Last Second in Dallas

by Josiah Thompson

In this long-awaited follow-up to his critically acclaimed 1967 classic, Six Seconds in Dallas , Josiah Thompson reveals major new forensic discoveries since the year 2000 that overturn previously accepted “facts” about the Kennedy assassination. Together they provide what no previous book on the assassination has done—incontrovertible proof that JFK was killed in a crossfire.

Last Second in Dallas is not a conspiracy book. No theory of who did it is offered or discussed. Among the The test showing that all recovered bullet fragments came from Oswald’s rifle was mistaken. Several fragments could have come from bullets of any manufacturer and any caliber. The sudden two-inch forward movement of the president’s head in the Zapruder film just before his head explodes is revealed to be an optical illusion caused by the movement of Zapruder’s camera. This leaves without further challenge clear evidence that this shot came from a specific location to the right front of the limousine. Detailed analysis of film frames matched by the newly validated acoustic evidence show a second shot struck the president’s head from behind less than a second later. two killing shots to the head from opposite directions in the final second of the shooting—hence the book’s title.

At once a historical detective story and a deeply personal narrative by a major figure in the field, Last Second in Dallas captures the drama and sweep of events, detailing government missteps and political bias as well as the junk science, hubris, and controversy that have dogged the investigation from the beginning. Into this account Thompson weaves his own eventful journey, that of a Yale-educated scholar who in 1976 resigned his tenured professorship in philosophy to become a private investigator in San Francisco, developing a national reputation.

Profusely illustrated, Last Second in Dallas features dozens of archive photographs, including Zapruder film frames reproduced at the highest clarity ever published.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History

544 pages, Hardcover

Published January 7, 2021

About the author

Josiah Thompson is an American writer, professional private investigator, and former philosophy professor. He wrote Six Seconds in Dallas, A Micro-Study of the Kennedy Assassination. In 1967 he published The Lonely Labyrinth, a study of the philosopher Soren Kierkegaard's thought, and in 1972, Kierkegaard: A Collection of Critical Essays. He also wrote a biography of Kierkegaard in 1974, and a well-received book about his own, post-academic life as a private detective, Gumshoe: Reflections in a Private Eye in 1988.

Thompson graduated from Yale University in 1957. He entered the Navy, serving in Underwater Demolition Team 21. Then he returned to Yale for his M.A. in 1962 and Ph.D. in 1964. After receiving his doctorate, he taught at Yale as Instructor of Philosophy and then moved on to teach at Haverford College, where he remained until 1976, resigning to begin a career as a private detective.

Reviews

[Pete daPixie · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Six Seconds in Dallas' was one of the highly credited books on the JFK assassination from the 1960's. A book that I had signed by Thompson in Dallas in 2013 when I travelled from the U.K. to attend the JFK Lancer conference.
In 2021 Josiah Thompson has finally published his follow-up after over fifty years.
'Last Second in Dallas' was worth the wait. Even though I still have some reservations concerning some of the authors interpretations of evidence, even though the full flurry of shots on Elm Street remain in shadow, and even though the perpetrators remain hidden, Thompson's final foray into this murder mystery is, for me, a shining addition to the canon. Why? Simply because it could stand on it's own as an eminently readable historical biography of both Thompson's involvement in the investigation over many decades, and also the contentious disputes over the forensic science of ballistic, photographic and audio evidence that is also presented to the reader in a fairly coherent format.
I have spent some forty years reading and researching Dallas '63 and Thompson's pronouncement of 'final proof of conspiracy' is, in my case, preaching to the already converted. Many readers conversant with Kennedy's assassination will be fully aware of Zapruder's images of frame 313, aware also of the Grassy Knoll witnesses, along with the 'puff of smoke' from the knoll captured on film moments after the shooting by a press photographer in the motorcade. In 1966 J.T. gained access to Sam Holland who had stood on the Triple Underpass with a bird's eye view on the presidential limo. His fascinating interview with Holland is presented here. It was his access to these witnesses, as well as the Zapruder film, as part of his work for Life magazine that gave birth to the book 'Six Seconds in Dallas'.
However, I do note that Thompson's 'last second' observations were covered by authors Model and Groden way back in 1976 in their publication 'JFK: The Case for Conspiracy'
One of the most cloudy issues, in a very overcast case, has been the controversies over the Dallas Police Departments Dictabelt evidence, supposedly revealing five impulses of gunshots. It wasn't a Government investigative body that discovered this artifact, but private researchers, often derogatorily termed 'assassination buffs' or wacky conspiracy theorists. Was this recording from the 'open mic' of motorcycle patrolman H.B. McClean? Where exactly was McClean's bike in Dealey Plaza at the time of the shooting? How to explain the voice transmissions and siren sounds that could not have been heard prior to the gunfire? Add to this contentious mix the additions of 'crosstalk' to further muddy these waters. Without a doubt, the unravelling of the Dictabelt dispute is the single most profound advance that is chronicled in 'Last Second in Dallas'. Even though the excellent scientific work was done by Barger and Mullen at B.B.N., it was Thompson who initiated the project. Appendix A and Appendix B are the works of Barger and Mullen also.
I will leave aside the disparaging remarks the author makes of Jim Garrison's investigation of Clay Shaw, as well as Thompson's assertions of shots from the rear coming from Oswald's rifle from the sixth floor window in the TSBD. The book shows clear proof of a professional well orchestrated military crossfire ambush to kill the president. How does that fit with the poor shot Oswald firing a defective Mannlicher Carcano from that position? A location occupied by one of the Depository workers eating his chicken lunch just minutes before the arrival of the motorcade? I also find little interest in the HSCA's medical panel pontificating on bullet entry points derived from dubious X-rays and photographs from a botched autopsy.
However, the negatives do not alter my four star rating. As the title of this book makes clear, this publication presents a most important piece of historical research in fitting the jigsaw puzzle of visual and audio evidence together, to provide conclusive scientific proof of conspiracy in that last second in Dallas. I'm certain that this book will be one of the highlights of 2021 in the field of JFK assassination publications, and quite likely for many years to come.

[Elliott · Rating 5 out of 5]

In terms of the JFK Assassination the best books are generally the ones that say the least. I do make exception to the books by James DiEugenio, and of course JFK and the Unspeakable but overall the finest books deal with small portions of the event. In that regard Josiah Thompson’s follow up to Six Seconds in Dallas is a very good and very important addition to a genre of books that isn’t always well regarded (and understandably so). Thompson primarily sticks to four important pieces of evidence: the Zapruder film, the Moorman photograph, the dicta-belt recording from a police motorcycle, and the autopsy records.
The truly novel part from this book is its reinterpretation of the dicta-belt recording. The HSCA wound up concluding (albeit grudgingly) that the dicta-belt had recorded at least four rifle shots including one shot from the so-called Grassy Knoll and that President Kennedy was almost certainly murdered as the result of a conspiracy. In subsequent years the Ramsey panel would conclude that that dicta-belt recording had not picked up anything and that it was solely random static mimicking gunfire. A British journal would later conclude the opposite agreeing with the HSCA. The surviving members of the Ramsey panel provided a refutation of that reanalysis... the controversy dwells on whether the spoken words that are on the recording represent a complete contamination of the recording, or only pick up sound after the shooting had concluded. Thompson has provided a better interpretation of the recording based upon a more thorough analysis that has been done within the last five years that reiterates that there are gunshots recorded syncing the sounds with the Zapruder film, accordingly that the recording take place during the assassination, and that there is evidence for five shots: one likely from the Dal-Tex building, and one from the Grassy Knoll. Here Thompson draws in the Moorman photograph which depicts an anomalous shape at the precise place a gunman would have been to produce the sound recorded on the Dicta-belt as proven by the HSCA gunfire tests and precisely where witnesses to the assassination would see footprints and cigarette butts after the final shot.
While I believe this book does adequately offer proof of a conspiracy there was a noticeable omission. The Tague strike is not mentioned at all and Thompson doesn’t establish whether he was struck by a fragment or an errant shot. I believe that this is a minor omission overall and doesn’t negate evidence of a conspiracy that is admirably shown.

[James Reyome · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just brilliant. BRILLIANT.

I read “Six Seconds In Dallas” in the 70s as a teenager and was just engrossed. I mean, the crime of the century, supposedly studied from every angle by our government, and their conclusions were all wrong?

So it appears. And Thompson himself admits to being wrong on a couple of his own key conclusions, but he seeks to correct them. He does so in this weighty volume, and in the end, his original summation stands: three gunmen, at least four shots, from three directions. A classic crossfire. If I’d been in the six floor window, and alone, the absolute best shot would’ve been while the limo was approaching on Houston Street. But I wasn’t, and whoever WAS knew he wasn’t alone, and waited for the target to enter the kill zone.

The proof is all here. A detailed examination of the Zapruder film, extensive interviews with witnesses (including S M ‘Skinny’ Holland, who had the best view of all) and an exhaustive review of the acoustic evidence uncovered during the HSCA hearings.

So. What exactly is accomplished by this book? Seriously, there are so many questions that will never be answered…Who did it? Why? Who ORDERED it all? But never mind, that was sixty years ago. ‘Tink’ Thompson has done his job well and can rest now.

A keeper, and a landmark in true crime.

[Chad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Those of us obsessed with the enigma of Lee Harvey Oswald and his relationship to the intelligence community forget that there is a realm of research and investigation concerned exclusively with establishing the number and trajectory of shots that hit President Kennedy. Josiah Thompson is unrivaled in this regard. He’s not a forensic pathologist, but he is a professional private investigator with a long career covering big criminal cases. He also happens to be a PhD in philosophy who’s written a biography of Kierkegaard. In short, he’s a brilliant person who has made a monumental contribution to JFK assassination literature.

Much of this was over my head, but I was left convinced that Thompson had debunked the acoustics analysis conducted by some government-sponsored entity a few years after the House Select Committee on Assassinations concluded that at least 4 shots had been fired in Dealey Plaza on the day of the assassination. The attempt by the government to debunk the HSCA’s conclusions was based on the idea that the police dictabelt recording had occurred entirely too late to have picked up what the Committee thought was gunfire. Thompson proves that, in fact, the HSCA had been correct. The sounds on the dictabelt were indeed gunshots, and there were at least four.

My favorite parts of the book concern the autopsy evidence, complete with illustrations. This is a colossal achievement. I actually bought it in the gift shop at the Sixth Floor Museum, meaning I paid retail because I didn’t want to wait for Amazon. It was worth it.

[Keith Pruitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the first books I read on the Kennedy assassination was Josiah Thompson's excellent book Six Seconds in Dallas. I still have the original copy I purchased many years ago. Through the years, I've read many other books, few having the significance as this work. And I've written a couple of books about the assassination myself. So when I heard that Thompson had a followup book in the works, I was keenly interested in obtaining it. Through a number of delays, the book finally made its way to market around the first of the year. The premise of the book moved away from the who done it, and determined to more accurately examine the evidence having to do with the head shot(s) and the acoustic evidences based on dictaphone recordings of a stuck motorcycle mike. The two seemed very connected in Thompson's mind, because he proposed that the sounds recording on the DPD recordings showed at least 5 shots were fired that day with two of those shots hitting Kennedy in the head almost at the same time. The first came from the front right and brought about the dramatic movement of JFK's body to the back and left as seen in the Zapruder film. The second forced his head and body forward into the lap of his wife.

Thompson does a reasonably excellent job of presenting the case for two head shots (which I suggested in my book Beyond Coverup was a distinct possibility). As he points out, it certainly explains the directionality of debris both backward and to the left and to the front as far as the hood of the car. It also would explain the massive wounds to the President's head seen at Parkland.

The long chapters dealing with the acoustic evidence, admittedly is hard to wade through. Much of it is highly technical and barely understandable to an educated person. I fear the average person will find it like trying to read a foreign language. But in the end, his point is achieved, and the viability of the evidence preserved despite the concerted efforts of government research panels to the contrary.

The book does have some dramatic revelations, but the most interesting aspect of the book is tracing Thompson's involvement in the research through the years, and how many of the historically significant researchers converge into his life. Students of the assassination literature will definitely want to read this book. But be warned, portions of the book are very complicated. Just wade through. Don't stop. The journey will be worth the potholes.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

After almost 60 years of fog and mystery surrounding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Josiah Thompson conclusively proves the truth: shots were fired at JFK by three different gunman in three different locations. Lee Harvey Oswald did not act alone. Thompson is a well-respected investigator and published a fact-based book on the assassination a few years after it happened. He persevered through decades of incompetence and obstruction on the part of the government and many scientists. As audio technology advanced, however, he was able to refine and mate audio evidence with the Zapruder film and eyewitness accounts and photographs. Thompson's book is a tour de force, examining the evidence in exhaustive detail. He purposely doesn't speculate about a conspiracy and makes it clear that he's only interested in the facts of the shooting. The nation should be grateful to Thompson for at last bringing some closure to this ongoing question.

[Lynn Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent JFK assassination book. I have long been a fan of Thompson’s seminal 1967 work, Six Seconds In Dallas. It was one of the first cogent conspiracy books on the assassination. Thompson has followed that up over 50 years later with his book which takes into account new pieces of he puzzle developed over the ensuing years. His scientific analysis is cogent and striking and coherent. If you’re looking for a complete book which answers all the questions of the Kennedy assassination, you’ll be disappointed. This doesn’t deal with who killed JFK or why, only how. Bravo Professor Thompson.

[Vince · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book and Vincent Palamara's Honest Answers About the Murder of President John F. Kennedy are ***the*** JFK assassination books for 2021 ! Highly anticipated-amazing research.

[Fred · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book to update the Kennedy assassination. Puts it all in perspective.

[Christopher Owens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Josiah Thompson was a philosophy professor at Haverford College when he wrote Six Seconds in Dallas, his 1967 book that took a scientific approach to analyzing the physical evidence from the JFK assassination while also examining materials from the National Archives and statements from witnesses who were overlooked by the Warren Commission. In the mid-1970s he abandoned his life in academia for a career as a private investigator. Last Second in Dallas is the story of his early involvement in researching the assassination, and the story of his investigation of new evidence that has emerged in the last few decades.

Thompson concluded in his first book that Kennedy died as a result of a crossfire from two different directions, but was disillusioned by infighting within the assassination research community and conflicting versions of evidence. Some of the new evidence he provides in this book are the result of his "micro-analysis" and measurements of movements in the Zapruder film, and his attempts at confirming the audio evidence that resulted in the HCSA declaring that JFK died as the result of a conspiracy.

I gave Last Second In Dallas five stars on Goodreads. I won't spoil Thompson's conclusions, but will tell you that the scenario he presents not only fits the revised evidence he has uncovered but also rings true in a logical sense.

[Charles Kellum · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s refreshing to read a book on the JFK assassination that is not pushing a theory, creating villains and finding deep meaning in small actions or comments. Thompson is interested in none of that. He only aspires to study the evidence and come up with the most likely scenario of what happened in Dealy Plaza during the assassination and, in particular, during the final second of JFK’s life before and during the final head shot(s.) I learned a great deal reading this book and that’s rare. Having read dozens and dozens of books on the topic I often find nothing new or, if lucky, a few minor aspects that I haven’t read somewhere before. The Last Second brought to light (for me) that the work decades ago to debunk the acoustical evidence pointing to multiple shooters had itself been decisively debunked, allowing that important fact to be added to the troves of evidence pointing to conspiracy. I learned more about important witnesses and more about the Zapruder film without wild claims of sinister alterations to hide evidence. There is no attempt to tell you who planned and executed the assassination or why. It is a micro-study concerned only with facts and the conclusions that come from those facts. As a result, the few and important conclusions that are put forth are solid and very believable.

[Brock Brauer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thompson does a great job of detailing the facts of the JFK assassination in plain understanding, not allowing any personal belief on if/what type of conspiracy occurred on 11.22.63 to cloud his understanding of the facts, due in part I'm sure to his former career as a private investigator. He does a great job of reminding the reader that his goal isn't to figure out who is behind the assassination or why it occurred, but rather to simply display the facts and prove that Oswald could not have been the lone shooter, based on the facts alone.

Laden with graphs, charts, and sequential stills of the Z film, I appreciated the thoroughness of detail Thompson provides in attempting to parse the data and reach a conclusion. That being said, the latter half of the book seemed a bit loaded with jargon and convolution when he details the findings and subsequent research of the audio forensic analysts from their research with BBN during the HSCA investigation.

Nonetheless, this is a great read and update to his original 1966 publication "Six Seconds in Dallas".

[Regan · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a terrific follow up to Six Seconds in Dallas. Thompson did as thorough as he possibly could when he wrote Six Seconds -- JFK's assassination was still so new and there were people trying to protect themselves politically. As and when more information came out Thompson followed and when being able to track the sound waves was available he went back to investigation. Last Second in Dallas is the culmination of that additional investigation.

There is a lot of deep dive, dry facts in the book. He writes in a way that explains it all to the novice reader -- novice in terms of these scientific experiments and outcomes. There are photographs -- some you do need to be prepared to look at our skip those pages. He does warn his readers they are coming.

[Stan DeGroote · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is excellent. I've read the Warren Commission Report, Case Closed, and other volumes over the years, but this book is the corrective capstone regarding the JFK shooting per se. It's also an interesting chronicle of the half-century for investigative detours and dead ends that led to this conclusion.
If this quality of research had been completed originally, perhaps it would have led to a diligent and effective pursuit of the additional shooters. C'est la vie.

[Michele Pfrogner · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF. I tried, I really tried to get through Thompson's well-researched book. I couldn't. I respect his detail in his writing, and the science behind each statement, but once I read the gratuitous chapter about his earlier book Six Second in Dallas, I was done. By looking further into the murder of this father, husband, son, brother, and uncle, I felt I was being sacrilegious and disrespectful. May President Kennedy rest in peace.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely one for the Kennedy assassination obsessives, would not recommend starting off with this one.

Thompson is convincing in how he constructs his arguments, not too proud to admit his mistakes, and I would venture that his theory of how it went down is as compelling as it gets. Refreshing to read a book that takes Oswald (and his murky past) and speculation of the perpetrators totally out of the picture and focuses on a granular analysis of the evidence.

My selfish gripe is that the technical evidence got a bit too detailed and I got lost a couple times with the scientific details. Admittedly this could be down to me being retarded so other readers may not have had this experience. But all of that was necessary for Thompson’s case and refutation of the NAS study, which he destroys in devastating fashion.

In summary, compelling theory backed by the latest evidence but ultimately not suitable for those who are new to the assassination literature; for those I would recommend Anthony Summers’ ‘Conspiracy/Not in Your Lifetime’.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great writing style. The author did a great job of educating the reader on new perspectives on the Kennedy assassination. Book gets very technical with audio research.

[R.J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Does give this doubt or much to think about.

[Gary Gregory · Rating 5 out of 5]

Validates the Dallas police Dictabelt audio recordings of the assassination, proving more than three shots.
Excellent!

[Brian Salyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read. Very level headed approach to facts and some conspiracy.

[Joey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow.