The Gunman and His Mother: Lee Harvey Oswald, Marguerite Oswald, and the Making of an Assassin

by Steven Beschloss

For most of us, the story of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy depicts Lee Harvey Oswald as a convenient cliche or a conspiracy puppet, Lone Gunman or Framed Patsy. Lost among the competing theories of villainy and cover-up is the real Lee Harvey Oswald, a troubled young man from a fractured family, a lonely child born without a future.In this original and dramatic work, Steven Beschloss draws on a rich but relatively unmined public record, key interviews with Marguerite and other family members, and Lee’s own writing and statements totrace the origin of an American tragedy.He was a quiet boy who loved to stare at the stars. She was a bossy woman who always felt broke. He loved to ride the subways, skip school, go to the zoo. She was desperate and itinerant, forced to put her three kids into a New Orleans orphanage. He was a heavy reader, a homebody; she an oppressive and volatile figure. Both felt the world owed them better, and both carried a grudge that never softened. He was Lee Harvey Oswald and she his mother Marguerite.The Gunman and His Motherdepicts the troubled bond between a mother and her son, revealing in detail a relationship that has deserved focused treatment for a half century but has yet to receive it: how an innocent young boy evolved into a killer despite the watching eyes of his mother, his family, and his friends.

"If you want to understand how Lee Harvey Oswald became the desperate and delusional man the world met on 11/23/63, Steven Beschloss’s The Gunman and His Mother is the book to read. Haunting and compelling, it reads like a Greek tragedy.” Ralph Pezzullo, author of Jawbreaker and Inside Seal Team Six

"Who was Lee Harvey Oswald? What brought him to Dealey Plaza on November 22, 1963? In this groundbreaking volume, Steven Beschloss provides intriguing answers. By conducting an in-depth inquiry into Oswald's upbringing and early adulthood, the author provides new insight into the character of the man who murdered a president. An important contribution to our understanding of a day that changed American history.” - Michael Takiff, Author ofA Complicated Man: The Life of Bill Clinton as Told by Those Who Know Him (Yale) and Brave Men, Gentle Heroes: Fathers and Sons in World War II and Vietnam (Morrow)

Genres: Biography Memoir, True Crime, Nonfiction, Biography, Audiobook

97 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 4, 2013

Reviews

[Teri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a little obsessed with the whole JFK assassination thing. I've read a lot of books about JFK, Oswald and the assassination. The Gunman and His Mother: Lee Harvey Oswald, Marguerite Oswald, and The Making of an Assassin goes behind the man accused of shooting the president and give the reader insight into the man himself and the home life he endured growing up, as well as the relationship he built with his wife. Steven Beschloss gives the reader a clear idea of the dysfunctional childhood of Oswald and the bat crap crazy woman that was his mother. Marguerite was at least a somewhat sane person in a world of a whackadoodle family but unfortunately the damage was done before she met Oswald.

[Lexi Sølvhammer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a short book but what a journey!

The book is well written and gives the reader a different perspective on Lee Harvey Oswald. Most books I’ve stumbled upon have been about the assassination of John F Kennedy, and not much about Oswald. Therefore it was refreshing to be able to get to know more about Oswald, his upbringing and life.

Even though this is a short book I found it filled with information about Oswald I’ve never read elsewhere.

This book gave me food for thought and was really an eye opener.

*this review has been shared on multiple platforms.

[Hank Pharis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not much new here for those of us that know the story. It does demonstrate how set up Oswald was by his mother to have something go seriously wrong.

(Note: I'm stingy with stars. For me 2 stars means a good book. 3 = Very good; 4 = Outstanding {only about 5% of the books I read merit this}; 5 = All time favorites {one of these may come along every 400-500 books})

[Sandra Burns · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cautionary tale

This child never had a chance. Tossed from person to person. His Mother, so wrapped up in herself, to raise her kids. She failed as a parent. Could have got Lee help, chose not to.

[Margaret Flood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting material on oswald’s mom

Very thoughtful observations on opportunities missed in oswald’s life especially his early teenage years in New York. Obviously, his mom wasn’t well mentally or emotionally either so it would have taken a miracle for lee to come out half way normal. Surprisingly his older brothers managed to emerge relatively normal but I suspect like the author that was due to other adults at the boarding schools the two brothers went to at young ages. Too bad, Mom wanted to be a mother to lee.

[Donna Peake · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never knew about Lee Harvey Oswald's life as a boy. No wonder he turned out as he did his mother was not a good parent and never got him the help he needed. If only she had history would have been so different. She seemed to care more about money and publicity.

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew little about Lee Harvey Oswald. Just the bare bones of his actions in Dallas. Therefore, this Kindle Single, was very enlightening to me as it talks about Lee’s beginnings and his middle mostly while touching just a bit about his ending.

[Josh · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this. I was hoping there would be some insight as to why Oswalt was where he was at the time of the Kenedy assassination, but was let down, as this subject matter was left to the end of the book.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learned an awful lot about Lee Harvey Oswald I didn't know. Great psychological profile and showcase of how a dysfunctional family can lead to a dysfunctional child.

[Jesse Ding · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an interesting read and I enjoyed learning this piece of history.

[Dody B · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very interesting book. Very informative. I found myself just wanting more information. He was a terrible man. And his mother was pretty terrible too! She was awful actually!

[Tucker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, and written somewhat like a novella insofar as it begins with the characters (who, in this case, are real) and the hope that the reader will be interested in them. There isn't an introduction. If you do not already care about Lee Harvey Oswald or it has never occurred to you to wonder whether he had a mother, it might be hard for you to get off the ground here. But a lot of detailed research was done, and these characters do come alive.

It's not really about the assassination event. A third of the way through the book, President Kennedy is mentioned once (just to mention an occasion when he didn't answer the telephone?) and then not again until two-thirds of the way through. At the end, there's a good concluding chapter explaining why it might be informative to do biographical studies of assassins.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lee Harvey Oswald never had a chance in life. He was doomed from the time he was born. His mother was overbearing and paid no attention to him at all and failed (actually denied) that he had any problems and refused to get him help when he needed it. Brings an interesting insight to Oswald's life and what led him to commit the heinous act that he did.

[JustMe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing history of Oswald's dysfunctional relationship with his Mother

Great material not often covered regarding Oswald's life and relationship with his family. So many opportunities his Mother missed that could have impacted his life in a positive way, but she was far too self centered to care. All the more unfortunate for us.

[Dennis Myers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cogent, balanced narrative/bio of LHO. Author does not push an agenda but rather, lays out the facts and events of LHO’s life, no doubt fueled by the bizarre and narcissism of his strange mother. Highly recommended.