An Encounter with Evil: The Abraham Zapruder Story

by Jacob Hornberger

This book is about evil, more specifically, one person’s chance encounter with evil, an encounter that ended up destroying the rest of his life. The dark secret involved in that encounter also resulted in a family taboo, one that lasted long after the person who had that encounter with evil had passed away.

That person was Abraham Zapruder, the man who filmed the famous “Zapruder film” that captured the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. Through sheer happenstance, Zapruder’s life and the lives of his family were changed forever — for better and for worse — by his encounter with evil.

This book identifies and confronts the evil that destroyed the rest of Abraham Zapruder’s life and uncovers the dark secret that led to his family’s decades-long taboo against discussing his film. It also discusses what needs to be done to eradicate that evil, which is still among us. Our national well-being depends on it.

Genres: History

390 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 16, 2022

Reviews

[Jamey · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 4 stars are for the book’s excellent emphases on the reasons for the assassination; the placement of responsibility for it; the critique of Alexandra Zapruder’s dishonest book about her grandfather’s film; and the excellent work Douglas Horne has done at, and about, the Assassination Records Review Board. The missing star is for the relatively poor quality of the prose (e.g., repeated use of the awful phrase “little did he know….”).

[Chad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommended. Hornberger has published several books by himself and others through his Future of Freedom Foundation (FFF), a libertarian think-tank, some of which summarize much bigger works. His two-part The Kennedy Autopsy series summarizes a five-volume set by the Assassination Records Review Board analyst Douglas Horne, who's book of essays JFK's War is also published by FFF. Hornberger writes extremely clearly and will repeat points as necessary to remind readers of essential elements in understanding a very complex mystery.

This book's unusual angle focuses on the fate of the home movie shot by Dallas dressmaker Abraham Zapruder that captured the moment of the kill-shot to President Kennedy. This proves extremely illuminating and convincing in demonstrating not only that there must have been a conspiracy to kill JFK, but that the CIA was unquestionably involved. The title refers to the way that the fate of this short film affected the Zapruder family for generations, and Hornberger's decisive-yet-gentle take-down of Zapruder's granddaughter Alexandra is essential reading.

It has to be said that the assassination should never have fallen victim to a "culture war" in America or elsewhere. The fact that most of the prominent researchers and authors on the assassination who have adopted a conspiratorial stance are associated with the political left has in some cases tainted public perceptions of the seminal importance of this momentously tragic event. Hornberger is not associated with the political left, and in fact his FFF writes and publishes on a variety of topics related to political and economic liberty generally associated with the peace-loving right.

The JFK assassination remains a crucial subject of study not because a "liberal" president was killed by a "right-wing" cabal. It is important because it was a coup d'etat that put the final seal on the takeover of the duly constituted republican authorities by the "national-security state." Hornberger understands this and approaches the assassination accordingly. The trajectory on which our country was launched after November 22, 1963, can still be felt today. The "national-security state" still governs us and our perception of our own country and the whole world.

[Mara M. Snyder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Explicit

This book goes overboard in explaining his theory regarding the JFK assassination. I try to read everything I can regarding this terrible event. I feel this is one of the best books on this subject. In my opinion, it goes into repetitive detail, but nothing is left unexplained. I highly recommend this book if you have any interest in JFK's death and cover-up.

[Dan Krammer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short and to the Point

Brief review of the basic assassination facts but emphasizes the sordid deception with the film and autopsy. As always, the cover up reveals the true perps. It’s important to remember that the CIA was planning coups and manipulating foreign governments left and right at this time…
no reason to think they’d be squeamish to hit their worst enemy!

[Dena Napoli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating read. Well researched and in-depth. It will give you much to think about and explore in relation to modern politics in the US. I found it helpful and relevant in understanding the national security state we are living in. Highly recommend.

[Kurt · Rating 1 out of 5]

Over the top intro and hyperbolic. Just not interested in moving forward.

[Darlene Rowe · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting, but

A good read with many interesting tidbits, but way too repetitive for me; especially repetitive regarding the author’s comments regarding Alexandria Zapruder.