found it interesting. My own personal bias comes from having read Groden, Lane, Garrison on the conspiracy theories but eventually being convinced by Posner that the Warren Commission had it right.
Holland seems to proceed from the same conclusions.
The book is thus not going to entertain those who enjoy the conspiracy books, but will probably appeal more to those that are interested in Johnson as a historical character (his personality is very much evident), or those interested in how the Warren Commission was formed.
The book presents an almost minute to minute look at Johnson's first days as the President, then shifts to cover entire months at a time by focusing solely on assassination-related work. An interesting focus which will also not please those looking for a broad overview of Johnson's presidency. However, having said that, Holland does provide very good historical synopses and does take pains to make the uninitiated reader understand the significance of each person mentioned and their relationship to Johnson, the Commission, and each other.
Only problem with sources is a reliance on newspaper articles from which Holland seems to draw a lot of conclusions. A minor point, perhaps.
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February 5, 2009The source material used in The Kennedy Assassination Tapes is well known and has been widely used, most notably in Michael Beschloss' Taking Charge (see below). But Holland presents the conversations unfiltered by narrative__edited for concision and relevance__and saves his comments for the notes. If Holland is more editor than author, he's still successful in the role. Newsday relishes that he "serves his footnotes with pepper," while recognizing that the audience might be slight for such a well-covered subject. The Kennedy Assassination Tapes, published on the 40th anniversary of the Warren Commission Report, is a welcome, if narrowly focused, appetizer for his forthcoming A Need to Know: Inside the Warren Commission, the recipient of the 2001 J. Anthony Lukas Award for works-in-progress.
This is an excerpt from a review published in Bookmarks magazine.
February 12, 2015
The author is a CIA asset, as chronicled in Mark Lane's book "Last Word" and by Max's own writings published on cia.gov
November 18, 2018
The book "The Kennedy Assassination Tapes" was an amazing book. The author Max Holland analyzed the tapes, the conversations after JFK was shot, and the Warren Commision very well. The book detailed the little events that happened from the time that JFK landed in Dallas, when he was shot, when Lyndon B. Johnson was inaugurated, the Warren Commision and the aftermath. It is very detailed in how the Secret Service was acting and how people were responding to this happening. It also details very tense political problems that were happening at the time.
June 27, 2018
Compelling. A reminder that not much changes.
September 3, 2013
Max Holland is one of the most competent and careful commentators on the JFK assassination and the work of the Warren Commission. He has been working on aspects of these subjects for more than 20 years. He interviewed me in 1992 and 1998 and I assume that he has interviewed most of my colleagues on the commission staff as well. I expected that his major work on the commission would be published this year on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of President Kennedy’s death, but that apparently is not going to happen.
Along the way, Holland has written several articles about the assassination and one important book entitled “The Kennedy Assassination Tapes.” In this book Holland describes the many conversations that President Johnson had in the White House about his predecessor’s assassination and the Warren Commission. I used this book on many occasions in writing my book, History Will Prove Us Right, to be published this Fall by Overlook Press.
Of particular interest to me were Holland’s descriptions of President Johnson’s conversations with Chief Justice Warren and Senator Russell of Georgia in which he persuaded both to serve on the commission he was appointing to investigate the assassination of President Kennedy and the subsequent murder of Lee Harvey Oswald by Jack Ruby. Using all of his legendary persuasive skills, Johnson convinced Warren to be chairman of the commission despite the chief Justice’s firmly held belief that previous experiences in which Supreme Court justices had been called on to perform non-judicial assignments had been ill-advised and divisive within the Court. After listening to Senator Russell’s protestations that he did not wish to serve with the Chief Justice whose court had issued so many “liberal” opinions offensive to him, President Johnson ended the conversation by telling Senator Russell that he had already informed the media the senator had accepted appointment to the commission.
I learned a good deal from Holland’s book about developments relating to the Warren Commission report long after my assignment with the commission was finished. He describes in some detail events in 1967 when the columnist Jack Anderson (who worked with Drew Pearson) published an article reporting that the CIA had worked with organized crime figures in 1962-63 to assassinate Cuba’s Castro. When he learned about these allegations before the article was published, President Johnson directed the FBI to conduct an investigation of the matter and report back to him. The FBI with some enthusiasm reported in detail about the CIA’s ill-advised efforts to assassinate Castro.
President Johnson subsequently had meetings with both Chief Justice Warren and CIA Director Richard Helms. Warren was not aware of these CIA efforts when his commission was investigating the assassination and he found it necessary to defend the commission’s conclusions to the public for the first time in light of these new developments. In conversations with the president he also had the opportunity to explain other aspects of the commission’s report, including the likelihood that a single bullet had both wounded President Kennedy and Governor Connally, despite Connally’s belief that he was hit by a separate bullet.
After hearing an oral report by Helms on the history of his agency’s efforts to subvert the Castro regime in Cuba, including plans for his assassination, President Johnson was stunned by these disclosures. It appeared that, in fact, not even the CIA director during these earlier years, John McCone, was aware of these agency plans. President Johnson decided to preserve the confidentiality of these assassination plans, whose existence were not disclosed to the American public until a Congressional investigation in 1975-76.
I highly recommend this book by Max Holland for readers interested in the JFK assassination and the work of the Warren Commission.
Along the way, Holland has written several articles about the assassination and one important book entitled “The Kennedy Assassination Tapes.” In this book Holland describes the many conversations that President Johnson had in the White House about his predecessor’s assassination and the Warren Commission. I used this book on many occasions in writing my book, History Will Prove Us Right, to be published this Fall by Overlook Press.
Of particular interest to me were Holland’s descriptions of President Johnson’s conversations with Chief Justice Warren and Senator Russell of Georgia in which he persuaded both to serve on the commission he was appointing to investigate the assassination of President Kennedy and the subsequent murder of Lee Harvey Oswald by Jack Ruby. Using all of his legendary persuasive skills, Johnson convinced Warren to be chairman of the commission despite the chief Justice’s firmly held belief that previous experiences in which Supreme Court justices had been called on to perform non-judicial assignments had been ill-advised and divisive within the Court. After listening to Senator Russell’s protestations that he did not wish to serve with the Chief Justice whose court had issued so many “liberal” opinions offensive to him, President Johnson ended the conversation by telling Senator Russell that he had already informed the media the senator had accepted appointment to the commission.
I learned a good deal from Holland’s book about developments relating to the Warren Commission report long after my assignment with the commission was finished. He describes in some detail events in 1967 when the columnist Jack Anderson (who worked with Drew Pearson) published an article reporting that the CIA had worked with organized crime figures in 1962-63 to assassinate Cuba’s Castro. When he learned about these allegations before the article was published, President Johnson directed the FBI to conduct an investigation of the matter and report back to him. The FBI with some enthusiasm reported in detail about the CIA’s ill-advised efforts to assassinate Castro.
President Johnson subsequently had meetings with both Chief Justice Warren and CIA Director Richard Helms. Warren was not aware of these CIA efforts when his commission was investigating the assassination and he found it necessary to defend the commission’s conclusions to the public for the first time in light of these new developments. In conversations with the president he also had the opportunity to explain other aspects of the commission’s report, including the likelihood that a single bullet had both wounded President Kennedy and Governor Connally, despite Connally’s belief that he was hit by a separate bullet.
After hearing an oral report by Helms on the history of his agency’s efforts to subvert the Castro regime in Cuba, including plans for his assassination, President Johnson was stunned by these disclosures. It appeared that, in fact, not even the CIA director during these earlier years, John McCone, was aware of these agency plans. President Johnson decided to preserve the confidentiality of these assassination plans, whose existence were not disclosed to the American public until a Congressional investigation in 1975-76.
I highly recommend this book by Max Holland for readers interested in the JFK assassination and the work of the Warren Commission.
November 12, 2016
To me, the book does not, even with author's obvious favoritism, dismiss the possibility of LBJ's involvement in the assassination. There are some critical "excerpted" segments of tapes during key conversations, as well as Connally insider calls.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews