Book Reviews

You can know what happened to President Kennedy in Dallas on November 22, 1963. The history is there for the reading. But, in this case, because they have vested interests, you cannot count on the US Government or the mainstream media to tell you what happened.

What is different about this case is that the historical truth has been mainly obtained by hard-working citizens of many different professions including, but certainly not limited to lawyers, physicians, psychiatrists, publishers, housewives, former intelligence agents, photographic experts, professors, government investigators & members of the US military who took it upon themselves to exercise their democratic rights to seek out witnesses and research records to gather and publish the facts of the case. Their difficult & patriotic work is preserved in many well-researched and interesting books.

Reading these books rewards the reader with:

an understanding of US History
an understanding of how power functions
an understanding of why President Kennedy was murdered
an understanding of how a cover up can be managed in spite of publicly available facts proving a conspiracy
an understanding of how people in authoritarian systems act within given contexts
insight into current events which exhibit similar characteristics

Hopefully, the reader will use these benefits to strengthen their resolve to pursue justice & defend democracy.

The purpose of this section is to guide readers to information by providing general summaries and key points of many of the excellent books written on the assassination.

Book Reviews:
Title	Description
Accessories After the Fact by Sylvia Meagher 1967	Written all the way back in 1967, this is a good starter book on the assassination. From the preface: "The significance of this book cannot be overstated. It is by far the most meticulous and compelling indictment of the Warren Commission Report. Through her painstaking attention to detail, Sylvia Meagher has exposed the gross inconsistencies between the Commission's Final Report and the twenty-six volumes of evidence it reviewed." - Senator Richard S. Schweiker
Six Seconds in Dallas by Josiah Thompson 1967	The 1st step to understanding the JFK assassination is to study evidence of a conspiracy. This book analyzes the Zapruder film, frame by frame to conclude, for example, that 2 bullets hit from behind the president in less time that 2 bullets could be fired from Oswald's rifle as tested by FBI experts, thus proving 2 snipers behind the president. Elsewhere it provides witness testimony indicating a (3rd) grassy knoll sniper from the front. From the jacket cover: ... "you will be led, step by step, through a unique reconstruction of those fateful seconds that changed history. ... This book is based on hard evidence and provable fact—yet what it reveals is more shocking than the wildest speculation." If you still think there's any question as to whether there was a conspiracy to murder John Kennedy, read this book and remove all doubt.
On the Trail of the Assassins by Jim Garrison	Garrison's account of tracking down JFK's assassins as he investigated New Orleans connections to the assassination as District Attorney of New Orleans. Garrison's quest is the subject of Oliver Stone's movie JFK. This book and Garrison's other book, A Heritage of Stone (1970), are excellent first hand accounts of the quest to find JFK's killers.
The Last Investigation by Gaeton Fonzi 2008	Gaeton Fonzi, was an investigator on the goverment's House Assassinations Committee. Amazon.com reviewer Eric J. Russell: "Fonzi documents the failings of the HSCA and the results of his own exhaustive investigations in a gripping first-hand account. Particularly of interest is the evidence he uncovers all but proving that Maurice Bishop is David Atlee Phillips, the former high-ranking CIA agent and Chief of the Western Hemisphere Division. This evidence, in conjunction with the account of Antonio Veciana that he saw Bishop with Lee Harvey Oswald, presents a disturbing case that the CIA may have had its hands in the death of the President." UPDATE: Antonio Veciana's credibility has been seriously challenged. Read Antonio Veciana's story at this link first.
Breach of Trust by Gerald D. McKnight 2005	Excellent book on how the Warren Commission operated. Jacket cover: "McKnight argues that the (Warren) Commission's own documents and collected testimony - as well as thousands of other items it never saw, refused to see, or actively suppressed - reveal two conspiracies: the still very murky one surrounding the assassination itself and the official one that covered it up."
Mary's Mosaic by Peter Janney 2012	A dramatic true story about the murder of Mary Pinchot Meyer - JFK mistress and former wife of high-level CIA officer Cord Meyer. The book is written by Peter Janney, son of high-level CIA officer Wistar Janney, Peter Janney was best friends with Mary Meyer's son. If you like murder mystery, read this non-fiction book. Author Peter Janney discusses the book in this lecture video.
JFK, Absolute Proof by Robert Groden 2013	One of film expert Robert Groden's many works on the JFK Assassination with nearly 1,000 photos. Robert Groden is one of the most knowledgeable experts on this crime. Includes personal stories of his experiences on the House Assassinations Committee and an incredible anecdote about the History Channel intentionally falsifying history right in front of him at his usual location at the grassy knoll in Dallas on the scene of the crime. Read everything by Robert Groden and get his high-quality copies of the Zapruder film.
Inside the Assassination Records Review Board by Douglas Horne 2009	Douglas Horne served on the staff of the government's Assassination Records Review Board. Back cover: "This book... provides the best explanation yet offered of the true nature of the medical coverup in the assassination of John F. Kennedy, and does so in meticulous detail, with scrupulous use of primary source material." An incredible read. Worth every penny of the 5-volume cost.
JFK and the Unspeakable by James Douglas 2009	Preface: "Not only can the conspiracy that most Americans have thought was likely now be seen in detail. Not only can we know what happened in Dallas. More important than filling in the crime scene, we can know the larger historical context of the assassination - why President Kennedy was murdered...The story of why JFK was gunned down is the subject of this book." Recommended by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Oliver Stone's Review
The Echo from Dealey Plaza by former Secret Service Agent Abraham Bolden.	Read the amazing true story of Abraham Bolden who was personally invited by President Kennedy to be the first black Secret Service agent on the White House detail. After the assassination, Bolden tried to expose the recklessness of the Secret Service White House detail but instead, paid the heavy price of being framed and thrown into prison for trying to tell the truth.
Destiny Betrayed by Jim DiEugenio	If you want to get to the heart of the JFK assassination, read Destiny Betrayed by Jim DiEugenio. In it, the author takes a close look at the Garrison Investigation and related events in New Orleans which were dramatized in the movie JFK. DiEugenio was the writer for Oliver Stone's 2021 documentary JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass which is available on Showtime. See also the author's excellent website on political assassinations, Kennedys and King linked on our Related Websites page.