I'll never be able to wrap my brain around the JFK theories because there are too many people, events, etc., brought up in books like this. I don't think the average person can be expected to fact check the life events of a person who was on the periphery of events in which s/he may or may not have played a role. I don't doubt that something fishy happened with JFK. I don't think it was an expertly planned operation, though. And while I think LBJ benefited, I don't think he planned it.
I'm more inclined to think that Oswald worked for the government (verified), the CIA funded anti-Cuba actions (verified), and that Oswald was affiliated with anti-Cuba folks. I suspect that anti-Cuba folks killed JFK and either Oswald was involved or was a patsy. And that the FBI, CIA, et al. played a role in hushing it all up because to do otherwise would have exposed the government's widespread nefarious covert operations at a time when these weren't a well-known entity.
"LBJ/CIA killed JFK" is so ludicrous that it turns people off of "conspiracy theories" to the point where "U.S. government kills civilians in Laos," "U.S. government overthrows democratically elected leader of ___," etc., also come across as "conspiracy theories." I'm irritated by the JFK assassination not because I don't care--but because it's led to the present day reality of people thinking that half of our government's foreign policy actions are "conspiracy theories" rather than historical facts.
RE: rating, Fannin jumbles too much here. I could also happily live without the nationalism expressed at the end of the book. Isn't that the sort of misguided silliness which led to this whole mess? No government is sacred and good, least of all the United States government. Put down the flag already.