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Legend: The Secret World of Lee Harvey Oswald
The endless tangle of questions about bullets, trajectories, wounds, time sequences & inconsistent testimony that's surrounded the JFK assassination & has fascinated generations of self-styled investigators, probably never will be satisfactorily resolved. Each new release of documents from the various bureaucracies involved in the half century old investigation may only deepen apparent contradictions.
Within this morass of facts. however, there's a central actor, Lee Harvey Oswald. His rifle, which fired the fatal bullet, was found in the Book Depository. So was his palm print. He'd bought the ammunition. His cartridge cases were found near the body of a murdered policeman on the route of his flight.
In light of the evidence, the issue that ought to have concerned people wasn't Oswald's technical guilt but whether he was involved with others. He wasn't a loner. Ever since he was handed a pamphlet about the Rosenbergs at age 15, he was a joiner, seeking affiliations with groups at home & abroad. At 16 he wrote the SP "I am a Marxist & have been studying Socialist Principles for well over 5 years" requesting information about joining their Youth League. He later made membership inquiries to the SWP, SLP, The Gus Hall-Benjamin Davis Defense Committee, The Fair Play for Cuba Committee & the CP—correspondence bringing him under FBI surveillance. He also joined the Marines. After a 2-year stint as a radar operator, he sought still another affiliation: in 10/59 he became the 1st Marine to defect to the USSR. In Moscow, he delivered a letter stating "I affirm that my allegiance is to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics." Not only did he publically renounce his citizenship but he told the US consul he intended to give the Soviets military secrets he'd acquired while serving in the Marines, adding he'd data of "special interest" to the Russians. Since he indeed had exposure to secrets such as the U-2, his defection had serious espionage implications. He thus hadn't only compromised the secrets he'd come in contact with, but put himself in the hands of another country. He was now dependent on Russia for financial support, legal status & protection.
Before disappearing into the Soviet hinterland for a year, he spelled out his operational creed in a long letter to his brother. From Moscow, he wrote presciently of his willingness to kill for a political cause: "I want you to understand what I say now, I do not say lightly, or unknowingly, since I've been in the military...In the event of war I would kill any American who put a uniform on in defense of the American Government" & then ominously added for emphasis, "Any American." His willingness to act as an assassin was now known to anyone who read the letter, which included not only his Russian hosts but US intelligence, since his letter was intercepted by the CIA & microfilmed.
He returned to the USA in 6/62, joined by his Russian wife Marina, settling in Dallas. He then purchased a rifle with telescopic sights & a revolver from a mail-order house under a false name. He lectured a few friends on the need for violent action rather than mere words. His particular focus was extreme conservative Gen. Edwin A. Walker, who'd been active in Dallas organizing anti-Castro guerrillas. For example, he suggested to a German geologist, Volkmar Schmidt that Walker should be treated like a "murderer at large". He didn't stop at fierce words. For weeks, he stalked Walker's movements, photographing his residence from several angles. He then had his wife photograph him, dressed entirely in black, with a revolver strapped on a hip holster, a sniper's rifle in his right hand & two newspapers, The Worker & The Militant, in his left. He made 3 copies--one of which he inscribed, dated "5-IV-63" & sent to a Dallas acquaintance, George De Mohrenschildt. He then left with his rifle wrapped in a raincoat, telling Marina he was off to "target practice", but his target, Walker, was out of town that night. He returned to Walker's home 5 nights later & fired a shot, missing by inches, demonstrating his will to kill.
After the failed assassination, another friend, Ruth Paine, drove Oswald & family to New Orleans, where he became the organizer for the Fair Play for Cuba Committee, which opposed efforts to overthrow Castro. Aside from printing leaflets, staging demonstrations, getting arrested & appearing on local radio talk show that summer, he attempted to befriend leaders of & infiltrate anti-Castro groups organizing sabotage raids against Cuba. By this time, he apparently considered himself a sleeper operative, writing in 8/63 to the central committee of the CP, & asking "Whether in your opinion, I can compete with anti-progressive forces above ground, or whether I should always remain in the background, i.e. underground." During this summer, while practicing sighting his rifle in his backyard, he told his wife about his plan to hijack a plane to Cuba, saying he might earn a position in its government. Then, on 9/9, in a report that appeared on the 1st page of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, Castro, target of CIA assassination attempts, warned that if the USA continued "aiding plans to eliminate Cuban leaders...they themselves will not be safe".
The implication of this warning wasn't lost on Oswald. Telling Marina they might never meet again, he left New Orleans 2 weeks later headed for the Cuban Embassy in Mexico City. To convince the Cubans of his bona fides & seriousness he had prepared a dossier which included a 10 page resume, outlining his revolutionary activities, newspaper clippings about his defection, documents he'd stolen from a printing company engaged in classified map reproduction, his correspondence with the Fair Play for Cuba Committee, &, as if to demonstrate his lethal capability, photos linking him to the Walker shooting. He applied for a visa at the Cuban Embassy on the morning of 9/27/63. He said he wanted to stop in Havana en route to the USSR. On the application the consular officer who interviewed him noted: "The applicant states that he's a member of the American Communist Party & Secretary in New Orleans of the Fair Play for Cuba Committee." Despite such recommendations, he was told he needed a Soviet visa before a Cuban visa could be issued. He argued over this requisite with the Cuban counsel, Eusebio Azque, in front of witnesses, & reportedly made wild claims about services he might perform for the Cuban cause. During the next 5 days, he traveled back & forth between the Soviet & Cuban embassies attempting to straighten out the difficulty. When he telephoned from the Cuban embassy to arrange an appointment at the Soviet Embassy with officer Valery Vladimirovich Kostikov, he set off alarm bells at the CIA, which had been monitoring the phones. Kostikov was a KGB officer who had been under FBI surveillance in Mexico. By the time the CIA had identified Oswald, & notified the FBI, he'd left Mexico.
Returned to Dallas, Oswald assumed a different identity--O.H. Lee. Separating from his family, he moved to a rooming house. He forbade his wife divulging his whereabouts.
On 10/18, his visa was approved by the Cuban Foreign Ministry despite the fact he'd not received a Soviet visa. Apparently unaware of this development, he wrote another letter to the Soviet Embassy, referring to his meeting with Kostikov in Mexico, adding cryptically: "Had I been able to reach the Soviet Embassy in Havana as planned, the embassy there would have had time to complete our business." When FBI counterintelligence intercepted this letter in Washington. it urgently requested its field agent in Dallas to question him.
FBI agent James Hosty, unable to locate Oswald, warned Marina she could be sent back to Russia. When his wife told him about the warning he threatened to bomb its Dallas office. By this time, he had a menial $1.50 hour job at the Book Depository, which overlooked the convergence of the 3 main streets into central Dallas.
On 11/22, at 12:30PM, as JFK’s car passed the depository, a burst of rifle fire killed him. Under 2 hours later, a Dallas policeman had been killed, &, near the shooting, Oswald was arrested with the murder weapon in hand. He was charged with killing the policeman &, shortly afterwards, assassinating JFK. On 11/24, he was shot to death in Dallas police HQ by night club owner Jack Ruby.
The Warren Commission concluded Oswald fired the shots that killed JFK. But conspiracies don't necessarily require multiple rifleman to accomplish their purpose. What the Commission couldn't rule out, as two of its members pointed out to me, was the possibility he'd acted at the behest of others. He'd advertised willingness to undertake a high-profile assassination by circulating photos connecting himself to the shooting of Walker. Any party monitoring his activities in Dallas, New Orleans or Mexico City could have discerned from them a potential assassin awaiting a mission. With a mind set on such violent actions as hijacking, blowing up an FBI office or killing “any American,” not much would be required to prod him to violence. He'd sought liaisons in dangerous quarters & someone could've provided inducement. But silenced by Ruby, & intelligence services capable of expunging embarrassing data about their contacts with a Presidential assassins from their files, it's doubtful we'll ever know who, if anyone, influenced him to act on 11/22/63.--EJE 12/14/09 (edited)
Within this morass of facts. however, there's a central actor, Lee Harvey Oswald. His rifle, which fired the fatal bullet, was found in the Book Depository. So was his palm print. He'd bought the ammunition. His cartridge cases were found near the body of a murdered policeman on the route of his flight.
In light of the evidence, the issue that ought to have concerned people wasn't Oswald's technical guilt but whether he was involved with others. He wasn't a loner. Ever since he was handed a pamphlet about the Rosenbergs at age 15, he was a joiner, seeking affiliations with groups at home & abroad. At 16 he wrote the SP "I am a Marxist & have been studying Socialist Principles for well over 5 years" requesting information about joining their Youth League. He later made membership inquiries to the SWP, SLP, The Gus Hall-Benjamin Davis Defense Committee, The Fair Play for Cuba Committee & the CP—correspondence bringing him under FBI surveillance. He also joined the Marines. After a 2-year stint as a radar operator, he sought still another affiliation: in 10/59 he became the 1st Marine to defect to the USSR. In Moscow, he delivered a letter stating "I affirm that my allegiance is to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics." Not only did he publically renounce his citizenship but he told the US consul he intended to give the Soviets military secrets he'd acquired while serving in the Marines, adding he'd data of "special interest" to the Russians. Since he indeed had exposure to secrets such as the U-2, his defection had serious espionage implications. He thus hadn't only compromised the secrets he'd come in contact with, but put himself in the hands of another country. He was now dependent on Russia for financial support, legal status & protection.
Before disappearing into the Soviet hinterland for a year, he spelled out his operational creed in a long letter to his brother. From Moscow, he wrote presciently of his willingness to kill for a political cause: "I want you to understand what I say now, I do not say lightly, or unknowingly, since I've been in the military...In the event of war I would kill any American who put a uniform on in defense of the American Government" & then ominously added for emphasis, "Any American." His willingness to act as an assassin was now known to anyone who read the letter, which included not only his Russian hosts but US intelligence, since his letter was intercepted by the CIA & microfilmed.
He returned to the USA in 6/62, joined by his Russian wife Marina, settling in Dallas. He then purchased a rifle with telescopic sights & a revolver from a mail-order house under a false name. He lectured a few friends on the need for violent action rather than mere words. His particular focus was extreme conservative Gen. Edwin A. Walker, who'd been active in Dallas organizing anti-Castro guerrillas. For example, he suggested to a German geologist, Volkmar Schmidt that Walker should be treated like a "murderer at large". He didn't stop at fierce words. For weeks, he stalked Walker's movements, photographing his residence from several angles. He then had his wife photograph him, dressed entirely in black, with a revolver strapped on a hip holster, a sniper's rifle in his right hand & two newspapers, The Worker & The Militant, in his left. He made 3 copies--one of which he inscribed, dated "5-IV-63" & sent to a Dallas acquaintance, George De Mohrenschildt. He then left with his rifle wrapped in a raincoat, telling Marina he was off to "target practice", but his target, Walker, was out of town that night. He returned to Walker's home 5 nights later & fired a shot, missing by inches, demonstrating his will to kill.
After the failed assassination, another friend, Ruth Paine, drove Oswald & family to New Orleans, where he became the organizer for the Fair Play for Cuba Committee, which opposed efforts to overthrow Castro. Aside from printing leaflets, staging demonstrations, getting arrested & appearing on local radio talk show that summer, he attempted to befriend leaders of & infiltrate anti-Castro groups organizing sabotage raids against Cuba. By this time, he apparently considered himself a sleeper operative, writing in 8/63 to the central committee of the CP, & asking "Whether in your opinion, I can compete with anti-progressive forces above ground, or whether I should always remain in the background, i.e. underground." During this summer, while practicing sighting his rifle in his backyard, he told his wife about his plan to hijack a plane to Cuba, saying he might earn a position in its government. Then, on 9/9, in a report that appeared on the 1st page of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, Castro, target of CIA assassination attempts, warned that if the USA continued "aiding plans to eliminate Cuban leaders...they themselves will not be safe".
The implication of this warning wasn't lost on Oswald. Telling Marina they might never meet again, he left New Orleans 2 weeks later headed for the Cuban Embassy in Mexico City. To convince the Cubans of his bona fides & seriousness he had prepared a dossier which included a 10 page resume, outlining his revolutionary activities, newspaper clippings about his defection, documents he'd stolen from a printing company engaged in classified map reproduction, his correspondence with the Fair Play for Cuba Committee, &, as if to demonstrate his lethal capability, photos linking him to the Walker shooting. He applied for a visa at the Cuban Embassy on the morning of 9/27/63. He said he wanted to stop in Havana en route to the USSR. On the application the consular officer who interviewed him noted: "The applicant states that he's a member of the American Communist Party & Secretary in New Orleans of the Fair Play for Cuba Committee." Despite such recommendations, he was told he needed a Soviet visa before a Cuban visa could be issued. He argued over this requisite with the Cuban counsel, Eusebio Azque, in front of witnesses, & reportedly made wild claims about services he might perform for the Cuban cause. During the next 5 days, he traveled back & forth between the Soviet & Cuban embassies attempting to straighten out the difficulty. When he telephoned from the Cuban embassy to arrange an appointment at the Soviet Embassy with officer Valery Vladimirovich Kostikov, he set off alarm bells at the CIA, which had been monitoring the phones. Kostikov was a KGB officer who had been under FBI surveillance in Mexico. By the time the CIA had identified Oswald, & notified the FBI, he'd left Mexico.
Returned to Dallas, Oswald assumed a different identity--O.H. Lee. Separating from his family, he moved to a rooming house. He forbade his wife divulging his whereabouts.
On 10/18, his visa was approved by the Cuban Foreign Ministry despite the fact he'd not received a Soviet visa. Apparently unaware of this development, he wrote another letter to the Soviet Embassy, referring to his meeting with Kostikov in Mexico, adding cryptically: "Had I been able to reach the Soviet Embassy in Havana as planned, the embassy there would have had time to complete our business." When FBI counterintelligence intercepted this letter in Washington. it urgently requested its field agent in Dallas to question him.
FBI agent James Hosty, unable to locate Oswald, warned Marina she could be sent back to Russia. When his wife told him about the warning he threatened to bomb its Dallas office. By this time, he had a menial $1.50 hour job at the Book Depository, which overlooked the convergence of the 3 main streets into central Dallas.
On 11/22, at 12:30PM, as JFK’s car passed the depository, a burst of rifle fire killed him. Under 2 hours later, a Dallas policeman had been killed, &, near the shooting, Oswald was arrested with the murder weapon in hand. He was charged with killing the policeman &, shortly afterwards, assassinating JFK. On 11/24, he was shot to death in Dallas police HQ by night club owner Jack Ruby.
The Warren Commission concluded Oswald fired the shots that killed JFK. But conspiracies don't necessarily require multiple rifleman to accomplish their purpose. What the Commission couldn't rule out, as two of its members pointed out to me, was the possibility he'd acted at the behest of others. He'd advertised willingness to undertake a high-profile assassination by circulating photos connecting himself to the shooting of Walker. Any party monitoring his activities in Dallas, New Orleans or Mexico City could have discerned from them a potential assassin awaiting a mission. With a mind set on such violent actions as hijacking, blowing up an FBI office or killing “any American,” not much would be required to prod him to violence. He'd sought liaisons in dangerous quarters & someone could've provided inducement. But silenced by Ruby, & intelligence services capable of expunging embarrassing data about their contacts with a Presidential assassins from their files, it's doubtful we'll ever know who, if anyone, influenced him to act on 11/22/63.--EJE 12/14/09 (edited)
382 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1978
22 people are currently reading
368 people want to read
About the author
Edward Jay Epstein
74 books71 followersEdward Jay Epstein (born 1935) was an American investigative journalist and a former political science professor at Harvard, UCLA, and MIT. While a graduate student at Cornell University in 1966, he published the book Inquest, an influential critique of the Warren Commission probe into the John F. Kennedy assassination. Epstein wrote two other books about the Kennedy assassination, eventually collected in The Assassination Chronicles: Inquest, Counterplot, and Legend (1992). His books Legend (1978) and Deception (1989) drew on interviews with retired CIA Counterintelligence Chief James Jesus Angleton, and his 1982 book The Rise and Fall of Diamonds was an expose of the diamond industry and its economic impact in southern Africa.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
November 24, 2012
The JFK assassination was announced to us while on recess. After a hastily organized assembly we were all sent home. There, for several days, I was glued to the television. In the months that followed much fruther attention was paid to the event by the media.
The first criticisms I heard of the Warren Commission Report were later, when, during high school, I heard Mark Lane interviewed on radio. It wasn't until years after that, however, that I read anything of book length beyond Marina and Lee.
Oliver Stone's movie, JFK (1991), saw one of my best friends, Michael, commissioned to write a review. This got him into the literature about the assassination. He lived in San Francisco at the time, so I heard about it around a beach fire we had built on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, months later while he was visiting. His survey of the literature got me interested and it took off from there.
Since then I've read dozens of books about the murder of President Kennedy, from critics of the Warren Commission like Garrison, Lane, Prouty, Fonzi etc. to qualified (no one can intelligently defend it across the board) defenders of it like Epstein and, of course, critics of the critics.
This particular contribution by Epstein (I've read, so far, three of his books) focuses on the alleged assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald. Beyond adding biographical information to what the Commission recorded, it is highly dependent upon the claims of a CIA agent and of a very dubious KGB defector. His particular concern is that Oswald may have worked on behalf of the Soviets or the Cubans and he adduces evidence in such directions.
Epstein's more current beliefs are represented in his essay included as the description of this edition.
The first criticisms I heard of the Warren Commission Report were later, when, during high school, I heard Mark Lane interviewed on radio. It wasn't until years after that, however, that I read anything of book length beyond Marina and Lee.
Oliver Stone's movie, JFK (1991), saw one of my best friends, Michael, commissioned to write a review. This got him into the literature about the assassination. He lived in San Francisco at the time, so I heard about it around a beach fire we had built on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, months later while he was visiting. His survey of the literature got me interested and it took off from there.
Since then I've read dozens of books about the murder of President Kennedy, from critics of the Warren Commission like Garrison, Lane, Prouty, Fonzi etc. to qualified (no one can intelligently defend it across the board) defenders of it like Epstein and, of course, critics of the critics.
This particular contribution by Epstein (I've read, so far, three of his books) focuses on the alleged assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald. Beyond adding biographical information to what the Commission recorded, it is highly dependent upon the claims of a CIA agent and of a very dubious KGB defector. His particular concern is that Oswald may have worked on behalf of the Soviets or the Cubans and he adduces evidence in such directions.
Epstein's more current beliefs are represented in his essay included as the description of this edition.
September 22, 2007
In spy terminology, a "legend" is a myth created around a person to hide their real intent, or more specifically, their real loyalties. Edward Jay Epstein examines, in Legend: The Secret World of Lee Harvey Oswald, the relationship between the murderer of J.F.K. and the intelligence services of 3 governments. It also touches on conspiracies to assassinate the President and various witness and allegations ignored by the Warren Commission. Most important, though, as a historical document, the book should be considered in the context of the Golitsyn / Nosenko affair. Epstein's book was published in 1974. The Golitsyn / Nosenko affair is still a debate waged today in our intelligence communities, and their connection to the assassination of President Kennedy remains shrouded in mystery. Whether Epstein's ultimate conclusions are ever proven correct or not is irrelevant; the book, and the fact that elements of it are still being proven curious 30 years later in books written by ex-CIA agents (see Tennent Bagley's Spy Wars) is testament to Epstein's zeal as a journalist and investigative reporter. He smelled a story, and his nose was good, regardless of how many details he nailed down perfectly.
NC
NC
September 8, 2013
Stinker, Sailor, Assassin, Spy. Edward Jay Epstein's 'Legend', published 1978 pitches the JFK assassination reader into the swirling hall of mirrors created by the CIA, FBI, KGB and Cuban counterintelligence agencies. While Angleton struggles with his paranoid search for a mole, high in the structure of the CIA, and the sudden defection of the KGB's Nosenko poses more questions than answers, J. Edgar takes off her dress and removes the max factor. We are left all these years later with a secret world from a LeCarre novel.
Having finished this book, I feel I should begin again and give it a second read. No doubt this is a good edition for my JFK library. Epstein has produced a well written and researched biography of the short life and times of Lee Harvey Oswald, or O.H. Lee, or Alik Hidell, depending on which glass we peer through.
I have not read Epstein's earlier publication 'Inquest', which purports to be 'the book that originally raised questions about the findings of the Warren Commission'. Not sure where E.J.E.'s inquest verdict has altered, because 'Legend' follows Warren very closely.
Now, to really mess the head up, why not try John Armstrong's 'Harvey and Lee' http://spot.acorn.net/jfkplace/09/fp....
Having finished this book, I feel I should begin again and give it a second read. No doubt this is a good edition for my JFK library. Epstein has produced a well written and researched biography of the short life and times of Lee Harvey Oswald, or O.H. Lee, or Alik Hidell, depending on which glass we peer through.
I have not read Epstein's earlier publication 'Inquest', which purports to be 'the book that originally raised questions about the findings of the Warren Commission'. Not sure where E.J.E.'s inquest verdict has altered, because 'Legend' follows Warren very closely.
Now, to really mess the head up, why not try John Armstrong's 'Harvey and Lee' http://spot.acorn.net/jfkplace/09/fp....
February 11, 2023
I finished the book.
It was pretty decent overall. I liked the parts about Oswald in Japan and his secret clearances because the U2 operated out of his base. Francis Gary Powers and his U2 was then shot down while LHO was defected in the USSR.
Epstein is sort of an Establishment guy poking around, but careful not to upset the mainstream version of events too much. You don't stay at Harvard, MIT, or UCLA very long if you are too much of a pain.
I think with the Soviet defector Noshenko EE thought he was on to something, but events played out that listening to him was a waste of time. Too much of this book deals with this paper tiger.
DeMorenschildt was a key player in all this and there was some interesting info on him here. Pretty sure he was CIA as were the Paine's. George killed himself during a break in a big interview with the author Epstein. Some say it was murder, a recording picked up footsteps just before the shot, per EE in this book.
ORIGINAL REVIEW:
Only halfway done reading.
Now that I am further into this book I have decided to finish it.
I do like all the details about Oswalds service in Japan. No way dude wasn't involved with the CIA.
Good if you don't believe the WC, it was a complete hack job.
Summary of WC:
LBJ. Here's your conclusion Earl, backtrack and make it work.
Earl Warren: CIA Devils Chessboard guy Dulles who JFK had fired is on the team, he'll insure this happens and they dont cooperate.
Dulles: Gerald, wanna be Prez some day, jump on this train.
G. Ford: Arlen, how's this magic bullet work again?
It was pretty decent overall. I liked the parts about Oswald in Japan and his secret clearances because the U2 operated out of his base. Francis Gary Powers and his U2 was then shot down while LHO was defected in the USSR.
Epstein is sort of an Establishment guy poking around, but careful not to upset the mainstream version of events too much. You don't stay at Harvard, MIT, or UCLA very long if you are too much of a pain.
I think with the Soviet defector Noshenko EE thought he was on to something, but events played out that listening to him was a waste of time. Too much of this book deals with this paper tiger.
DeMorenschildt was a key player in all this and there was some interesting info on him here. Pretty sure he was CIA as were the Paine's. George killed himself during a break in a big interview with the author Epstein. Some say it was murder, a recording picked up footsteps just before the shot, per EE in this book.
ORIGINAL REVIEW:
Only halfway done reading.
Now that I am further into this book I have decided to finish it.
I do like all the details about Oswalds service in Japan. No way dude wasn't involved with the CIA.
Good if you don't believe the WC, it was a complete hack job.
Summary of WC:
LBJ. Here's your conclusion Earl, backtrack and make it work.
Earl Warren: CIA Devils Chessboard guy Dulles who JFK had fired is on the team, he'll insure this happens and they dont cooperate.
Dulles: Gerald, wanna be Prez some day, jump on this train.
G. Ford: Arlen, how's this magic bullet work again?
December 15, 2009
Nosenko was a liar (perhaps...); LHO was a Russian agent 'simpliciter' (bull). Epstein basically allowed himself to become the vehicle for Helms and Angleton to whack their enemies with (starting with JEdgar).
July 27, 2022
Legend (1978) by Epstein is a very interesting, captivating read when it centers on Oswald....but...when it veers off tract, like the very, very long prologue & epilogue, it gets to be very tedious & boring. Also, it sticks to the 'lone, crazed gunman' theory which has since be shown to be a fairy-tale (I believe in revisionist history...why? Because the history is looked at with a clean set of glasses while propaganda has quieted down...got it?) This is worth a read though for the authors view on Oswald...get it while you can, books about Lee & Jack Ruby are being scrubbed....3.5 outta 5.0...
August 17, 2022
Makes one think.
December 17, 2013
This is the second time I read this book. Both time were enjoyable, though it took the second time to really get the message. The probability that Oswald was working for the Russians in the assassination of JFK is extremely high. Because the FBI could have been held responsible for errors in tracking Oswald, the information was buried, the CIA counterinsurgency department members that had the correct assessment of related information, were disposed of / replaced, and someone who was actually a Russian agent subsequently was further used as a consultant feeding false information to the USA security agencies. Russia appears to have mastered the spy game quite extensively, while the USA powers-that-be were content with false appraisals, and keep their jobs.
UPDATED VIEW December 2013
Since having read this book, I have encountered other reasons why JFK was killed or by whom. CIA? Per wikipedia article Operation Northwoods described a proposed false flag operation that JFK prevented that reads just like 9/11. Per YouTube videos there were people including LBJ that were very angry at JFK and knowledgeable of the assassination ahead of time. That shortly after taking office LBJ stopped the printing of US treasury notes and we reverted to Federal Reserve (private bank) notes. Multiple players and multiple motivations--how many?
Re the book, I vaguely remember that it was Oswald that provided the Russians with the actual altitude that the U2 spy plane was actually flying at to allow them to aim a lot higher.
At last reading, I enjoyed the book. Since then I encountered a different book that was so bad that I questioned how it could have even have been published, and that kept me reading any books for a long time. Time for more critical thinking.
UPDATED VIEW December 2013
Since having read this book, I have encountered other reasons why JFK was killed or by whom. CIA? Per wikipedia article Operation Northwoods described a proposed false flag operation that JFK prevented that reads just like 9/11. Per YouTube videos there were people including LBJ that were very angry at JFK and knowledgeable of the assassination ahead of time. That shortly after taking office LBJ stopped the printing of US treasury notes and we reverted to Federal Reserve (private bank) notes. Multiple players and multiple motivations--how many?
Re the book, I vaguely remember that it was Oswald that provided the Russians with the actual altitude that the U2 spy plane was actually flying at to allow them to aim a lot higher.
At last reading, I enjoyed the book. Since then I encountered a different book that was so bad that I questioned how it could have even have been published, and that kept me reading any books for a long time. Time for more critical thinking.
June 4, 2025
Would LHO ultimately been a mass shooter if he lived in a world with access to AR-15s? He certainly saw himself as an agent of historical importance, so if not for the President visiting Dallas in that exact period would he have eventually attacked a political gathering? Seems the propulsion of his life was leading him towards something dangerous and that it was entirely possible.
Otherwise a book that was interesting to me after reading Delillo's Libra, but a bit laborious at times.
Otherwise a book that was interesting to me after reading Delillo's Libra, but a bit laborious at times.
Read
March 27, 2008327.12
December 6, 2013
Very interesting look into the life of Lee Harvey Oswald and the FBI and CIA's encounters with him BEFORE November 22, 1963. I Highly recomend
August 18, 2014
Well written book. He made a good case that Oswald was the lone gunman. But still at the end he left things open because some new evidence might come to light that changes things.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews