Not in Your Lifetime: The Defining Book on the J.F.K. Assassination

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High Treason is a book that has come out with multiple editions over the years, with the first one being in 1989. The author, Harrison Edward Livingstone has been studying and covering the murder of JFK for over 30 years, and his book is full of details and proof that there was a conspiracy within the US government to eliminate the president. Events Leading to the Assassination The reason why this is one of the best Kennedy assassination books out there is that it goes very in-depth on the topic and explains every detail of what was going on at the time. James explains how the CIA was trying to put JFK in the middle of a full-blown US invasion of Cuba, and how that raised tensions between the agency and the Kennedy administration. Covering More of John’s Life During the thirteen days in October 1962 when the United States confronted the Soviet Union over its installation of missiles in Cuba, few people shared the behind-the-scenes story as it is told here by the late Senator Robert F. Kennedy. In this unique account, he describes each of the participants during the sometimes hour-to-hour negotiations, with particular attention to the actions and views of his brother, President John F. Kennedy. Despite the size, the book is easily readable, apart from a few volumes that might be a bit too technical for the average reader, and full of critical data and justified speculation. That being said, this is one of those Kennedy assassination books that are best to read only after you have a general understanding of the JFK assassination conspiracy, which you can get through reading some of the other books on this list. Most publications have been sceptical of this finding. On the Trail of the Assassins by Jim Garrison (1988), a Louisiana lawyer, and L Fletcher Prouty’s JFK: The CIA, Vietnam, and the Plot to Assassinate John F Kennedy (1992), featured key source material for Oliver Stone’s movie JFK(1991), which suggested that the president was executed by a vast cabal of businessmen, gangsters, politicians, soldiers, Cuban dissidents and spooks.

Don DeLillo, after extensive reading of the 26 supporting volumes to the Warren report, presented Oswald in his 1988 novel, Libra, as the stooge of a CIA attempt to promote war with Cuba. James Ellroy’s American Tabloid(1995) begins with Castro’s coup and ends with the Dallas assassination, which the novel attributes to a conspiracy involving the Cuban interests of the CIA and the mafia. This book is about the author 19s process of doing research and investigation into the Kennedy Assassination. He uncovers huge differences between the Warren Commission evidence, FBI evidence and the different autopsy reports. Part of the story is how he gets pulled into more research the more he found. He builds a personal relationship with one of the people on the Warren Commission and uses that insight into what was considered as the 1Cbest evidence 1D. There is fantastic documentation into the Warren Commission, who set it up, who was involved, who actually did the work and who made the final decision about what was published. Lifton goes into great detail about chain of custody problems, lost evidence and autopsy conflicts between Dallas and Bethesda Navy Hospital. He finds documentation of FBI personal interviews with very credible witnesses that were completely ignored. He investigates the statistical impossibility of the large number of people involved that came to an untimely death within a year after the assassination. There are detailed chapters on the Zapruder film and how the presidential limo was handled and who had custody prior to the 1CCSI 1D investigation took place. In the end Lifton concludes that even when the files are opened to the public, the truth will remain hidden 26why 26because what was put in the files was altered or false to begin with. This is not a direct conspiracy theory book, but it leads you to conclude yourself (by preponderance of evidence) that some combination of government involvement was involved. Writing crisply, with indignation but also with humor, Kennedy focuses on how unions are bought, sold, and sometimes stolen; how ‘democracy’ actually operated in Jimmy Hoffa’s captive unions and what happened to the men who dared to oppose him; how Hoffa was tried on charges of attempting to plant a spy in the McClellan Committee; how an investigating committee works; how the Committee resisted external pressures, threats, and ploys to derail its efforts; and more. On November 22, 1963, the 35th President of the US was assassinated, thus ending his life at the age of just 46 years old. This tragic event occurred mid-day, at 12:30 PM to be exact. The brutal assassination took place in Dallas, Texas, and was during a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza. This book was an eye-opener. Lifton painstakingly goes through the evidence as it was presented in the autopsy report. Although he is quite detailed, I never bogged down in the descriptions. His discussion of the medical evidence did not require specialized medical knowledge. Whatever terms might have been unfamiliar he explained, and I kept reading without resorting to outside references.Much less of a kooky conspiracy book than anyone would have you believe, and much more of an in-depth investigation of the flaws of the Warren Commission and an examination of how the the deep pressure to come up with an answer, any answer, can cause anyone to overlook glaring problems.

Dr. Moore has received overwhelming praise for his work on this book, and if you are interested in the topic of President Kennedy’s death, then this book is as good of a read as all of the other ones on this list. In The Revolution of Robert Kennedy, journalist John R. Bohrer focuses in intimate and revealing detail on Bobby Kennedy’s life during the three years following JFK’s assassination. Torn between mourning the past and plotting his future, Bobby was placed in a sudden competition with his political enemy, Lyndon Johnson, for control of the Democratic Party. Garrison gives you all of the clues that he uncovered during his investigation, which led him to believe that Oswald is not the real killer and that bigger players were involved. This book inspired Oliver Stone’s movie titled JFK, which features Kevin Costner as Jim Garrison. Just like the book, the movie was also a huge box office success. These approaches have their advantages. Bugliosi and Waldron’s elaborate certainties and cosmic insights appeal to the mythmakers of Hollywood. “Reclaiming History” is the basis for the just-released “Parkland.” Waldron’s book has been optioned by Leonardo DiCaprio. “Not In Your LIfetime,” is less conducive to such simplification, a sign perhaps that it is truer to the complexities of the JFK story.Summers has a long familiarity with the JFK story and isn’t afraid to correct himself. “Not in Your Lifetime” was originally published in 1980, under the title “Conspiracy.” Recognizing that the title was problematic, he changed it — and continued reporting on the story. In this edition he has found diverse witnesses — a couple of FBI agents, a Cuban exile, and a former Warren Commission staffer — who bring new information and perspective to his account. Robert F. Kennedy staunchly advocated for civil rights, education, justice, and peace; his message transcended race, class, and creed, resonating deeply within and across America. He was the leading candidate for the Democratic nomination for the presidency and was expected to run against Republican Richard Nixon in the 1968 presidential election, following in the footsteps of his late brother John. After winning the California presidential primary on June 5, 1968, Robert Kennedy was shot, and he died the following day. He was forty-two.

Plausible Denial is the second book by Mark Lane on this list. While the first one mainly focuses on the events that transpired on the day of and shortly after the shooting, Plausible Denial takes a closer look at how the CIA operated during Kennedy’s administration, how CIA operatives were involved in a conspiracy to eliminate the president, and a few of the possible reasons and intentions for killing the president. Kennedy’s Plans for the CIA John F. Kennedy was born to a wealthy family that was very familiar with the political world. His studies include Harvard University and immediately joining the U.S. Naval Reserve shortly after graduation. Let’s stop with the spoilers and uncover 10 of the best books on JFK’s assassination. I went through all the books mentioned in this post. Summers is a real classic (and might even become still better with it’s updates), Bugliosi left me unimpressed despite its volume, Waldron contains some very good research but suffers with a very implausible plot-theory, James Douglass’s “JFK & The Unspeakable” I’ld highly recommend not only for beginners but also for advanced JFK-scholars, his “spiritual” angle is imho no disadavantage at all. Full disclosure: I thought “Not In Your Lifetime” was the best introduction to the JFK story before I met its author. Since then I have become a personal friend of Summers. Readers must decide for themselves if I am biased. The best way to do that is to read “Not in Your Lifetime.” Bugliosi, a former prosecutor, recounts JFK case from a forensic and theoretical point of view. His self-proclaimed mission is to discredit unsupported conspiracy theories. This is a worthy mission. There are a lot of stupid JFK conspiracy theories out there. But the result is a flabby book that devotes most of its energy to describing what did NOT happen in Dallas on November 22, 1963, as opposed to explaining what actually did happen.Prouty talks about details such as all members of JFK’s cabinet being on vacation at the time of the incident, which he considers to be too perfect to be just a coincidence. Prouty also discusses his own beliefs about the elite powers that are the true rulers of America, and how JFK’s disobedience to them eventually led to his death. Waldron, an independent scholar, comes to the JFK story with the mission of explaining not just how Kennedy died but the nature of American politics in the 1960’s, encompassing not just Kennedy’s presidency, but the assassination of Martin Luther King, and the Watergate scandal. This is ambitious — and endless. If the reader differs with Waldron’s interpretation of events, the story starts to lose credibility. As Waldron’s vehicle motors on towards pre-ordained destination, the author seems oblivious to the possibility that the reader might have a mind of his or her own. I’m interested in what readers think is the best single book about JFK’s assassination and why. I’ll summarize and publish your views.