Tag Archives: Henry Holt

My Favorite JFK Assassination Books

As I listened to Jim Leavelle at the Dallas Park City Club yesterday, I was thinking about some of my favorite books written about the JFK assassination.LeavellePicture1

Leavelle was the Dallas policeman who escorted Lee Harvey Oswald in the basement of the Dallas Police Headquarters on Sunday, November 24, 1963.  Oswald was being transferred to another jail, and he was killed by Jack Ruby.  He is on the left side of the photograph, wearing a hat.

Unfortunately, Leavelle has never written a book.  It is my great hope that he will at least publish an “as told to” book, sharing his experiences, in the remaining years of his life.LeavellePicture2

In no particular sequence, here are my favorite books about the events surrounding November 22, 1963, in Dallas:

Five Days in November by Clint Hill (Gallery, 2013) – Hill was the secret service agent assigned to Jackie Kennedy, and he jumped on the president’s limousine to shield her as she attempted to crawl out the back of the car

Reclaiming History by Vincent Bugliosi (W.W. Norton, 2007) – despite its 1,648 pages and more than 900 additional pages of footnotes on a CD, this book by the Charles Manson prosecutor is highly readable

Rush to Judgment by Mark Lane (Holt, Rinehart, & Winston, 1966) – this critique of the Warren Commission Report should be entitled “rush to press,” as it contains so many inaccuracies they are laughable

Crossfire by Jim Marrs (Basic Books, 1993) – the best of the conspiracy theory books – I do not believe any of these, as I am firm in my conviction that Oswald acted alone – I saw Marrs speak in person in Fort Worth about this book

Mortal Error:  The Shot that Killed JFK (Hunter’s Moon, 1992)- by Bonar Menninger – the most plausible alternative explanation outside of a conspiracy theory to account for the assassination; it was largely ignored by the media and public

Killing Kennedy by Bill O’Reilly (Henry Holt, 2012) – I cannot stand this guy, but this book is readable and contains material that I have never seen anyplace else, and that I doubt is even factual; as with all of his books in this series, Martin Dugard is a co-author

What about you?  What are your favorites about this historical event?  Click on “add a comment” below and share it with others.

Fisher, Not O’Reilly, Has a Great Book about our Patriots

Legends and Lies CoverI am enjoying Bill O’Reilly’s epic based upon a Fox News series, entitled Legends and Lies:  The Patriots (Henry Holt, 2016).  But, wait – Bill O’Reilly didn’t write the book!  His name is featured on the book so it sells.

The author is actually David Fisher. He has a small line on the front cover, and an even smaller one on David Fisher picturethe spine.  There is no pretense.  The cover reads, “Written by David Fisher.”

Fisher is no novice to publishing.  He is the author and coauthor of more than twenty New York Times bestsellers including another with O’Reilly, Legends and Lies: The Real West.  His work has also appeared in most major magazines and many newspapers.   The inside cover of the book claims that he is the only reporter ever given complete access to the FBI’s forensic library.

I find the book very readable, and one of the most interesting and detailed accounts of the events surrounding our nation’s early days and our fight for independence from Britain.  I also believe it is refreshing when presumptions and possibilities are labeled for what they are, and not facts.  There are detailed chapters on practically all of the nation’s first and finest, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and so forth. 

Surely, this attention to detail is Fisher’s doing.  I’ve never seen a commentator have to make so many retractions, clarifications, and admitted mistakes than O’Reilly, and still keep his job.  You can go to Wikipedia to read a short list of them.  Remember that CBS fired Dan Rather for misstating information about President Bush’s National Guard Service, following a lifetime of service.  And O’Reilly gets how many chances?  Of course, Fox News is not CBS.

Regardless, I think anyone with even passing interest in this era of our nation would find this a fun and educational read.  I know that I have.

 

O’Reilly’s Process Books Counteract His Television Maladies

As a disclaimer, I do not like Bill O’Reilly, nor his network, Fox News.   You might, and that is just fine with me.  I chose to become angry at his interview with President Obama before the Super Bowl, where he BillOReillyPicturedemonstrated poor questioning skills, poor probing skills, and abysmal listening skills.  He was obviously more interested in making a scene for himself than providing a forum on issues for a national viewing audience.  A quick review of his television career shows him to be a walking time-bomb, with explosive unsubstantiated commentary, often followed by apologies, corrections, and dissatisfying defenses delivered in a Howard Cosell-like manner.  Yet, these are behaviors that make him popular, and create vast viewing audiences.

But, his three best-selling books are another matter.  Henry Holt was the publisher of all of these.  I have finished two of these, Killing Kennedy:  The End of Camelot (2012), and Killing Jesus:  A History (2013), and am now into a third, Killing Lincoln:  The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever (2011).  As you see, that one was actually the first in the series.  His co-author is Martin Dugard, a not-so-famous historian, who for all we know, may provide gravity to O’Reilly when he might otherwise stray from facts.  The fourth, Killing Patton: The Strange Death of World War II’s Most Audacious General, is due in September this year.

These are all highly readable accounts of famous history.  I find them novel-like in their wording, pacing, and unfolding dramatics of events.  He adds feelings to facts, and emotions are a strong appeal to his writing.  All the books keep you focused, but also move you off-balance in a very positive way.  You think you know what will come next, and it will, but not how you expect it.  O’Reilly opens several windows as he writes, but not so many that you find yourself flipping back to review.  Even his footnotes are interesting and explanatory.  And, Iike many people, I don’t usually read footnotes.KillingJesusCoverKillingKennedyCover

The background and context are particularly strong elements.  I am grateful, for example, that we are given a condensed review of ancient Roman and Judean history, including key events, characters, traditions, customs, geographies, among others, way before we even read about Jesus’ birth and brief time on earth.  The writing is more appealing than even a visual imagery could provide.

I can tell you that I also read things in these books I have never seen before.  If you read these, you may occasionally feel the same way.  You might react with “I didn’t know that” or “oh, yeah?”  Here are two I remember.  The JFK-RFK interest in Marilyn Monroe is public knowledge, but I have never before read in such a strong and factually-appearing manner that JFK spent two consecutive nights with her in California.  Tiberius was known as power-hungry and egotistical dictator, but I never knew that he swam with young boys who nibbled at him below the water.  At minimum, I never remember studying that in Sunday School.

Years ago, I read the famous author, Jim Bishop, who wrote accounts of these same three.  He called them The Day…. (Kennedy Died, Christ Died, Lincoln Died).  They have been reprinted several times.  They were good, but they are nothing like the O’Reilly accounts.  Compared to the dynamism from O’Reilly, they seem static to me today.

KillingLincolnCoverKillingPattonCoverPerhaps that may be due to the title.  Note the word:  “killing” begins each of his books.  The use of the “ing” means that we are reading a process, not an event.  “Kennedy killed” is an account.  “Killing Kennedy” is a dynamic, in-action, unfolding of a story.

Put aside any feelings you may have about O’Reilly.  If they are negative, don’t let that interfere with your access to these books.  You will find your time well-spent by doing so.

And, I plan to order the Patton book when it is ready in September.  If nothing else, I can read some new things and replace the George C. Scott image that seems to always be in my head.