No comments about Assassination: Robert F. Kennedy-1925-1968.

2 comments about R.F.K. Must Die! Chasing the Mystery of the Robert Kennedy Assassination.

1. "RFK Must Die?"Chasing the Mystery of the Robert Kennedy Assassination
   By Robert Blair Kaiser
   The Preface discloses how Kaiser became involved in the "Sirhan Defense Team" shortly after June 5, 1968, when Robert Kennedy was assassinated. Kaiser was there on a daily basis, his presence so evident at Mayor Yorty's first press conference, on page 60: " `The Rosicrucians aren't a Communist organization,' I said." Surprised, I said, "Kaiser was there. He just wrote "I said" to the mayor. And then I was with him in a patient, careful telling of the book's subtitle: Chasing the Mystery of the Robert Kennedy Assassination. He took me back with him to 1968 and 1969, day by day, page by page, on each of his interviews -- one-on-one -- with Sirhan, consultations with the psychiatrists, investigations and all the other help he himself gave to the three lawyers defending not the crime, but the rights to a fair trial. Kaiser, while in the story, does not intrude in the telling of the "Mystery," always staying in the background, giving the principals center stage, be they for the prosecution or the defense.
   This book has been with me since it arrived from Amazon: on a vacation trip, at the barber shop, waiting in a clinic for tests. I was there in that kitchen at the Ambassador squirming as others wrestled with the diminutive Sirhan, reaching for his hand with the gun, hoping, screaming that someone could bang his hand on the table hard enough to make him drop it before his bullets found Kennedy and five other persons. Before I began reading Chapter 1, though, I read and reread the Appendix containing photocopies of Sirhan's handwritten spiral notebook journal with its repeated phrase over and over "RFK must die!"
   The writing is alive, set in the "Now" of "Then." Impressive are Kaiser's knowledge and understanding of what lawyers do, whether prosecuting or defending, his grasp of psychiatry and the law, and his ability as an historian, nurtured in journalism since the early 1960s. He has a unique talent in bringing his readers right into the everyday details of a mystery being told as it happened. This is a fascinating, amazing work of wonder, written in such a way that the reader can't speed through it the way we do with a P.D. James novel, scurrying to get to the end where she tells us who did it, because Kaiser is describing each day or week after June 5, in a slow, careful, wide-awake way that shows he was there. Besides, readers know how the case against Sirhan ended.
   And yet and yet I sneaked into Wikipedia to make sure, and found out that his next parole hearing is not until 2012. So, I kept on reading, wondering what was going to happen next, aware that I was back there on a day certain and had to wait for time to unfold. I was being taken along on Kaiser's own work with the defense team of lawyers and doctors and sheriff's assistants, as Sirhan smoked away, while the whole world was asking, "Why? Oh! God! Why?"
   Thank you, Robert Blair Kaiser, for writing this book.



2. Well I have a little first hand knowledge regarding A man named Edward Van Antwerp in this book. The author implies he is somehow involved in a conspiracy. I'm sure the author knew better. Edward Van Antwerp was my brother-in-law and nothing could be further from the truth. He was nothing more than a pathetic, drunken loser that was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He had been thrown from his family home and by some terrible....really terrible luck, he ended up rooming in a flop house with Sirhan. He was more concerned to learn Sirhan was Homosexual than an assasin.

5 comments about Philippa.

1. I'm sorry, I love Bertrice Small, but this book was awful. I wanted to take a stuffed capon or a wheel of hard cheddar and bash this brat over the head with it. (and yes, I can see describing one meal in length, but when the characters eat the same things over and over again - salmon, trout, eggs poached in marsala wine - there's no need to drone on for 2 pages about it.) Philippa was such a stuffy, prudish, uninteresting character that I really could have done without her story. Banon seemed interesting, or maybe she should have just skipped right into Elizabeth's story. I don't know. I bought this book because I didn't want a gap in my Friarsgate Inheritance collection, but I'm thinking it was a waste of $14.95.



2. Bertrice Small does it again. Philippa is everything and more. Super reading.



3. This was my first Bertrice Small book and I have to say I was not impressed. I did not care for the character at all. She was spoiled, and self rightous to everyone, including her family. I also thought the book was extremely boring. There was to much descrpition on small mundane things and not enough plot and action. It took me forever to get through this book and I am a very fast reader. This book made me not want to read any of her other books because I am afraid that they will be just as bad. I hope this was a one time oops for Ms. Small because this book was not good at all.



4. I'm not going to write a long review, as, I didn't get very far into this book. It's very far and few between that I have to put a book away after starting to read it. Unfortunatley, this was one of those times. I had not read Bertrice Small before, and I won't do so again. This book was just terrible. Terrible plot and terrible characters. But, that's not the worst part..........I wasted my money buying this book. That's the worst part. My advice.......save your money and room on your library card.



5. I enjoyed Rosamund and Until You but I didn't like this book at all. When I read this book I did something I've never done before - I skimmed through a Bertrice Small historical romance. I hated Philippa - she was so annoying. Crispen was a huge bore. All of the sections written about life at court put me to sleep. I liked Thomas in the first two books but for some reason he annoyed me in this book. I found it odd that Rosamund would let him control how her daughters would live their lives. Bertrice Small has many great books but this book is one of the worst books she's written.

2 comments about Confederate Spies at Large: The Lives of Lincoln Assassination Conspirator Tom Harbin And Charlie Russell.

1. Tom Harbin and Charlie Russell were two southern spies during the American civil war and through their involvement in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, became the most wanted Confederate agents of that conflict. In "Confederate Spies At Large: The Lives Of Lincoln Assassination Conspirator Tom Harbin and Charlie Russell" by John Stewart provides a fascinating account of these two men, their activities in behalf of the Confederacy, their genealogy, and their contribution to the killing of an American president. "Confederate Spies At Large" is a unique and strongly recommended addition to personal, academic, or community library Civil War reference collections and reading lists.



2. My wife is an amateur genealogist and has discovered she is related to the Queens and the Harbins of southern Maryland, who were instrumental in planning Lincoln's asassination and helping John Wilkes Booth with his unsuccessful escape. Not close enough though that she needs to exonerate her name as Tom Gates does in the movie "National Treasure II". Fascinating reading! Also see American Brutus: John Wilkes Booth and the Lincoln Conspiracies

No comments about High Treason 1: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy - What Really Happened.

5 comments about The Zapruder Film: Reframing JFK's Assassination.

1. I've followed the assassination from day 1, have read countless books on it---including the Warren commission and Posner---and so, if I come away from a 'new' book feeling I've indeed learned something new, then that book is good-to-excellent. Wrone's book *did* provide new insights that I thought were excellent; for example, a careful reconstruction of Oswald's movements before and during the crime taking into account the so called 'new' evidence which argues he could very well have done all that was alleged in the time frame originally posited by the Warren commission; the deposition of multiple lead fragments not consistent with the several grains of weight lost from the so-called "magic bullet" which was predominantly copper jacketed; the really ambiguous circumstances of how the bullet was found and the chain of custody with which it was passed on through and many other interesting points. However, there were very critical issues ignored and key eyewitness accounts not quoted which suggest the authors' lack of thoroughness and the same old pro-conspiracy conjecture which has marred serious debate of this subject in recent years.
   
   For example, Wrone makes the old argument that a bullet which entered Kennedy's back could not possibly have exited his throat. Unfortunately, a careful review of Kennedy's actual back wound suggests a bullet could very well have lined up perfectly with the proposed wound of exit in Kennedy's throat---in an area which is in the lower third of his neck. One need only visit the JFK Assassination Homepage and examine the left profile of Kennedy lying in death to see how such a trajectory could very well line up. In fact, using Kennedy's ear as a point of reference, a diagram (same homepage) pinpoints the alleged back entry wound and its subsequent exit---again using the post mortem left profile view. One can clearly see that a bullet could have traversed both men as the Warren Commission indeed postulated.
   
   Other speculations loom. For example, Wrone cites the alignment of both victims in the motorcade to refute new assertions that photographic evidence shows Connally to be seated far more to the left of Kennedy (thus accomodating a single bullet path). Wrone stipulates that the photos only show an *earlier* seating alignment of the men and this is supposed to solidly refute the actual seating during the shooting. However, Wrone is trying to prove a negative with another negative; it simply doesn't offer hard proof positive that Connally wasn't still sitting to the left during the shooting sequence.
   
   A more problematic example is Wrone's assertion that for the single bullet to have left "lead" fragments, it *must have* entered Connally in such a way that the bullet turned and the butt end went through part of the torso (since the sides and nose of the bullet were primarily copper and undamaged). However, this 'must have' allusion shows either real or feigned ignorance by the author. The fact is, Connally's back wound was completely consistent with a tumbling bullet---the wound measuring 3cm vertically or the exact length of the bullet itself---a point that Wrone doesn't even address; that this fact could also have explained some of the deposition of lead framgents should have been clearly examined by Wrone. More significant, that a bullet doesn't tumble unless it strikes something first raises serious questions about what, in fact, the single bullet did strike before entering Connally's back; the only object in its path was Kennedy and this presents a serious challenge to the single bullet critics. Incidentally, new tests do show that a bullet fired through bone and other dense objects can emerge in "pristeen" condition when the muzzle velocity is reduced---an assertion that modern critics are now making.
   
   If you're going to write a pro-conspiracy book, you'd better include ALL the evidence both pro and con; Wrone does a fairly good job of presenting detailed evidence of the pros even though here, there are still lapses such as the failure to mention Roger Craig's testimony of having found a German Mauzer in the book depository, or Audrey Bell's eyewitness description of 4 or 5 bullet fragments taken from Connally. But the biggest problem is that Wrone clings to the same old, and in some cases outdated, assertions to dispel the newest computerized and digitalized bullet trajectory assessments, and this suggests either sloppy research, or a bias---neither of which will ever contribute to a better understanding of the JFK puzzle, one way or another.



2. Finally, a book just about the Zapruder film. Just the Zapruder film. Not. Oh, this is a history of the Zapruder film, and much more. Too much more.
   For example, one whole chapter is devoted to "The Man in the Doorway". "Ike" Altgens's famous photograph looking up Elm Street at the limo after the first shot. Wait a minute--wasn't this book supposed to be about the Zapruder film? The Altgens photo is reproduced so small, the head of the man in the doorway can be blocked by a pin. Photos? You ask about photos? Okay, we have 19 B+W photos. Of them 3, yes 3 are photos taken during the assassination. The rest--got two nice pictures of JFK in Fort Worth, a map, a photo of the plaza, LBJ, LHO, Billy Lovelady(2), J. Edgar Hoover (in case you didn't know what he looked like), Deputy AG Katzenbach, Sen. Richard Russell, need I go on? The color section, all Z frames, from 189 to 201, 203,204, 225, 313, and 338 at a half page each! If this film was so important (which it is), give up one frame per page! Other frames are included with partial enlargements (but not 313). And to end up, a fine color picture of the Warren Commission with former President Johnson.
   I thought this book would be a fine reference manual on the Zapruder film, telling us what each frame depicts, and to the best of the availible knowledge, who was in each frame as the crowd thinned (the best eyewitnesses to the head shot). Well, it doesn't.



3. Good, but ULTIMATE SACRIFICE the best book ever
   
   While I thought this book was worthwhile in many respects, ULTIMATE SACRIFICE is simply the best book ever on the JFK assassination.Still, worth your time.
   
   Vince Palamara-JFK/ Secret Service expert (History Channel, author of two books, in over 30 other author's books, etc.)
   Pittsburgh, PA
   
   BEST JFK ASSASSINATION BOOK: ULTIMATE SACRIFICE
   BEST JFK SECRET SERVICE BOOK: SURVIVOR'S GUILT BY YOURS TRULY :)



4. Another attempt to change history at the expense of a tragic day in history. Authors always come out of the woodwork around the anniversary of 11/22/63 and this one is no different than most because it just rehashes the same information into a new "theory" or "myth". Don't waste your time or money on this garbage.



5. Highly controversial indeed ! I totally agree with one of the reviewers here that it is rather disappointing that we do not get a true break down on what is happening in the key shot sequences of the film i.e. the single bullet theory sequence from Z220 to Z270 approx and head shot sequence Z312 to Z340 approx. And it is quite disappointing too that we do not have the witness list of the people closest to the limousine in Zapruder's film and in fact to know how many came forward and who are not known to this day if any.
   
   It is an interesting read in some ways in that you are given a good history of the film, but the books conclusions around conspiracy are thin and do not stand up to modern day scrutiny in my opinion. One for the collection, but if you are new to the case there are other books which are better read such as Richard Trask's book on the Zapruder film and Mel Ayton's works.

No comments about Appointment In Dallas The Final Solution To The Assassination Of JFK.

5 comments about Colombia: The Genocidal Democracy.

1. Father Giraldo's book is the most concise, informative book explaining the complex relationship between the Colombian army and their paramilitary proxies. If you are interested in human rights in the Americas, and are concerned about U.S. aid to the Colombian military, it is a must read. Also consider the reports of NGOs like Human Rights Watch, whose more in-depth treatments confirm Giraldo's points.



2. As a native-born Colombian, who emmigrated from Colombia at the age of 7, I found this book to be a very revealing and "eye-opening" account of the political situation in Colombia. Nonetheless we must be careful not to attribute the Journalists of this Country as participants in the abuse of human rights via their wrtings. Many as we know have been assassinated themselves at an alarming rate. Additionally we must be careful in "glorifying" the many guerilla groups found in this Country as defenders of Human Rights. Lastly, we must specially be careful in aligning the Drug Cartels to the Governemnt of Colombia when acts of Human Rights abuse are carried out against innocent people. In all, I do applaud the Author for bringing out many truths to the public arena.



3. Father Giraldo's account of the state terrorism and human rights abuses being perpetrated by the Columbian Army and their paramilitary proxies is one of the more disturbing, illuminating, infuriating and compelling books on the market.

   Why the elite of Columbia would go to such lengths to keep the poor under their "iron heel" is most adequately answered by Noam Chomsky in his introduction to "Colombia: The Genocidal Democracy:"

   "It is necessary to impose silence and spread fear in countries like Colombia, where the top three percent of the landed elite own over 70% of arable land while 57% of the poorest farmers subsist on under 3% -- a country where 40% of the population live in "absolute poverty," unable to satisfy basic subsistence needs according to an official government report in 1986, and 18% live in "absolute misery," unable to meet nutritional needs. The Colombian Institute of Family Welfare estimates that four and a half million children under 14 are hungry, half the country's children."

   Again, "Colombia: The Genocidal Democracy" is both a disturbing and compelling book and a must-read in light of current developments in Columbia.




4. There is no denying it. The Colombian army is corrupt. This book exposes the "dirty war" the armed forces is waging in Colombia. Father Giraldo is fearless. He bravely dares to point a finger directly at the Colombian armed forces.



5. This small volume is an invaluable resource for those who are interested in the human rights situation in Colombia. In this book we learn that the greatest perpetrators of human rights abuses are the paramilitaries who are in close alliance with the Colombian army. Unfortunately, the book does not cover the U.S. involment Colombia, which is significant. Indeed since the publication of this book, the U.S. has stepped up its operations in Colombia through the infamous Plan Colombia.

No comments about The Assassination of John F. Kennedy: A Complete Book of Facts.

5 comments about The Day Lincoln Was Shot: An Illustrated Chronicle.

1. Richard Bak has done an extraordinary job explaining in great detail all of the events that led up to the shooting and eventual death of President Lincoln. Out of the many books that I have read about Abraham Lincoln, this is one of the few that made me almost feel like I was there. He has gone to great lengths to find who was involved and just what took place in great detail in the hours prior to the shooting. I was amazed to read about just what some of the people that were there at the theater that night had experienced and how they felt at the time. It also told how unstable Mary Lincoln was and how one of her outbusts directed at Mrs. Grant days before the shooting had been the reason that the Grants didn't attend the play that evening with them. The book explains that Lincoln expected to be assassinated and that there was nothing that he or anyone else could do to prevent it from happening. I believe that this book would be must have book for any Abraham Lincoln fanatic like myself. After I read this book, I immediately bought the companion video. I highly recommend that anyone considering the purchase of this book also purchase the video. You will definately not be disappointed.



2. I bought this book at Ford's theatre gift shop after asking the giftshop supervisor which book has the best narrative and accurate summary of the events leading up to John Wilkes Booth assasination of President Abraham Lincoln, she recommended this book. I must say that she made an excellent choice. This is an excellent book that not only gives the details of the assasination of Lincoln on the night of April 14, 1865, but also gives the background of the mentally imbalanced actor John Wilkes Booth and his cohorts of assasins. This is the companion to the TNT original movie "The Day Lincoln Was Shot" which in itself is an excellent movie. But by itself this book stands on itself as giving the all around perspective both North and South to the views of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln and the ultimate defeat of the Confederacy. In this book the eyewitness accounts of the assasination are told by the people who were in the theatre box with the President and First Lady as well as by the people who were in the audience. The events after the shot was fired are given in first hand accounts, and narratives and perspectives years after Lincoln's death. There is a chapter that even gives focus on the rumor's of Booth's escape and living to an old age, but I agree with the book's analysis that this was just rumor. Booth did die by a soldier's bullet a couple of weeks after Lincoln's death. Overall, this is a great read that anyone could enjoy from early High School to a U.S. History Major college student, or any US History enthusiast who wants to know more about the death of President Lincoln.



3. I was surprised by how much information was packed into this slim volume. The pictures are well chosen to complement the text. And the essays from other scholars help add light to this turning point in US history.



4. April 14, 1865, Washington. During a performance of the play OUR AMERICAN COUSIN in Ford's theatre young actor John Wilkes BOOTH shoots Abraham LINCOLN, sixteenth president of the United States, with a .44 derringer in a desparate attempt to turn the tides of civil war. (The cause of the South was already lost, General LEE had already surrendered at Appomatox Court House.)
   At the same time BOOTH's co-conspirator Lewis POWELL tries to stab secretary of state William H. SEWARD, leaving the politician as well as his daughter, two sons and a male nurse severly injured. Another conspirator, George ATZERODT, decided to abandon his mission to kill vice president Andrew JOHNSON and got drunk instead.

   THE DAY LINCOLN WAS SHOT details the story of this infamous assassination, from the background of the characters, the scheming, the assassination and its aftermath to the fate of the conspirators inside a burning barn (BOOTH) and on the gallows (his accomplices), respectively.
   Author Richard BAK brings the persons involved in this tragedy vividly to life. I found this aspect of the book especially compelling. We learn about the war weary president, who also suffered from personal plight (an emotionally unstable wife and the death of his son Willie in 1862). We get to know assassin John Wilkes BOOTH, a famous actor and womanizer, bold, darring and sympathizing with the Confederacy's cause. The book points out how BOOTH's deed affected the American society and the life of all persons involved in this drama. Did you know that Major RATHBONE, an officer, who had accompanied LINCOLN at Ford's theatre, never forgave himself for having been incapable of stopping BOOTH and subsequently became insane due to his self-reproaches, resulting in the murder of his wife and a lifelong imprisonment in a mental institution? The book is full of such gripping details.
   Also of note is the way the book sets right some popular myths abouth the assassination. For instance, it is a wellknown belief that after having shot LINCOLN, BOOTH jumped from the presidential box to the stage below and disclaimed "Sic semper tyrannis!" (So perish all tyrannts!) According to eye witness accounts there was no agreement of what BOOTH did or did not say. Also BOOTH's broken leg seems to do not result from the leap on the stage. (He simply made it up in his diary to make his deed more "heroic".) According to author BAK there is good reason to believe that BOOTH broke his leg on his escape, when unheroically falling down from his horse.

   THE DAY LINCOLN WAS SHOT is very well written and not at all scholarly. It's written in a way that appeals to history buffs. The text is accompanied by dozens of contemporary photographs and pictures, which add much detail and information.
   Also included are various essays of contributing authors, the topics ranging from a portrait of Lewis POWELL, "mystery man" of the conspiracy, to the depiction of the assassination in movies.

   This history book is as exciting as a thriller novel, a real pageturner. Believe me, even in case you are not overly interested in civil war history, you'll enjoy it, because it is so thrilling.
   HIGHLY recommended.




5. This is an excellent book!! Richard Bak successfully brings the past to life in his natural and descriptive writing style, and in 'The Day Lincoln Was Shot,' he successfully takes the reader back to the events leading up to that fateful night at Ford's Theater. But that's not all - we're also privy to the final hours of Booth's life as well, and even to the horrid (and extremely biased) court proceedings and outcome that, in a number of unfortunate cases, brought death to innocent people caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.
   Mr. Bak does not take sides in the text. He presents the facts as they were at the time combined with our discoveries over the last 140 years. This is what makes this book so thoroughly enjoyable and exciting.
   Being a relatively extensive but quick read, 'The Day Lincoln Was Shot' is highly recommended for anyone, be they high schoolers or older, who want to know the truth behind the conspiracy of the death of our 16th president.