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The Road to Dallas: The Assassination of John F. Kennedy
Neither a random event nor the act of a lone madman—the assassination of President John F. Kennedy was an appalling and grisly conspiracy. This is the unvarnished story. With deft investigative skill, David Kaiser shows that the events of November 22, 1963, cannot be understood without fully grasping the two larger stories of which they were a the U.S. government’s campaign against organized crime, which began in the late 1950s and accelerated dramatically under Robert Kennedy; and the furtive quest of two administrations—along with a cadre of private interest groups—to eliminate Fidel Castro. The seeds of conspiracy go back to the Eisenhower administration, which recruited top mobsters in a series of plots to assassinate the Cuban leader. The CIA created a secretive environment in which illicit networks were allowed to expand in dangerous directions. The agency’s links with the Mafia continued in the Kennedy administration, although the President and his closest advisors—engaged in their own efforts to overthrow Castro—thought this skullduggery had ended. Meanwhile, Cuban exiles, right-wing businessmen, and hard-line anti-Communists established ties with virtually anyone deemed capable of taking out the Cuban premier. Inevitably those ties included the mob. The conspiracy to kill JFK took shape in response to Robert Kennedy’s relentless attacks on organized crime—legal vendettas that often went well beyond the normal practices of law enforcement. Pushed to the wall, mob leaders merely had to look to the networks already in place for a solution. They found it in Lee Harvey Oswald—the ideal character to enact their desperate revenge against the Kennedys. Comprehensive, detailed, and informed by original sources, The Road to Dallas adds surprising new material to every aspect of the case. It brings to light the complete, frequently shocking, story of the JFK assassination and its aftermath.
536 pages, Hardcover
First published March 31, 2008
22 people are currently reading
243 people want to read
About the author
David E. Kaiser
11 books8 followersDavid E. Kaiser, born June 7, 1947, is an American historian whose published works have covered a broad range of topics, from European Warfare to American League Baseball. He was a Professor in the Strategy and Policy Department of the Naval War College from 1990 until 2012 and has also taught at Carnegie Mellon, Williams College(2006-7 and 2012-3), and Harvard University.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
April 21, 2008
One of the very best books on the subject, a huge genre in itself, and for once, by an historian rather than a novelist,lawyer,amateur sleuth,journalist, crank, "former agent of the XYZ," and sundry other characters in a rogues' gallery. Kaiser makes extensive use of the cache of documents released in the early 1990's by the CIA and FBI to cast the assassination as the work of the Mob and various elements of the anti-Castro Cuban community and their friends in the CIA. The Mob angle is familiar--the classic Kingfish covered this territory first--but there is added documentation to support the thesis. Perhaps most compelling in this regard is the explanation given for the assasination of Oswald by Ruby, which many recent authors--Mailer, Bugliosi, Pozner et alia--leaned on heavily as happening purely by chance rather than design. This is also the first book to make the Sylvia Odio testimony one of the, if not the central, keys to the mystery, as it provides the most direct linking of Oswald with anti-Castro forces.
Among the strengths of the book are Kaiser's avoidance of the hypothesizing and psycho-babble posturing of the slew of authors--including Mailer and DeLillo--who have beaten the psychological make-up of Lee Harvey Oswald to a pulp, as though in a bizarre competition with him. Kaiser uses a literary-historical-tv example as i effect Oswald's "model" and in a way his "muse"-the persona of Philbrick, the 1950's double agent. Kaiser argues that there was a shooter on the Grassy Knoll--but that whoever it was they missed, making Oswald the sole assassin though part of much wider conspiracy, to varying degrees both the "patsy" he claimed to be and a manipulator caught up in a lifelong series of efforts to out manipulate others who are truly big time manipulators--governments, spy agencies, fanatics of the right wing, the Mob, the Kennedy's, the Eisenhower-Nixon-Dulles forces, the underbelly of the CIA.
In a truly strange way, Oswald the latch key kid watching tv shows inspired by Phlbrick, reading comic books and Markist pamphlets, seems to be a self-willed and willing "body without organs" who becomes a nexus for the rhizomatic activities of a multitude of persons and groups and both uses them and lets himself be used for a "becoming-agent," a "becoming-assassin," and a "becoming-history" into which "he" vanishes. At once a "single assassin," and a multiple-personality, multiple-agent, multiple series of identities and "doubles," Oswald ultimately dies "where it all began"--on "live" TV, the ultimate "projection" of his own and a multitude of others' fantasies, wishes, desires and "plots."
In a way, Oswald was himself a "walking conspiracy waiting to happen," crisscrossing the world until everything "falls into place" in a few days in Dallas.
Among the strengths of the book are Kaiser's avoidance of the hypothesizing and psycho-babble posturing of the slew of authors--including Mailer and DeLillo--who have beaten the psychological make-up of Lee Harvey Oswald to a pulp, as though in a bizarre competition with him. Kaiser uses a literary-historical-tv example as i effect Oswald's "model" and in a way his "muse"-the persona of Philbrick, the 1950's double agent. Kaiser argues that there was a shooter on the Grassy Knoll--but that whoever it was they missed, making Oswald the sole assassin though part of much wider conspiracy, to varying degrees both the "patsy" he claimed to be and a manipulator caught up in a lifelong series of efforts to out manipulate others who are truly big time manipulators--governments, spy agencies, fanatics of the right wing, the Mob, the Kennedy's, the Eisenhower-Nixon-Dulles forces, the underbelly of the CIA.
In a truly strange way, Oswald the latch key kid watching tv shows inspired by Phlbrick, reading comic books and Markist pamphlets, seems to be a self-willed and willing "body without organs" who becomes a nexus for the rhizomatic activities of a multitude of persons and groups and both uses them and lets himself be used for a "becoming-agent," a "becoming-assassin," and a "becoming-history" into which "he" vanishes. At once a "single assassin," and a multiple-personality, multiple-agent, multiple series of identities and "doubles," Oswald ultimately dies "where it all began"--on "live" TV, the ultimate "projection" of his own and a multitude of others' fantasies, wishes, desires and "plots."
In a way, Oswald was himself a "walking conspiracy waiting to happen," crisscrossing the world until everything "falls into place" in a few days in Dallas.
February 21, 2009
Inane, hubristic, and laced with disinformation. In other words, Harvard University Press.
Much of this book is good, but it's also full of poison pills.
Page 3: "The Central Intelligence Agency had nothing to do with Kennedy's assassination..." And I am the King of Romania.
Page 7: "Hundreds of books on the Kennedy assassination have appeared, but this is the first one written by a professional historian who has researched the available documents." Reading this is like reading a 19th Century racist "scientist" propounding the salient differences between "national racial types" such as the Hottentot, the Semite, and the Englishman. Revel in your day, baby, because it's just about over.
Much of this book is good, but it's also full of poison pills.
Page 3: "The Central Intelligence Agency had nothing to do with Kennedy's assassination..." And I am the King of Romania.
Page 7: "Hundreds of books on the Kennedy assassination have appeared, but this is the first one written by a professional historian who has researched the available documents." Reading this is like reading a 19th Century racist "scientist" propounding the salient differences between "national racial types" such as the Hottentot, the Semite, and the Englishman. Revel in your day, baby, because it's just about over.
April 30, 2013
If you are new to the conspiracy theories, this is not a good starting place. I was intrigued by browsing the introduction which is a compelling description of the Odio incident, which was unknown to me. The way this incident is presented is characteristic of this sprawling book. The incident and its participants are visited and revisited, scattering the incident's context and ramifications. Even the chapter devoted to "Odio" does not contain the full story.
There is a lot of extraneous information. For instance there is the incident of 3 men in a car with Texas plates braking into Judith Campbell's apartment. The car belonged to a former FBI agent and two intruders fit the description of his sons, one of whom was married to John Connolly's daughter. While this is interesting, it is never tied into anything else. It stays in my mind because Campbell and Connolly are known to me, but hundreds of other isolated incidents and not famous side players stream through this book. At first I thought I should be keeping track of them all.
I wondered where it was all going. Finally, the author stated his thesis on page 378. While, as he says, his thesis does not depend on the single bullet theory, typical of the book's organization, he immediately follows with a 10 page inconclusive analysis of the acoustical properties of the gun shots (i.e. elaborating on the theory on which his thesis does not depend).
I'm not going to re-read this book to see if the author proves his case. I guess, if I tried to reassemble it, I'd find that Frazier presented strong evidence linking Oswald to a host of anti-Castro people and groups, mixed evidence linking Oswald to the CIA and clear evidence linking Jack Ruby to the organized crime figures that had a strong interest in stopping the DOJ investigations led by Bobby Kennedy.
I think this book is for those who have a good background in the JFK assassination theories. The extensive notes in the end can help those who continue to pursue the truth.
There is a lot of extraneous information. For instance there is the incident of 3 men in a car with Texas plates braking into Judith Campbell's apartment. The car belonged to a former FBI agent and two intruders fit the description of his sons, one of whom was married to John Connolly's daughter. While this is interesting, it is never tied into anything else. It stays in my mind because Campbell and Connolly are known to me, but hundreds of other isolated incidents and not famous side players stream through this book. At first I thought I should be keeping track of them all.
I wondered where it was all going. Finally, the author stated his thesis on page 378. While, as he says, his thesis does not depend on the single bullet theory, typical of the book's organization, he immediately follows with a 10 page inconclusive analysis of the acoustical properties of the gun shots (i.e. elaborating on the theory on which his thesis does not depend).
I'm not going to re-read this book to see if the author proves his case. I guess, if I tried to reassemble it, I'd find that Frazier presented strong evidence linking Oswald to a host of anti-Castro people and groups, mixed evidence linking Oswald to the CIA and clear evidence linking Jack Ruby to the organized crime figures that had a strong interest in stopping the DOJ investigations led by Bobby Kennedy.
I think this book is for those who have a good background in the JFK assassination theories. The extensive notes in the end can help those who continue to pursue the truth.
February 15, 2009
I have an intense interest in presidential history, conspiracies, and I have always had a morbid curiosity for literature featuring the JFK assassination. As an architect, though, and not a historian, my attention span for in-dept detail is short. Yet, David Kaiser’s The Road to Dallas, its 400-page length, and it wordy syntax is far and above the best book I have read on the events of November 22, 1963 and potentially the most groundbreaking.
Kaiser shows that the assassination cannot be understood without first understanding two larger stories of which it was part: (1) the U.S. government’s campaign against organized crime which radically accelerated under Robert Kennedy tenure as Attorney General; and (2) the pursuit of CIA through two administrations to kill Fidel Castro.
A conspiracy to kill Kennedy formed in response to Robert Kennedy’s persistent attacks on organized crime; a legal vengeance that often went well beyond the usual procedure of law enforcement. With their hands tied, mob leaders simply looked to the networks already in place for a solution. They found in Lee Harvey Oswald their ideal pawn to enact revenge against the Kennedys. The CIA’s direct involvement with these same mobsters in their plot to eliminate Castro provided cover for the conspirators to operated in the shadows outside the eyes of the CIA, and provided the FBI and the Warren Commission motive not to dig as deep as one would expect in their subsequent investigations; so not to embarrass the CIA.
The Road to Dallas adds dramatic new material to every feature of the case. It brings to light the complete story of the JFK assassination and its aftermath.
Kaiser shows that the assassination cannot be understood without first understanding two larger stories of which it was part: (1) the U.S. government’s campaign against organized crime which radically accelerated under Robert Kennedy tenure as Attorney General; and (2) the pursuit of CIA through two administrations to kill Fidel Castro.
A conspiracy to kill Kennedy formed in response to Robert Kennedy’s persistent attacks on organized crime; a legal vengeance that often went well beyond the usual procedure of law enforcement. With their hands tied, mob leaders simply looked to the networks already in place for a solution. They found in Lee Harvey Oswald their ideal pawn to enact revenge against the Kennedys. The CIA’s direct involvement with these same mobsters in their plot to eliminate Castro provided cover for the conspirators to operated in the shadows outside the eyes of the CIA, and provided the FBI and the Warren Commission motive not to dig as deep as one would expect in their subsequent investigations; so not to embarrass the CIA.
The Road to Dallas adds dramatic new material to every feature of the case. It brings to light the complete story of the JFK assassination and its aftermath.
December 8, 2010
I wasn't really getting into it, despite my well-documented love for JFK assassination lore. Kaiser throws way too many names/agency and group acronyms/job titles at the reader all at once, and it's difficult to keep track of them all. The prose style is also pretty dull, and (at least for me) it's hard to make this kind of story (Mafia! CIA! FBI! Cut-out men! Private eyes! Wiretapping! Mistresses! Cuban exiles! Castro!) boring. I might pick it back up again from the library, but I have three books to review and a book I'm editing, so no time for the textual soporifics.
February 18, 2025
Despite all the books on John F Kennedy’s assassination, this claims to be “the first one written by a professional historian who has researched the available archives.” Surprising, but I guess the topic is not conducive to an academic career.
The book locates the assassination in the intersection of two movements: one against organised crime (led by Robert Kennedy), and the other to overthrow Fidel Castro. The second was led by organised crime bosses, who wanted to recover their Cuban hotels and related income, but also by the US government, who wanted to neutralize an ally of the Soviet Union.
The author concludes that Lee Harvey Oswald killed Kennedy on behalf of organised crime. Although some of those bosses had planned Castro’s assassination with the CIA, the book doesn't find evidence that the CIA furthered the Kennedy assassination. Oswald campaigned publicly in favour of Castro, but his behaviour was typical of an infiltrator, and his private contacts were with opponents of Castro.
The book is very detailed. For example, it includes names of many people who appear only fleetingly. It's happy to do a deep dive, even when this doesn’t yield a solid conclusion. One example is the audio evidence for a second shooter (on the grassy knoll). Here, the author even gets into statistical methods such as chi-square and Poisson. Despite being inconclusive, there is a worthwhile takeaway: even if there was a second shooter, they missed.
Although the author can't settle some of the “meta” questions about the assassination, he does make some plausible suggestions.
Why was political assassination not a more general tactic of organised crime? Because John Kennedy had put himself in their world, in particular by letting Frank Sinatra fix him up with girlfriends.
If Robert Kennedy’s crackdown was the problem, why not assassinate him? Because, if his brother was still president, the crackdown would get even worse. By contrast, they calculated correctly that, as President, Johnson would sideline Robert Kennedy.
Why did the Warren Commission (although not the House Select Committee on Assassinations) conclude that Oswald acted alone? Here the author touches on something that’s intangible but rings true. When the evidence was hard to interpret (e.g. whether Ruby spoke with an FBI officer before Kennedy had been declared dead), they were predisposed against uncomfortable explanations that suggested a conspiracy.
Overall, a thorough and measured investigation. It doesn’t claim to tie up all the loose ends, but that just gives more weight to the conclusions it does reach.
The book locates the assassination in the intersection of two movements: one against organised crime (led by Robert Kennedy), and the other to overthrow Fidel Castro. The second was led by organised crime bosses, who wanted to recover their Cuban hotels and related income, but also by the US government, who wanted to neutralize an ally of the Soviet Union.
The author concludes that Lee Harvey Oswald killed Kennedy on behalf of organised crime. Although some of those bosses had planned Castro’s assassination with the CIA, the book doesn't find evidence that the CIA furthered the Kennedy assassination. Oswald campaigned publicly in favour of Castro, but his behaviour was typical of an infiltrator, and his private contacts were with opponents of Castro.
The book is very detailed. For example, it includes names of many people who appear only fleetingly. It's happy to do a deep dive, even when this doesn’t yield a solid conclusion. One example is the audio evidence for a second shooter (on the grassy knoll). Here, the author even gets into statistical methods such as chi-square and Poisson. Despite being inconclusive, there is a worthwhile takeaway: even if there was a second shooter, they missed.
Although the author can't settle some of the “meta” questions about the assassination, he does make some plausible suggestions.
Why was political assassination not a more general tactic of organised crime? Because John Kennedy had put himself in their world, in particular by letting Frank Sinatra fix him up with girlfriends.
If Robert Kennedy’s crackdown was the problem, why not assassinate him? Because, if his brother was still president, the crackdown would get even worse. By contrast, they calculated correctly that, as President, Johnson would sideline Robert Kennedy.
Why did the Warren Commission (although not the House Select Committee on Assassinations) conclude that Oswald acted alone? Here the author touches on something that’s intangible but rings true. When the evidence was hard to interpret (e.g. whether Ruby spoke with an FBI officer before Kennedy had been declared dead), they were predisposed against uncomfortable explanations that suggested a conspiracy.
Overall, a thorough and measured investigation. It doesn’t claim to tie up all the loose ends, but that just gives more weight to the conclusions it does reach.
November 27, 2019
The Road to Dallas. This is perhaps the most objective account of United States history in the decade preceding November 22, 1963. And it is the most sober telling of the events leading to the Assassination of John F. Kennedy.
There was a lot of traffic on the road to Dallas. The U.S. government and its policy toward Cuba and Fidel Castro. Cuban exiles in the United States and their determination to return to their homeland. The Department of Justice and its war on organized crime. Virulent right wing extremists and their war on civil rights. All of them participating in brazen lawlessness.
And the enigmatic activities of 24 year old Lee Harvey Oswald.
This is not an easy book to read. It was written by a history professor and published by Harvard University. And it often reads like an academic history book. The kind of book you'd be assigned to read for a class. Not the kind of book you'd choose to read for pleasure. But, that said, this book is worth the effort. There is a lot of detailed history in this book. And knowing that history is essential to understanding this crime and its aftermath.
Thirty years after President Kennedy's murder much of the history in this book was unknown to the public. It had been hidden. But in 1992 congress passed the JFK Record Collections Act. And as a result the FBI, CIA, Secret Service, and the Departments of Defense, State and Justice were forced to release their records relevant to the assassination, its participants and resulting investigations.
Not all of those records have been released. And many of the records that have been released are heavily redacted. But the records that were released subsequent to the 1992 law provide essential context and crucial details that were not available to the two federal government investigations of the Kennedy Assassination (The Warren Commission in 1964 and the House Select Committee on Assassinations in 1978).
As a result of those records being released, The Road to Dallas details how the lawlessness of the U.S. government toward Fidel Castro, Cuban exiles towards Cuba and the Department of Justice towards organized crime marched relentlessly toward Dallas. And how that lawlessness lead to a most unusual and quite resourceful individual named Lee Harvey Oswald.
The Road to Dallas is a very good read.
There was a lot of traffic on the road to Dallas. The U.S. government and its policy toward Cuba and Fidel Castro. Cuban exiles in the United States and their determination to return to their homeland. The Department of Justice and its war on organized crime. Virulent right wing extremists and their war on civil rights. All of them participating in brazen lawlessness.
And the enigmatic activities of 24 year old Lee Harvey Oswald.
This is not an easy book to read. It was written by a history professor and published by Harvard University. And it often reads like an academic history book. The kind of book you'd be assigned to read for a class. Not the kind of book you'd choose to read for pleasure. But, that said, this book is worth the effort. There is a lot of detailed history in this book. And knowing that history is essential to understanding this crime and its aftermath.
Thirty years after President Kennedy's murder much of the history in this book was unknown to the public. It had been hidden. But in 1992 congress passed the JFK Record Collections Act. And as a result the FBI, CIA, Secret Service, and the Departments of Defense, State and Justice were forced to release their records relevant to the assassination, its participants and resulting investigations.
Not all of those records have been released. And many of the records that have been released are heavily redacted. But the records that were released subsequent to the 1992 law provide essential context and crucial details that were not available to the two federal government investigations of the Kennedy Assassination (The Warren Commission in 1964 and the House Select Committee on Assassinations in 1978).
As a result of those records being released, The Road to Dallas details how the lawlessness of the U.S. government toward Fidel Castro, Cuban exiles towards Cuba and the Department of Justice towards organized crime marched relentlessly toward Dallas. And how that lawlessness lead to a most unusual and quite resourceful individual named Lee Harvey Oswald.
The Road to Dallas is a very good read.
March 14, 2022
Very academic/dry and incredibly detailed with names/interrelationships, and a slog in parts, but still informative. I’m pretty familiar with a lot of the characters here from past books/movies/shows, etc. and I was lost in the weeds many times. This is NOT the book for a beginner, and the author isn’t really making it easy, with his academic nature here and mostly non literary style.
Confusing as hell trying to figure what the heck Oswald was up to with all his activities/re-location/defection (fake defection?). I suppose the author makes what seems a good case that Oswald was a shooter, but not necessarily the only one. He also seemed to do a good job showing how ruby was involved with cops/mob and his seemingly repeated attempts at assassinating Oswald before his success.
Eisenhower administration involvement in Guatemala, Dominican Republic
Mob gun running in cuba
Mob involvement in assassination attempts on castro
Eisenhower and kennedy attempts to remove castro
Theory of mob being involved in kennedy assassination, Oswald as shooter but phony anti leftist and employed by mob
Rfk involvement in overseeing operation mongoose for anti castro activities in cuba
Ridiculous number of cia/mob interactions and castro assassination attempts, large number of anti-castro groups working at cross purposes
Rfk attempts to take down mob (Hoffa, Giancana, trafficante)
Oswald, fake defector?, fake? joining pro Castro groups, association with George de Mohrenschildt
Silvia odio incident, Oswald possible involvement in plot to assassinate castro prior to kennedy assassination via failed attempt to get into cuba via Mexico and attempts to get Cuban/Russian visas, possible fake Oswald impersonators recorded at embassies in Mexico city
Confusing as hell trying to figure what the heck Oswald was up to with all his activities/re-location/defection (fake defection?). I suppose the author makes what seems a good case that Oswald was a shooter, but not necessarily the only one. He also seemed to do a good job showing how ruby was involved with cops/mob and his seemingly repeated attempts at assassinating Oswald before his success.
Eisenhower administration involvement in Guatemala, Dominican Republic
Mob gun running in cuba
Mob involvement in assassination attempts on castro
Eisenhower and kennedy attempts to remove castro
Theory of mob being involved in kennedy assassination, Oswald as shooter but phony anti leftist and employed by mob
Rfk involvement in overseeing operation mongoose for anti castro activities in cuba
Ridiculous number of cia/mob interactions and castro assassination attempts, large number of anti-castro groups working at cross purposes
Rfk attempts to take down mob (Hoffa, Giancana, trafficante)
Oswald, fake defector?, fake? joining pro Castro groups, association with George de Mohrenschildt
Silvia odio incident, Oswald possible involvement in plot to assassinate castro prior to kennedy assassination via failed attempt to get into cuba via Mexico and attempts to get Cuban/Russian visas, possible fake Oswald impersonators recorded at embassies in Mexico city
October 31, 2021
No, I didn't actually read it, but it's a JFK conspiracy theory book. What more do I need to know.
Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, there is no so-called "magic bullet," bullets will do what his did, the shots weren't that hard and he was a good shot. Period.
Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, there is no so-called "magic bullet," bullets will do what his did, the shots weren't that hard and he was a good shot. Period.
December 24, 2023
This is a long book and very dry and at times can be difficult to follow. There are so many people involved and some of the details aren’t needed but overall an interesting account of what happened to the President.
January 4, 2015
What prompted me to read this book was an interview I saw with Alan Dershowitz. When asked what legal mystery he would like to see solved, he said --the JFK assassination. He didn't elaborate, but accepting that Oswald was the assassin still leaves many mysteries and unanswered, vexing questions. How interesting that Dershowitz is one whose interest is still piqued by this event.
Years ago, at least 20 years, probably more, I read a bunch of the assassination books. Best Evidence, by Lifton, is the one that will keep you up at night. If you have read about the JFK assassination in any detail, even 20 years ago, this latest book will be full of information you already knew. And there is a lot the author leaves out. People want so much to attribute the murder of JFK to "right wingers" that they *still* gloss over the fact that Oswald was a Marxist. He defected to the USSR, for heaven's sake, living and working in Minsk. And these folks include mafia figures (a few of whom voiced the desire to see something bad happen to the Kennedys because of RFK's relentless prosecution of them) among the "right wing" even though their friends were Hollywood figures including Kennedy in-law Lawford.
The author does point out some of the long- discussed conundrums: Dispute over how many shots were fired on 11/22, were they all fired from behind, why did 1/3 of the bystanders claim a gunman was on the "grassy knoll," how could a bullet that went through the President's back, out his throat, into Connelly's back, out his chest, then into his wrist bone and out of it, emerge "pristine," with no tissue or blood on it; Oswald's very peculiar behavior on leaving the book depository; why the altercation with Officer Tippitt, how all the Dallas doctors misread the type of throat wound JFK had (Not discussed in the book) why Oswald took a shot at Gen. Walker earlier in the year (also not explored in the book), and many more. Oddly enough there is little about Oswald himself, his mercurial personality and behavior over his lifetime, and the real biggie: what was his motive? No one ever heard him say a word about the President. Author suggests he was expecting to come into some money, a payoff. But what did O think would happen then? And similar questions about Jack Ruby, interviews he gave (Dorothy Kilgallen?) are absent.
The author is a historian/professor at the Naval War College and the publisher is Harvard Univ. Press. So you don't need to be a kook to believe that there's a lot we just don't know about Nov. 22, 1963. The answers aren't in this book, and only some of the questions are. I wish Dershowtiz would write about his own thoughts and questions based on what evidence and testimony does exist.
Years ago, at least 20 years, probably more, I read a bunch of the assassination books. Best Evidence, by Lifton, is the one that will keep you up at night. If you have read about the JFK assassination in any detail, even 20 years ago, this latest book will be full of information you already knew. And there is a lot the author leaves out. People want so much to attribute the murder of JFK to "right wingers" that they *still* gloss over the fact that Oswald was a Marxist. He defected to the USSR, for heaven's sake, living and working in Minsk. And these folks include mafia figures (a few of whom voiced the desire to see something bad happen to the Kennedys because of RFK's relentless prosecution of them) among the "right wing" even though their friends were Hollywood figures including Kennedy in-law Lawford.
The author does point out some of the long- discussed conundrums: Dispute over how many shots were fired on 11/22, were they all fired from behind, why did 1/3 of the bystanders claim a gunman was on the "grassy knoll," how could a bullet that went through the President's back, out his throat, into Connelly's back, out his chest, then into his wrist bone and out of it, emerge "pristine," with no tissue or blood on it; Oswald's very peculiar behavior on leaving the book depository; why the altercation with Officer Tippitt, how all the Dallas doctors misread the type of throat wound JFK had (Not discussed in the book) why Oswald took a shot at Gen. Walker earlier in the year (also not explored in the book), and many more. Oddly enough there is little about Oswald himself, his mercurial personality and behavior over his lifetime, and the real biggie: what was his motive? No one ever heard him say a word about the President. Author suggests he was expecting to come into some money, a payoff. But what did O think would happen then? And similar questions about Jack Ruby, interviews he gave (Dorothy Kilgallen?) are absent.
The author is a historian/professor at the Naval War College and the publisher is Harvard Univ. Press. So you don't need to be a kook to believe that there's a lot we just don't know about Nov. 22, 1963. The answers aren't in this book, and only some of the questions are. I wish Dershowtiz would write about his own thoughts and questions based on what evidence and testimony does exist.
Read
January 2, 2016Because Kaiser is an academic, his book was promoted as being a more thoroughly researched look at the assassination than some of the more sensationalistic tomes that blame the assassination on everyone from JFK's cleaning woman to Ethel Merman. While it is true that the book is well-researched, good luck keeping track of the nearly 50 or so people who helped carry out the plot. By page 100, I'd resigned myself to the fact that -- unless I began plot mapping these folks on a wall -- I'd never be able to keep up. It reminded me of The Sopranos when the FBI has all of the capos on a chart leading up to Tony as the leader.
As far as Kaiser is concerned, Lee Harvey Oswald fired all of the shots that killed JFK and Gov. Connolly. He does not dispute that there may have been another shooter on the grassy knoll, but he claims if there was, they missed. The famous dictaphone recording from one of the motorcycle cops following the motorcade gets a good deal of treatment at the end, and Kaiser conlcudes that we'll probably never know whether there were - as the latest scholarship claims - actually four shots fired at the motorcade [this is the argument used by those supporting a second shooter theory].
Regardless, Kaiser concludes that it started with President Eisenhower's consent to a plot to assassinate Castro in 1960, grew considerably with the Kennedy brothers' obsession with assassinating Castro and Bobby Kennedy's fascination with taking down the Mafia, and after the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis, began a slow spiral into an assassination plot on JFK. Essentially, a boomerang JFK threw that came back on him.
Kaiser concludes that Oswald probably was heading to Mexico City in September-October 1963 to try to get into Cuba to assassinate Castro. When he was unable to do so, his "orders", as Kaiser calls them, changed and he was given the assignment [by whom we'll probably never know, Kaiser concludes] of killing JFK instead. Kaiser surmises that, had Oswald gotten into Cuba he would have attempted to kill Castro, or head back to the Soviet Union. Either way, though, Kaiser argues JFK most likely would never have been killed.
As far as Kaiser is concerned, Lee Harvey Oswald fired all of the shots that killed JFK and Gov. Connolly. He does not dispute that there may have been another shooter on the grassy knoll, but he claims if there was, they missed. The famous dictaphone recording from one of the motorcycle cops following the motorcade gets a good deal of treatment at the end, and Kaiser conlcudes that we'll probably never know whether there were - as the latest scholarship claims - actually four shots fired at the motorcade [this is the argument used by those supporting a second shooter theory].
Regardless, Kaiser concludes that it started with President Eisenhower's consent to a plot to assassinate Castro in 1960, grew considerably with the Kennedy brothers' obsession with assassinating Castro and Bobby Kennedy's fascination with taking down the Mafia, and after the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis, began a slow spiral into an assassination plot on JFK. Essentially, a boomerang JFK threw that came back on him.
Kaiser concludes that Oswald probably was heading to Mexico City in September-October 1963 to try to get into Cuba to assassinate Castro. When he was unable to do so, his "orders", as Kaiser calls them, changed and he was given the assignment [by whom we'll probably never know, Kaiser concludes] of killing JFK instead. Kaiser surmises that, had Oswald gotten into Cuba he would have attempted to kill Castro, or head back to the Soviet Union. Either way, though, Kaiser argues JFK most likely would never have been killed.
May 18, 2008
Kaiser bills himself as the first professional historian to deal with the question of why Kennedy was assassinated who had full access to the most recent declassified information. He makes a fairly good case that Oswald was an agent of the Mafia, who were seeking revenge for the Kennedy brothers' persecution. I have read a few books on this issue but have never been sucked into the Kennedy assassination subculture, which is truly insane -- check out the Usenet groups and websites devoted to it.
The House Special Committee on Assassinations concluded that Oswald killed Kennedy, but that he didn't act alone. Kaiser agrees, and I think they're correct. He does not prove it beyond doubt, but absent some startling discovery, I fear that nobody will attain this degree of certainty. I think he's probably correct, but that's about as close as we'll get.
The House Special Committee on Assassinations concluded that Oswald killed Kennedy, but that he didn't act alone. Kaiser agrees, and I think they're correct. He does not prove it beyond doubt, but absent some startling discovery, I fear that nobody will attain this degree of certainty. I think he's probably correct, but that's about as close as we'll get.
can-t-get-into-it
April 26, 2019UNCLE. I didn't think it would ever happen; I can't finish this book. I have read many books about the assassination and lots of crackpot theories, and have always found them fascinating. Until now. It might be an interesting theory--the CIA and the mob combine to kill the president, but I'll never know. It was so tedious and bogged down in detail that there was no story. Maybe I have just reached my saturation point, or maybe this author can't get away from the minutia to tell a good story.
March 17, 2021
Finally a historian, without preconceptions, has looked at the voluminous, once secret documents produced by the CIA, the FBI, and other government agencies in response to the JFK Assassination Records Act of 1992. Kaiser's nuanced conclusions on Oswald's guilt and the ominous issue of conspiracy will command respect from even those who disagree with them. Comprehensive, beautifully crafted, and well-reasoned. An essential addition to the JFK corpus.
G. Robert Blakey, Notre Dame Law School, and former Chief Counsel of the House Select Committee on Assassinations
G. Robert Blakey, Notre Dame Law School, and former Chief Counsel of the House Select Committee on Assassinations
April 27, 2008
A pretty good read about the plots surrounding the Kennedy assassination. The author is a professional historian who presents his case but in a way that is sometimes tedious and redundant. I found his chapters on the Cuban plotters tedious and needing editing. But overall I enjoyed the book which made me think but did not convince me.
December 29, 2008
I have been reading this off and on for a couple of months....I know
almost all of the stories since I have read a couple of hundred books
on the JFK assassination. Kaiser digs up new details (from files released
after controversy stirred up by Oliver Stone's film..Kaiser doesn't think
much of the film). He also provides fresh background material and insights about various events.
almost all of the stories since I have read a couple of hundred books
on the JFK assassination. Kaiser digs up new details (from files released
after controversy stirred up by Oliver Stone's film..Kaiser doesn't think
much of the film). He also provides fresh background material and insights about various events.
September 21, 2015
It reads like the worlds longest Wikipedia entry, but that's because it's written by a historian and not a writer.
Press on and so many fascinating details about the assassination are brought out.
After reading this, I may have to finally admit that Kennedy was not killed because Magneto was trying to save him like in the Days of Future Past movie.
Press on and so many fascinating details about the assassination are brought out.
After reading this, I may have to finally admit that Kennedy was not killed because Magneto was trying to save him like in the Days of Future Past movie.
November 30, 2010
I disagree with some of his conclusions, but it's a good, readable summary of the current state of JFK assassination conspiracy theory, since the wave of previously classified documents that were released in the 90s.
July 7, 2008
Provides valuable context to the events leading up to the assassination, but it doesn't quite add up for me.
June 13, 2015
This book is really detail heavy, but that's part of why I liked it so much. Probably not well suited for a reader with casual interest in the subject.
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