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cptnmarv41's review against another edition
5.0
I have wanted to read this book for a long time and it was surprisingly hard to come by. It was worth the wait. Like many people, I have long been fascinated by the JFK assassination and then when JFK the movie came out in the 90s, in part based on the writings contained within this book, it only intrigued me further. Ever since then I wanted to get my hands on this book and just never got around to it. Well, I finally did. I absolutely believe there was a conspiracy to kill Kennedy. In fact, at this point, I don't even understand how it's considered a conspiracy when it seems so blindingly obvious. Sure, we don't know all the ins and outs and the who's - but we sure figured out the why as time went by. That was pretty obvious too. Just look at how the Vietnam War played out. I would go so far as to say, you can't be a serious thinking person and actually believe that Oswald acted alone. The magic bullet theory alone, combined with the Zapruder film, completely puts that ridiculousness to bed. One last note before I get into the book - I have been to Dealey Plaza and I have toured the 6th Floor museum. It is a remarkable piece of history and I would encourage anyone who hasn't been, to go. There have been minimal changes to the plaza which is remarkable considering it has been 60 years since the assassination. In some ways, it's like stepping back in time to be there. A worthwhile experience that will give you goosebumps. HOWEVER - I found it completely insulting....but hardly surprising.... that they treat the conspiracy in that museum as an afterthought. Like you have to be wearing a tin foil hat to believe in it. Like it should be swept under the rug and never spoken about again. It's a ridiculous way to treat how a majority of the public has viewed the event for a LONG time now. To the book - Garrison lays out his Case to the best of his ability. And what I mean by that is he was limited in so many ways. In time, in funds, in man power, in technology of the time, by corruption working against him. But he is not just some random guy. A Lawyer, a National Guardsman, a three term District Attorney when all was said and done, and a member of the FBI .... Garrison knew what he was talking about when it came to knowing how the Government operated, and he was thrust into the assassination by the proximity of several key players into his New Orleans jurisdiction. No, this was not just some ordinary person to take this all on. There are many intriguing aspects of his investigation, but even allowing for eye witness statements to be ignored .... we've learned over time that eye witness accounts can be unreliable.... there is just so much that points to irregularity surrounding the incident. From the last minute change of the parade route which caused the procession to slow, to the total disregard of the credible threat of an assassination that came days ahead of time - so much so that the Secret Service was never even alerted - to the original autopsy report being burned, to years later discovering that another bullet had been found in JFKs body during the original autopsy, to Kennedy's brain disappearing, to his body being illegally removed from Texas to begin with, to the Governor's suit being laundered and his car cleaned (!!!!) instead of being thoroughly investigated, to how things were, and maybe more importantly, WERE NOT handled from an investigative standpoint overall, both on the ground in Dallas with potential players and witnesses and later with the Warren Commission. Too many coincidences and irregularities start to emerge in too many places to believe that ONE GUY pulled this off. Not to mention all the suspicious activity around Oswald himself, such as the strongly held belief that he was impersonated and more than once, specifically the occasion in Mexico City where he supposedly contacted Russia - the infamous photo of him with the shotgun that plainly looks doctored - and his own admission that "I'm a patsy." The path to his set up is easy to see the more you step away from it, both in proximity and in years. It's hard to blame anyone at the time for falling into this trap. The Zapruder film wouldn't be seen publicly until well after the assassination and by then Oswald was long dead anyway. It was all neatly tied up and delivered by the Warren Commission with a bow. Years later when the House Select Committee on Assassinations revisited the Warren Commission they at least acknowledged that there "probably" was a conspiracy, however they also laughably came up with, Yes, there was a shooter in the grassy knoll, but that their shot missed. Right. It was a step forward, but a baby one. I could go on and on but really, the whole tale is best and most eloquently delivered by Garrison himself in this text. Read it for yourself, decide for yourself. I'm certain we'll probably never get the answers definitively which is a tragedy, but I'm most sad that Garrison never got them before he died. If he had been able to acquire all the information that he had at the time he wrote this book back in 1967 when he was trying to hold Clay Shaw accountable on trial, things may have gone very differently. But at least he tried, which is more than can be said for most. B/c the public at that time in history just couldn't possibly believe their own government could have been involved in such a deception. They weren't ready. If only the public had been aware of the CIAs role in removing or trying to remove other world leaders at the time, they may have raised more questions. In a lot of ways, this book is really not even about the assassination. It's about a soldier, a lawyer, a family man, a government official ...losing faith in all the institutions that he held so dear, in real time. It's a story about lost innocence. For the entire country. A compelling read start to finish.
vanfox723's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting take on what happened and possible reason. A little hard to follow at times
tittypete's review against another edition
4.0
I don;t know how to feel after reading this. Dude brings up a lot of interesting points but it just seems hard to believe that something so vast and far reaching could stay buried this long. But then again I know nothing. David Ferrie though. Should be a movie just about that guy. Starring Matthew Fox.
celiananas's review against another edition
J'abandonne la lecture à 34% du livre. Je n'avais pas d'attentes particulières en choisissant ce roman, mais j'étais déjà consciente qu'il pourrait ne pas m'intéresser. Ce n'est pas tant son sujet qui m'a rebuté, il est au contraire très intriguant. Mais ma connaissance assez bancale des institutions et du système américains, ainsi que de cette affaire, ont rendu ce début de lecture assez obscur. Je me suis surprise à oublier qui était qui, et donc à ne pas comprendre ce qui se passait dans plusieurs chapitres. Je préfère donc laisser tomber et dédier mon temps à une histoire dans laquelle j'arriverai mieux à me plonger.
Néanmoins, je pourrais le conseiller aux personnes intéressées par cette affaire et qui ont déjà une base de connaissances la concernant. En effet, et c'est compréhensible lorsqu'on replace l'écriture de ce livre dans son contexte, Garrison ne prend pas toujours le temps de rappeler le rôle de chacun des personnages cités.
Néanmoins, je pourrais le conseiller aux personnes intéressées par cette affaire et qui ont déjà une base de connaissances la concernant. En effet, et c'est compréhensible lorsqu'on replace l'écriture de ce livre dans son contexte, Garrison ne prend pas toujours le temps de rappeler le rôle de chacun des personnages cités.
shaneb1982's review against another edition
4.0
If you like Oliver Stone's film, you'll like this account by Jim Garrison. Many may argue the validity of the facts, but Jim's passion is never in question, nor is the idea that something happened that day that changed the world, and that 'something' has never been explained satisfactorily. For better or worse, Jim Garrison remains the only man to bring a trial in the proposed conspiracy surrounding the death of one of America's most beloved presidents. That alone merits a book and this is a fine one.
lucatiel's review against another edition
3.0
I liked the book even though a lot of the information given as fact has since been refuted. Garrison, being the only person to prosecute someone for the assassination of JFK, uncovered a lot of things that weren't known at the time of the initial investigation. Although the trial, in my opinion, was not handled in the best way, Garrison deserves credit for what he did accomplish. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the assassination but would caution readers to do their own research when it comes to the facts as they are now known.
remocpi's review against another edition
4.0
Jim Garrison fue Abogado de distrito (¿?. District Attourney) de Nueva Orleans. Profesionalmente tuvo que investigar las conexiones en NO de la trama del asesinato de JFK. Propuso una hipótesis que no era la del tirador solitario y desconectado del mundo sino que hubo sectores del gobierno implicados en la ocultación y destrucción de pruebas. El establishment fue a por él, por supuesto. En este libro está basada, muy fielmente, la película JFK de 1991. La lectura es muy interesante.
remocpi's review against another edition
4.0
Jim Garrison fue Abogado de distrito (¿?. District Attourney) de Nueva Orleans. Profesionalmente tuvo que investigar las conexiones en NO de la trama del asesinato de JFK. Propuso una hipótesis que no era la del tirador solitario y desconectado del mundo sino que hubo sectores del gobierno implicados en la ocultación y destrucción de pruebas. El establishment fue a por él, por supuesto. En este libro está basada, muy fielmente, la película JFK de 1991. La lectura es muy interesante.
lnatal's review against another edition
4.0
New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison discovers there's more to the Kennedy assassination than the official story.