Friday, January 20, 2012

"Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy", by Vincent Bugliosi



1648 pages, W. W. Norton & Company, ISBN-13: 978-0393045253
If Mr. Bugliosi hasn't gone insane writing this monolith, then nothing could shake this man's mind. What an incredible compilation, complex compendium, whatever you want to call it, it is all here. Even the kitchen sink! With a very precise approach, the former prosecutor nails down, once and for all, the Kennedy assassination, which he says, "at its core, is a very simple case". I wish all the conspiracy people were ordered by a federal judge somewhere to read this book, aloud, so that their vocal cords would become too strained to make any more nonsensical noise in the future. Awesome job, Sir, from a grateful American who appreciates the truth, especially told with great care and patience.

I have long been puzzled by the notion that JFK was killed by someone other than Lee Harvey Oswald. My early uninformed reading and research on this matter naturally led me to believe that a conspiracy was possible (if it wasn't than why so much dispute?). As I read further, however, it became clear to me that these theories were incomplete and pejorative...how could anyone who approached this crime thoughtfully and with a modicum of common sense conclude that someone other than Oswald killed JFK? It wasn't until Vince Bugliosi penned this marvelous paragon to the crime that my feelings were affirmed.

To say that this work is comprehensive is short changing it...over 1500 pages of text and 800 pages of end notes filled with detailed research and clear logic should certainly be enough to convince even the most strident THOUGHTFUL conspiracy theorist that there IS an answer to this crime: Oswald acted alone both in the murder of JFK and J.D. Tippet, and all the other theories have at best circumstantial attributes or are pure nonsense at worse. I'd challenge anyone who is reasonably open minded to come away from this work without at least some doubt concerning a conspiracy and some motivation to find evidence to the contrary. I don't think it's possible.

In reading this book one is constantly hammered with clear thought and evidence of Oswald's crime. The first section "Four Days in November" recounts the assassination in narrative form similar in pace and detail to his account of the Manson murders in "Helter Skelter". Chapter upon chapter and fact upon fact follow in sections devoted to the autopsy, the Zapruder film, Oswald's actions/character and the conspiracy possibility. Bugliosi's mastering of the Warren Commission report and supporting evidence used in that report clearly debunk the detractors of that document. All this clearly points to Oswald as the trigger man and plainly refutes any opinion to the contrary. Again, it didn't take me long to realize that this evidence made perfect sense to the thinking person.

Admittedly it is a struggle to get through this monolith...most reviewers report months and sometimes years of reading to finish (I finished in 3 months), but if one is truly after the facts and the natural conclusion of those facts than it's worth the journey. Read it and decide for yourself. 


No comments:

Post a Comment