The assassination of President John F. Kennedy remains the biggest unsolved murder in American history.   The murders of the President, Lee Harvey Oswald and Dallas Police Officer J.D. Tippitt, have fascinated the American public for over 50 years.  Hundreds of books have been published, each one analyzing the case from a different angle.  Henry Hurt presents to us, his investigation into the murder and why there’s reasonable doubt about what we’ve been told to believe all of these years.  The book was published in 1985 and since then, other books have appeared, most notably Joseph McBride’s ‘Into The Nightmare’.  There is far more information is available today than when Hurt wrote this book due to the release of thousands of pages of documents relating to the investigation.  But any researcher into the assassination will be well served by reading Hurt’s interesting investigative report.   From the start, he explains that he wanted to believe that the Warren Commission report was the final say on those tragic events in Dallas on that day.  But as he continued to dig deeper into the investigation, more questions arose than answers, casting severe doubt on the Commission’s report and giving him reasonable doubt as to the guilt of Lee Harvey Oswald.

The most perplexing aspect of the entire crime is that as one uncovers more information of the sinister deeds that day, the more mysterious and puzzling it becomes.  There are never-ending leads and hundreds of suspicious characters, but concrete links to major figures continue to elude even the most experienced of researchers.  Hurt’s research into the lives of Oswald and Tippit was exhaustively completely and  he concludes, both men are still a mystery.  And while the question as to whether Ruby, Oswald and Tippitt knew each other remains,  there’s circumstantial evidence that there did indeed exist, some sort of relationship between the three.   Hurt also revealed the names of several individuals who I previously had been unaware of and their possible relationship to the events in Dealey plaza.   I should point out that those who are familiar with the assassination and have previously read other books will fill in some of the gaps in the book regarding information unknown to the author at the time.  This book is rarely mentioned in conversations about the assassination and is sometimes overshadowed by Jim Marrs’ classic, ‘Crossfire’.  But I think it is recommended reading for anyone interested in the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

ISBN-10: 0030040590
ISBN-13: 978-0030040597

President Kennedy served less than three years in the White House.  But in that time, his administration was involved in some of the most important events of the 20th century. Inheriting the Cold War, Indochina and Cuban policies from the Eisenhower administration, the new young President found himself  embroiled in situations that would change the course of world history.  Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., the noted historian and author served as Kennedy’s special assistant and advisor at times on the most important decisions made by the Kennedy administration.

Revisiting his time with the late Kennedy, Schlesinger’s memoir serves as an invaluable part of American history and is one of the best sources of information regarding the day-to-day functions behind the scenes in the White House.  The major events that threatened world peace and tested the new leader are re-examined and Schlesinger meticulously analyzes the events to show the reader how and why Kennedy reached his decisions and then implemented them as official policy.  Critics have lambasted Schlesinger for not discussing the negative aspects of the Kennedys’ lives and in particular the scandals that nearly ruined Kennedy’s political career and reputation.  Infidelity, murder, association with organized crime and blackmail hung as dark clouds over the Kennedy administration and threatened to derail hopes for re-election in 1964.   When Schlesinger wrote the book, his primary focus was on domestic and foreign policy decisions and not the gossip that spread throughout Washington.  And for those who do want to read about the dark side of the dark side of the Kennedy administration, Seymour Hersh already has that covered in his bestselling ‘The Dark Side of Camelot’ .

On November 22, 1963, Kennedy’s life came to a deadly conclusion.  And with his death came the loss of feelings of hope, promise and optimism. He signaled a change in American politics, no longer dictated by weapons but by diplomacy, intelligence and empathy.  His independence, intelligence and oratory skills have seldom been matched and Schlesinger’s account is a fitting tribute to the slain leader.

ASIN: B001P1RK8S