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The Kennedy Conspiracy: 12 Startling Revelations About the JFK Assassination
Twelve little-known accounts by JFK assassination eyewitnesses, investigators, and other principal figures that shed new light and offer new evidence about the greatest unsolved murder case of the 20th century. Author Bill Sloan, award-winning journalist and co-author of JFK: THE LAST DISSENTING WITNESS, was working at the City Desk of the DALLAS TIMES HERALD just four blocks away when the fatal shots were fired. He helped cover the fast-moving sequence of events that followed, and later interviewed many of the people involved. Accounts in THE KENNEDY CONSPIRACY include those of Ed Hoffman, who saw the man who shot the president (and it wasn’t Oswald)—but was unable to communicate it to the authorities because he was deaf and mute; Gary Cornwell, deputy chief counsel of the House Select Committee on Assassinations, who saw the classified information still withheld from the public, and reveals how the FBI turned the investigation into “a joke, a farce, and a national disgrace”; James Tague, who was wounded by a bullet that the Warren Commission insisted was never fired; and Dr. Joe D. Goldstritch, who was in the Parkland ER when Kennedy’s body was brought in, and who witnessed the surgical procedure that destroyed the neat entry wound in the president’s throat.
- GenresHistoryNonfiction
229 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 6, 2012
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65 people want to read
About the author
Bill Sloan
35 books43 followersBill Sloan is a respected military historian, former newspaper reporter/editor and author of more than a dozen books, including Brotherhood of Heroes: The Ultimate Battle. He lives in Dallas, Texas
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 11, 2013
Bill Sloan originally published this book as 'JFK:Breaking the Silence' back in 1993. Now revised as 'The Kennedy Conspiracy:12 Startling Revelations About the JFK Assassination' published in 2012. Sloan has 35 years as a freelance writer, a native of Dallas who was working on the Times Herald back in November '63. He wrote 'The Last Dissenting Witness', based on Dealey Plaza witness Jean Hill's story.
The author describes the JFK murder as "the classic whodunit" and that it has become a mystery that can never be solved and he describes this book as simply to demonstrate how many puzzles, incongruities, contradictions and unknowns still hover around the assassination. I can't argue with any of that.
As for the 12 startling revelations, well that depends on how familiar with the puzzles, incongruities and contradictions the reader is.
Chapter 1 deals with Ed Hoffman's story. More detail is available in JFK Lancer's publication of 'Beyond the Fence Line'. The Lancer book tells of the sniper behind the picket fence making off in a Rambler station wagon and driving out of the rail yard around the north of the TSBD. A version that could mesh with the story from Roger Craig. The account here describes the two men running away in the rail yard.
Chapter 2 is another take on Parkland's Trauma Room One with a Dr Goldstrich, a name I'm sure I have not come across before, yet confirms the Dallas doctors views of shots from the front.
Chapter 3 covers the DPD and FBI feud and the contentiousness between Dallas' Curry and the FBI's Hoover. My understanding is that orders came from LBJ to the DPD to turn over all their evidence to the FBI, but this is not mentioned in this account.
Chapter 4 follows Officer Roy Vaughn's story. He was guarding the Main St ramp entrance to the basement of the Dallas Police HQ, where Jack Ruby claimed he gained access before shooting Oswald.
It was Vaughn who took out the famous '3 tramps' from the rail train. I have read previously that the photo of the 3 tramps in Dealey Plaza shows DPD Officers escorting these men, and that the cops had never been identified. So were they really cops? Sloan identifies these as Dallas cops Billy Bass and Marvin Wise. Conspiracy schmiracy. This is the one piece of information in the whole book that is a scoop for me.
Chapter 5 takes us to the story of two of the mysterious deaths that cling to this case. News reporters Koethe and Hunter were the men who were first into Ruby's Oak Cliff apartment. Deaths connected to the JFK case? I don't think so.
Chapter 6. The Kremlin Connection reads like a fictional novel; that the plot was hatched in the Kremlin and executed by the 'Spetsnaz'. The story comes from John Norris from the Secret Service's Executive Protective Service. (Well, they would say that wouldn't they.)
Chapter 7 covers 'The Forgotten Victim', James Tague. Winged on the face by a stray bullet fragment during the assassination. Not forgotten by me, I met the man ten years back.
Chapter 8 concerns Officer Billy Fowler, partner of J.D. Tippit, who had a day off work when JFK came to town.
Chapter 9 tells us of Hugh Howell or Huggins, a James Bond C.I.A. hitman. Another story that reads like a fictional novel, full of already widely known details, embellished with un-provable information.
Chapter 10 gives us the story of Gayle and Bill Newman. Plaza witnesses and closest to JFK at the time of the kill shot. Subjects of many famous photographs and completely ignored by the Warren Commission. Not hard to know why. Nice to know the family are still together and have had a happy life.
Chapter 11 covers press reporter Darrin Payne who was the first member of the press to get to Abraham Zapruder after the shooting, but did not secure the famous film for his paper. (For the best evidence of this films alteration I recommend Doug Horne's 'Inside the A.R.R.B.')
Chapter 12 interviews H.S.C.A. Chief Council Gary Cornwell, who was in charge of the Kennedy investigation.
Some interesting details, some previously untold tales, some intriguing conjecture, but little in the way of startling revelations for me, but quite entertaining and worth three stars.
The author describes the JFK murder as "the classic whodunit" and that it has become a mystery that can never be solved and he describes this book as simply to demonstrate how many puzzles, incongruities, contradictions and unknowns still hover around the assassination. I can't argue with any of that.
As for the 12 startling revelations, well that depends on how familiar with the puzzles, incongruities and contradictions the reader is.
Chapter 1 deals with Ed Hoffman's story. More detail is available in JFK Lancer's publication of 'Beyond the Fence Line'. The Lancer book tells of the sniper behind the picket fence making off in a Rambler station wagon and driving out of the rail yard around the north of the TSBD. A version that could mesh with the story from Roger Craig. The account here describes the two men running away in the rail yard.
Chapter 2 is another take on Parkland's Trauma Room One with a Dr Goldstrich, a name I'm sure I have not come across before, yet confirms the Dallas doctors views of shots from the front.
Chapter 3 covers the DPD and FBI feud and the contentiousness between Dallas' Curry and the FBI's Hoover. My understanding is that orders came from LBJ to the DPD to turn over all their evidence to the FBI, but this is not mentioned in this account.
Chapter 4 follows Officer Roy Vaughn's story. He was guarding the Main St ramp entrance to the basement of the Dallas Police HQ, where Jack Ruby claimed he gained access before shooting Oswald.
It was Vaughn who took out the famous '3 tramps' from the rail train. I have read previously that the photo of the 3 tramps in Dealey Plaza shows DPD Officers escorting these men, and that the cops had never been identified. So were they really cops? Sloan identifies these as Dallas cops Billy Bass and Marvin Wise. Conspiracy schmiracy. This is the one piece of information in the whole book that is a scoop for me.
Chapter 5 takes us to the story of two of the mysterious deaths that cling to this case. News reporters Koethe and Hunter were the men who were first into Ruby's Oak Cliff apartment. Deaths connected to the JFK case? I don't think so.
Chapter 6. The Kremlin Connection reads like a fictional novel; that the plot was hatched in the Kremlin and executed by the 'Spetsnaz'. The story comes from John Norris from the Secret Service's Executive Protective Service. (Well, they would say that wouldn't they.)
Chapter 7 covers 'The Forgotten Victim', James Tague. Winged on the face by a stray bullet fragment during the assassination. Not forgotten by me, I met the man ten years back.
Chapter 8 concerns Officer Billy Fowler, partner of J.D. Tippit, who had a day off work when JFK came to town.
Chapter 9 tells us of Hugh Howell or Huggins, a James Bond C.I.A. hitman. Another story that reads like a fictional novel, full of already widely known details, embellished with un-provable information.
Chapter 10 gives us the story of Gayle and Bill Newman. Plaza witnesses and closest to JFK at the time of the kill shot. Subjects of many famous photographs and completely ignored by the Warren Commission. Not hard to know why. Nice to know the family are still together and have had a happy life.
Chapter 11 covers press reporter Darrin Payne who was the first member of the press to get to Abraham Zapruder after the shooting, but did not secure the famous film for his paper. (For the best evidence of this films alteration I recommend Doug Horne's 'Inside the A.R.R.B.')
Chapter 12 interviews H.S.C.A. Chief Council Gary Cornwell, who was in charge of the Kennedy investigation.
Some interesting details, some previously untold tales, some intriguing conjecture, but little in the way of startling revelations for me, but quite entertaining and worth three stars.
December 10, 2012
Every year when we drift by the anniversary of JFK's assassination, I pick up one of the new book typically published at this time. This year it was "The Kennedy Conspiracy" by Bill Sloan. This one was not very long but had some new info in it I had not seen previously and again pushed me even further into the conspiracy crowd.
For example, did you know there was an eyewitness that reported seeing two men behind the fence on the grassy knoll and saw one of them assemble a rifle and take a shot? He was a stable family man who worked for Texas Instruments at the time and was on his way to the Dentist when he got stuck in traffic. Pulling over close to the triple overpass in the Stemmons Freeway area, he was maybe a 100 yards from the fence when he saw the men come out of the vacant railroad yards behind the fence. He ran to a policeman waving his arms but had a communication problem. He was a deaf-mute. The policemen ignored him in the chaos that followed, and the rush to judgment by the Warren Commission also ignored him despite his many attempts to report what happened. Until his dying day he never wavered from what he saw.
This was one of the 12 things reported by the author that have never been explained away. Excellent book and it again makes the Warren Commission investigation look like a joke.
For example, did you know there was an eyewitness that reported seeing two men behind the fence on the grassy knoll and saw one of them assemble a rifle and take a shot? He was a stable family man who worked for Texas Instruments at the time and was on his way to the Dentist when he got stuck in traffic. Pulling over close to the triple overpass in the Stemmons Freeway area, he was maybe a 100 yards from the fence when he saw the men come out of the vacant railroad yards behind the fence. He ran to a policeman waving his arms but had a communication problem. He was a deaf-mute. The policemen ignored him in the chaos that followed, and the rush to judgment by the Warren Commission also ignored him despite his many attempts to report what happened. Until his dying day he never wavered from what he saw.
This was one of the 12 things reported by the author that have never been explained away. Excellent book and it again makes the Warren Commission investigation look like a joke.
August 23, 2017
Food for thought
This is an interesting book filled with good information about the assassination. While I was familiar with some of the people involved and their stories, I believed many of these happenings. That being said, I learned some new information. I know people like to say that we may never know what happened in Dallas the day Kennedy was killed. I believe we already know what happened; we just have to discard the chaff.
This is an interesting book filled with good information about the assassination. While I was familiar with some of the people involved and their stories, I believed many of these happenings. That being said, I learned some new information. I know people like to say that we may never know what happened in Dallas the day Kennedy was killed. I believe we already know what happened; we just have to discard the chaff.
September 11, 2019
Some nice tidbits
Sloan, who is an accomplished WW2 historical author, highlights a number of curiosities surrounding the JFK assassination. When one considers these stories, especially in the context of the dozens of similar oddities that have been thoroughly depicted elsewhere, it’s hard to reconcile the Warren Commission’s spurious Oswald as a lone nut theory. We all deserve the truth, no matter how painful. Sloan’s book helps open our eyes a bit.
Sloan, who is an accomplished WW2 historical author, highlights a number of curiosities surrounding the JFK assassination. When one considers these stories, especially in the context of the dozens of similar oddities that have been thoroughly depicted elsewhere, it’s hard to reconcile the Warren Commission’s spurious Oswald as a lone nut theory. We all deserve the truth, no matter how painful. Sloan’s book helps open our eyes a bit.
August 5, 2022
A collection of stories
Presents multiple different theories and viewpoints regarding the conspiracy divided into chapters. I learned some new details which I wasn’t aware of previously, although there is a fair amount of “known” information in the book. Overall, it still was an interesting and easy read and as a conspiracy junkie, I would still recommend it as a means of increasing your knowledge base!
Presents multiple different theories and viewpoints regarding the conspiracy divided into chapters. I learned some new details which I wasn’t aware of previously, although there is a fair amount of “known” information in the book. Overall, it still was an interesting and easy read and as a conspiracy junkie, I would still recommend it as a means of increasing your knowledge base!
May 28, 2013
As the 50th anniversary of the JFK assassination approaches (November 22, 1963 - November 22, 2013), this is a timely read with twelve different 'revelations' involving individual tangential to the event. Some of them, like James Tague, the guy hit by fragments from a stray bullet I'd read about before, but there were others like a deaf witness, Ed Hoffman, who says he saw the assassin behind the picket fence on the grassy knoll.
The author stays out of the narrative until the final chapter, often making statements like "as told to the author." It's a more conversational, "he said, she said this happened" with very little to challenge or fact check anything said. This left me feeling a bit disappointed at times that some statements made couldn't be carried out further and connected. It's rather a mosaic of JFK assassination heresy and personal opinions about what happened on that fateful day.
It's not a bad book, but I wish the author would have done more, perhaps at the end of each revelation offering his own opinion or research as to the validity of each revelation. As written, it's an entertaining read but readers looking for more scholarly information could be disappointed. Me? I enjoyed it for what it was, but didn't take it too seriously.
The author stays out of the narrative until the final chapter, often making statements like "as told to the author." It's a more conversational, "he said, she said this happened" with very little to challenge or fact check anything said. This left me feeling a bit disappointed at times that some statements made couldn't be carried out further and connected. It's rather a mosaic of JFK assassination heresy and personal opinions about what happened on that fateful day.
It's not a bad book, but I wish the author would have done more, perhaps at the end of each revelation offering his own opinion or research as to the validity of each revelation. As written, it's an entertaining read but readers looking for more scholarly information could be disappointed. Me? I enjoyed it for what it was, but didn't take it too seriously.
November 3, 2015
Just another Kennedy conspiracy book. I actually bought the book because they mentioned a deaf man who had evidence of to present, which intrigued me. It turned out to be a rehashing of all of the other conspiracy trash out there. Don't bother reading this if you have read any other books on the Kennedy conspiracy; you've read it all before.
November 21, 2013
A close look at 12 individuals whose eyewitness experience did not fit the Warren Commission's conclusions and what fate befell them.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews