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The Scrapbook Lecture: ...a collection of suspects.
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310 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 27, 2009
31 people are currently reading
27 people want to read
About the author
Gary B. Haley
10 books2 followersGary B. Haley began life in a military family that frequently moved from one air force base to another. The first few years of Haley's life were spent in cities like Denver, Kansas City and Detroit, but finally, in the late '60s, the young family happily found their way back home to Fort Worth, Texas. It was there that Haley grew up with his brothers very near Carswell Air Force Base (now the Naval Air Station and Joint Reserve Base). This meant that they often had to tolerate the thunderous, deafening roar of huge B-52 bombers lumbering overhead a mere four or five thousand feet. At first, the brothers tried to shout over the noise, but even the rowdy football games being played in the street came to a halt until the plane was far enough away for everyone to hear the shouted warning, "Car!" There was little else to do but plug your ears and wait, and maybe watch the plane.
Such an environment seems to sever much of the day into twenty- or thirty-minute tolerable fragments, still, when Haley wasn't playing football, riding his bike, or winning a game of chess (unless he was playing his big brother) he was probably reading. At some point, The Beatles' hit, Paperback Writer, inspired him to start writing at a very young age, despite the harsh, thunderous roars of the B-52s.
A break from that relentless chaos came with a move to a waterfront home on a quiet cove of a nearby lake, where Haley finished high school. But despite the more enjoyable lifestyle of country living, Haley ultimately moved back to Fort Worth to accept a defense industry job on the air force base, where F-16s had taken the place of B-52s. Soon afterwards, however, he found himself a single parent, but did his best to meet the challenges of trying to raise two daughters while working full time, ghost writing part time, and finishing his software engineering degree.
His daughters have long since grown up and, between them, have four bright kids of their own. Haley moved to Denver in 2005 where he married a brilliant doctor. They eventually had a son and Haley retired from software engineering to be a stay-home dad.
Such an environment seems to sever much of the day into twenty- or thirty-minute tolerable fragments, still, when Haley wasn't playing football, riding his bike, or winning a game of chess (unless he was playing his big brother) he was probably reading. At some point, The Beatles' hit, Paperback Writer, inspired him to start writing at a very young age, despite the harsh, thunderous roars of the B-52s.
A break from that relentless chaos came with a move to a waterfront home on a quiet cove of a nearby lake, where Haley finished high school. But despite the more enjoyable lifestyle of country living, Haley ultimately moved back to Fort Worth to accept a defense industry job on the air force base, where F-16s had taken the place of B-52s. Soon afterwards, however, he found himself a single parent, but did his best to meet the challenges of trying to raise two daughters while working full time, ghost writing part time, and finishing his software engineering degree.
His daughters have long since grown up and, between them, have four bright kids of their own. Haley moved to Denver in 2005 where he married a brilliant doctor. They eventually had a son and Haley retired from software engineering to be a stay-home dad.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 18, 2020
I thoroughly enjoyed this book so much I read it in one day! It was well written, interesting and I love the way it was presented. I learned a few things I didn't know, especially background stories. I was in fifth grade when JFK was elected. I remember, as many of us from that time, exactly where I was when we heard the news he'd been assassinated.
April 7, 2020
Good read!
This was an interesting read. Especially since I was 12 yrs. old when President Kennedy was shot.
This iso an interesting perspective.
This was an interesting read. Especially since I was 12 yrs. old when President Kennedy was shot.
This iso an interesting perspective.
April 11, 2016
I read a lot of Historical Fiction (and write some, too), and The Scrapbook Lecture is far and away one of the best in the genre. When an author can pull me into the narrative, make me care about the characters, deliver historically accurate facts, and cause me look at the subject in a new and different light, then I become a huge fan.
In his clever twist on the "whodunnit" of our lifetime, Haley takes a keen look at the story of the JFK assassination. Yes, we all THINK we know who pulled the trigger. However, unless you believe the Warren Commission, we don't know who helped Oswald, and I think most believe he surely had help. The list of possible accomplices is long; the list of who wanted JFK dead, even longer.
Time travel to the year 2038 where an old professor at a Dallas university gives lectures many of his students love. His uncanny ability to transport their imaginations throughout history with his engaging storytelling makes his classes fill up quickly. One particular class, The Scrapbook Lecture, is one of his most popular and describes the crucial actions and reactions of a long list of people who should have been suspects in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
Instead of a college history book, the professor's only reference is a 124-year-old scrapbook that belonged to a mysterious, lonely woman in the heart of Boston, the hometown of the Kennedy clan. She had devotedly composed this scrapbook over the same half century, and eventually passed the heirloom on to her grandniece.
In this fact-based historical fiction that reads like an adventure story, the author has done his research and it shows. However, he compiles it in a way that never feels pedantic. Instead, it feels real and fresh and delicious enough to devour in one sitting.
I highly recommend this novel to any lover of historical fiction, conspiracy theorists, history sleuths, whodunnit aficionados, or anyone who loves just reading a darn good book.
In his clever twist on the "whodunnit" of our lifetime, Haley takes a keen look at the story of the JFK assassination. Yes, we all THINK we know who pulled the trigger. However, unless you believe the Warren Commission, we don't know who helped Oswald, and I think most believe he surely had help. The list of possible accomplices is long; the list of who wanted JFK dead, even longer.
Time travel to the year 2038 where an old professor at a Dallas university gives lectures many of his students love. His uncanny ability to transport their imaginations throughout history with his engaging storytelling makes his classes fill up quickly. One particular class, The Scrapbook Lecture, is one of his most popular and describes the crucial actions and reactions of a long list of people who should have been suspects in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
Instead of a college history book, the professor's only reference is a 124-year-old scrapbook that belonged to a mysterious, lonely woman in the heart of Boston, the hometown of the Kennedy clan. She had devotedly composed this scrapbook over the same half century, and eventually passed the heirloom on to her grandniece.
In this fact-based historical fiction that reads like an adventure story, the author has done his research and it shows. However, he compiles it in a way that never feels pedantic. Instead, it feels real and fresh and delicious enough to devour in one sitting.
I highly recommend this novel to any lover of historical fiction, conspiracy theorists, history sleuths, whodunnit aficionados, or anyone who loves just reading a darn good book.
September 25, 2011
I thought everyone pretty much knew everything there was to know about John F. Kennedy, but The Scrapbook Lecture opens up an entirely unexplored subject. The angle Haley takes is common enough in any murder investigation in modern society… even shows like CSI make it painfully obvious that a list of suspects is paramount. But until The Scrapbook Lecture, such a list did not really exist for the most famous murder in American history, or has been kept from us. (Can YOU name anyone who might have conspired with Oswald?)
Haley takes us through a fascinating trip through history, via a college professor, and builds a list of people who, at the very least, should have been, or should BE, questioned. As it turns out, the list is quite long.
Tying all the individual stories together is a mysterious woman in Boston whose life had intermingled with the Kennedys enough for her to keep a scrapbook. The pieces of history she has retained finds their way into the professor's lecture and makes it possible for the story to come alive again for many generations to come.
Haley takes us through a fascinating trip through history, via a college professor, and builds a list of people who, at the very least, should have been, or should BE, questioned. As it turns out, the list is quite long.
Tying all the individual stories together is a mysterious woman in Boston whose life had intermingled with the Kennedys enough for her to keep a scrapbook. The pieces of history she has retained finds their way into the professor's lecture and makes it possible for the story to come alive again for many generations to come.
September 25, 2011
I thought everyone pretty much knew everything there was to know about John F. Kennedy, but The Scrapbook Lecture opens up an entirely unexplored subject. The angle Haley takes is common enough in any murder investigation in modern society… even shows like CSI make it painfully obvious that a list of suspects is paramount. But until The Scrapbook Lecture, such a list did not really exist for the most famous murder in American history, or has been kept from us. (Can YOU name anyone who might have conspired with Oswald?)
Haley takes us through a fascinating trip through history, via a college professor, and builds a list of people who, at the very least, should have been, or should BE, questioned. As it turns out, the list is quite long.
Tying all the individual stories together is a mysterious woman in Boston whose life had intermingled with the Kennedys enough for her to keep a scrapbook. The pieces of history she has retained finds their way into the professor's lecture and makes it possible for the story to come alive again for many generations to come.
Haley takes us through a fascinating trip through history, via a college professor, and builds a list of people who, at the very least, should have been, or should BE, questioned. As it turns out, the list is quite long.
Tying all the individual stories together is a mysterious woman in Boston whose life had intermingled with the Kennedys enough for her to keep a scrapbook. The pieces of history she has retained finds their way into the professor's lecture and makes it possible for the story to come alive again for many generations to come.
November 20, 2013
I really, really, REALLY enjoyed this book. I decided to read this book this week because living in Texas, you can’t turn on the TV right now without hearing about it being the 50th anniversary of the Kennedy assassination.
The Scrapbook Lecture tells the story of a college professor looking back on the assassination in 2038. He theorizes who could have wanted JFK dead and why. It takes a look at why there are so many conspiracy theories out there and the reasons behind them. The history in the book is real and correct, while the story itself is fiction.
I’m not really a big history fan, but this story kept me interested from the very first page. There are a few errors in the book (mostly commas) but I didn’t feel like they took away from the story at all. With the anniversary of the assassination right around the corner, I would definitely recommend this book to any person wanting to learn a little more about history and/or the JFK era of politics.
This review also appears on AlicenScott.com
The Scrapbook Lecture tells the story of a college professor looking back on the assassination in 2038. He theorizes who could have wanted JFK dead and why. It takes a look at why there are so many conspiracy theories out there and the reasons behind them. The history in the book is real and correct, while the story itself is fiction.
I’m not really a big history fan, but this story kept me interested from the very first page. There are a few errors in the book (mostly commas) but I didn’t feel like they took away from the story at all. With the anniversary of the assassination right around the corner, I would definitely recommend this book to any person wanting to learn a little more about history and/or the JFK era of politics.
This review also appears on AlicenScott.com
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews