Oswald Puzzle: Reconsidering Lee Harvey Oswald

by Larry Joe Hancock, David Boylan

Sole assassin of President Kennedy, or the "fall guy" for a conspiracy? Or something else?

Among the many enigmas in the saga of the Kennedy assassination, Lee Harvey Oswald remains among the most enigmatic. The Warren Commission painted a portrait of a lone malcontent, but still could find no motive for his alleged actions. Some conspiracy books attempt to turn Oswald into a deep cover intelligence agent, always on assignment whether defecting to the Soviet Union or distributing pro-Castro pamphlets. Other authors ignore Oswald altogether.

In The Oswald Puzzle, experienced researchers Larry Hancock (Someone Would Have Talked, Tipping Point) and David Boylan square the circle. Taking the full measure of the same data the Warren Commission collected, they paint a detailed picture of Oswald, a man that may surprise you. And then, using their expertise and the vast declassified records now available, they tell the story of how Oswald appeared on the radar of fervent anti-Castro activists in New Orleans in 1963, and how he was then turned into their pawn.

Hancock and Boylan, in considerable detail, provide a scenario which reconciles what we know about Oswald with the massive evidence of conspiracy. Has the puzzle of Lee Harvey Oswald finally been solved? Was he truly just a patsy? The Oswald Puzzle provides the answers.
 

Genres: Nonfiction

456 pages, Hardcover

Published January 14, 2025

Reviews

[Gary Murr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who was Lee Harvey Oswald? An ill-fated loner, blurred and socially uncomfortable loser of mundane intelligence with few friends? Or perhaps a defector, a witting asset wed to the shadowy world of intelligence operations, a man of mystery, as it were, survivor of a shattered childhood upbringing who developed a penchant for violence, theoretically practiced in domesticity but a trait that eventually evolved into a killer of a president? There have, of course been writers, some of note, who have attempted to answer these and other questions that arise as a result of the existence of Lee Harvey Oswald and his work-place proximity to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on that sunny late autumn noon-day in Dallas, Texas, those many decades ago. As it turns out, however, it is not quite that simple and the answer to a myriad of questions surrounding what is, in truth, an enigmatic and complex individual - Lee Harvey Oswald – remain. Whether these same questions can ever be answered in totality, and importantly to everyone’s satisfaction, remains to be seen. But if you want to even begin to understand who Lee Harvey Oswald actually was, and of potentially even greater relevance how he has, to date, been presented as somehow “fitting” into an event of immense historical significance, do yourself a favour and read “The Oswald Puzzle”.

There is absolutely no question that the co-authors of this work, Larry Hancock and David Boylan, are more than qualified to tackle this subject matter. Both individuals possess the doggedness and patience required to acquire and then sift and analyze the immense and ever-expanding mountain of document research available on the events of November 22, 1963, and in this instance the life of Lee Harvey Oswald. As a result of this effort on their part what emerges within the covers of this book is an honest and chronologically accurate account of the life, short-lived as it was, of Oswald. The writing begins with the author’s attempt – successful, in my opinion - to construct a “baseline” from which the remainder of the book flows. The interpretation of the research presented in the book is admirably supplemented with footnotes aplenty leaving any reader who so chooses to follow the wilderness trail that is the foundation for the conclusions offered by the authors. Of course Hancock and Boylan are not naïve enough to believe that everyone will find their work every reader’s cup of tea, and understandably so. It is a contrarian subject matter, understood as such by Hancock and Boylan, and they do not shy away from presenting both sides of the arguments as they arise. When the author’s offer speculation they identify it as so, something this reader found as refreshing. There is no question that both “sides” involved in the debate of Oswald’s guilt or innocence as presented by the research community, official or otherwise, will be at some point during their reading of The Oswald Puzzle upset with the authors for destroying a pet theoretical nuance held as an absolute “truth.” Example, as Hancock and Boylan admirably present, Lee Harvey Oswald was never a true defector to the USSR, someone emerging from a deep rabbit-hole to give away state secrets. In truth, Oswald had no obvious value to KGB interests, a nuisance shipped off to Minsk. That is not to say that Oswald was not “known” to various intelligence agencies, such as the CIA, and Hancock and Boylan acknowledge and expand upon this relationship honestly, including aspects of these “intelligence” relationships that potentially lead to Oswald’s demise. Did Oswald lie when it was to his benefit? Of course he did and again this is acknowledged, explored and put in the proper context within the covers of this book. So as indicated previously, do yourself a favour get a copy of “The Oswald Puzzle” and read it cover to cover. You will find untruths exposed, honestly, not ridiculed but backed by evidence and solid research. And if you approach this writing with an open mind, I guarantee that you will learn things about Lee Harvey Oswald that you did not know before you came to this writing.

[Benjamin Cole · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book reviewer could write another book on "The Oswald Puzzle: Reconsidering Lee Harvey Oswald," and still leave some strings untied, but here goes.

First off, the book is a great read, always interesting, and honors the prescription of its authors, Larry Hancock and David Boylan: It is free of detectable political, ideological, ethnic or agenda biases.

In a nutshell, The Oswald Puzzle delineates Lee Harvey Oswald as his own man, an evolving Marxist and idealist, who inevitably becomes bored, discontented or antsy in every situation he finds himself in, from home and schools, to the Marines, to the US, to Russia, back again to the US, to a string of jobs, and even in his marriage—indeed, discomfort is Oswald’s defining character trait, alongside an obviously agile mind.

At the end of his life, Oswald was seeking passage to Cuba, again seeking new environs, uncomfortable where he was in Dallas. That motive explains Oswald’s trip to Mexico City.

By the reckoning of Hancock and Boylan, Oswald was not a CIA asset, and never collaborated with any intelligence agency, though he was monitored, and perhaps manipulated by intel agencies, as well as by anti-Castro Cuban exile groups.

Nor is Oswald valorized or demonized. It is this Oswald who, although highly intelligent, performs so dolefully at repeated jobs that he is routinely fired, or let go at the end of probationary periods.

And Oswald’s behavior often appears self-indulgent. For example, while in New Orleans, Oswald, despite having a non-working wife and baby, spends so many hours away from his obligations at the Reilly Coffee Company (often reading gun magazines next door) that he is terminated. But it was worse than that: By one account, Oswald did not oil machinery as he was supposed to, a cardinal sin for anyone who has worked around machinery. Ever try not changing the oil in your car?

In so describing Oswald, no doubt Hancock-Boylan run afoul of any number of hoary JFKA canons, but their version of Oswald throughout remains circumspect and plausible. And indeed, if there is any documented evidence of Oswald being an intel state asset, we in the JFKA research community have yet to see it. But have no fear JFK conspiracists: Hancock/Boylan think there was a JFK assassination conspiracy, and carried out on 11/22/63.

Required reading before or after The Oswald Puzzle is Hancock’s "Tipping Point," which can be purchased through Amazon or read for free on The Mary Ferrell Foundation website. The Tipping Point offers a plausible scenario of the JFK Assassination, involving Cuban exiles and affiliated US mercenaries.

There are as many versions of the JFK assassination as there are researchers. The narratives offered by Hancock and Boylan are notable for their circumspect explanations and deductions.

Other explanations of the JFK assassination may fulfill certain political agendas, but require larger suspensions of disbelief.

[Jeff Russo · Rating 4 out of 5]

We have here a long treatment of the personality and traits of Oswald, in service of the broader notion that Oswald's activities in the months and years before the assassination were "Oswald being Oswald" and not Oswald serving as a tool of some branch or other of either the US Government. This includes a detailed treatment of the Mexico City episode, CIA handling of Oswald files, etc.

This is in opposition to other studies, like Manipulation of Lee Harvey Oswald: And the Cover-Up That Followed, Spy Saga: Lee Harvey Oswald and U.S. Intelligence, and of course Harvey and Lee

Note that the authors do not think Oswald participated in the assassination at all, that he was a framed patsy (laying out clues that it may be the anti-Castro DRE that did this,) and that assassination plot and the subsequent "lone nut" cover-up are somewhat disconnected.

I can't get enough Oswald stuff and from this standpoint it's an essential book. I will say, there did seem to be some gaps of note (e.g. Clay Shaw is not, to my recollection, mentioned even once) and the book does peter out a bit at the end. I realize Mr Hancock wrote an entire other book giving his detailed speculation as to the assassination plot and execution. Perhaps I have to go read that.

It is nice to have a perspective that rebuffs the lone nut narrative and yet has some important tangents from other works, and the authors are know for their relative sobriety and thoughtfulness in the research community.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best books written on the assassination and a must for anyone who is seriously interested in a “data over theory” historical analysis of the case. Larry Hancock and David Boylan offer both a concise and in depth biography and analysis of Lee Harvey Oswald, his character and motivations, as well as a new examination and interpretation of his actions during his short impactful life. In doing so the challenge many long held assumptions held by both those in lone gunman, and conspiracy camps. With meticulous research and links to accessible sources they also demonstrate the latest evidence around the figures and organisations who knew about and interacted with Oswald in the lead up to Dallas, their relationships to him, what role this may have ultimately played in the assassination, and where the many credible unfollowed leads point towards.

this is an important and accessible book that helps put together more of the pieces of the puzzle that is the assassination and Lee Harvey Oswald himself.

[vin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Could have used a better editor, as it’s a little repetitive and disjointed. However, I have never read a better insight into Oswald’s character. Hancock approaches Oswald as a living breathing person rather than a shady intelligence agent, and I believe a credible portrait of Oswald is painted in this book. While Oswald’s role in the assassination and his actions that day will always be a mystery, given his own murder, the scenario presented here is grounded in facts rather than speculation. This book is a welcome addition to the assassination literature.

[Thomas Gould · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do you think you know who Lee Harvey Oswald was? A non-descript loner, a troubled loser, a schmuck?

This thoroughly researched, meticulously documented examination of Oswald's life, actions and character sheds a new light on his personality and his political connections, revealed here to be surprisingly complicated.