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Surrounded by Enemies: What if Kennedy Survived Dallas?
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If President John Kennedy had survived the ambush at Dealey Plaza in Dallas a half-century ago, what other twists might history have taken? In his meticulously researched novel, "Surrounded by Enemies: What If Kennedy Survived Dallas?”, author Bryce Zabel delivers a supercharged but plausible alternative narrative of the turbulent 1960s after our charismatic president esca
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Kindle Edition, First, 250 pages
Published
July 29th 2013
by Publish Green
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Start your review of Surrounded by Enemies: What if Kennedy Survived Dallas?
What if JFK had survived the attack on his life in Dallas?
This book was really intriguing and well written. Instead of dying in Dallas in 1963 JFK survived and one gets a chance to see how his life and those around him change with him alive. But it is not a fairy tale with everything ending well. His involvement with women, especially affairs with women of questionable reputations that are something everyone knows about nowadays, but something that was not a public knowledge during the 60s is the t ...more
This book was really intriguing and well written. Instead of dying in Dallas in 1963 JFK survived and one gets a chance to see how his life and those around him change with him alive. But it is not a fairy tale with everything ending well. His involvement with women, especially affairs with women of questionable reputations that are something everyone knows about nowadays, but something that was not a public knowledge during the 60s is the t ...more
Aug 12, 2018
Suanne Laqueur
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
best-of-2018,
50-under-550
Holy SHIT that was awesome.
I wrote this book because no one had ever written the version of "if JFK lived" that I wanted to read. This is no "rose-colored glasses" version but one that takes into account how the world would have been changed even by a near-miss in Dallas.
Let's face it: JFK would have know that he'd been targeted for murder on a public street in broad daylight. Things would not have pinged back to normal. President Kennedy and his attorney general brother Bobby would have become the first true conspiracy ...more
Let's face it: JFK would have know that he'd been targeted for murder on a public street in broad daylight. Things would not have pinged back to normal. President Kennedy and his attorney general brother Bobby would have become the first true conspiracy ...more
Wow! Just Wow! This is a book that reads so vividly you will swear you are there. Mr. Zabel has taken the premise of JFK's survival and run with it. His alternative take on the events that day in Dallas and it's aftermath made for riveting reading. The pacing was fast, the believability level high, and the twists and turns well-plotted. The inter-weaving of truth with invention was seamless, and I am guilty of staying up way too late to finish. All in all, a satisfying, well-researched and well
...more
I was lucky enough to have read this book during the late stages of its development and I can say that it is a wonderful book for anyone, but particularly if you are interested in the history of the 1960's and its consequences. Bryce Zabel creates a very plausible alternate history. As you read, you feel as if this was the real history of those times because he has spared no detail, he has overlooked nothing in developing an alternative. Like Gregory Maguire's Wicked, Surrounded by Enemies is an
...more
This is my second Fiction book i read in years, i don't normally read them not for anything but we are so cough up in everyday lives, TV with so much negativity that i like to escape to a fantasy land for a while.
I don't know what would of happened if Kennedy Survived Dallas, one thing i am mostly sure of we wouldn't have what we have today. Not into politics i just wanted to read and know of ones version about JFK and this authors believes.
So glad i found it and was able to read it, ...more
The title and subtitle pretty much tell what this is about: JFK surviving the assassination plot and trying to come to terms with it (who was behind it and why and how to deal with it at all?). That was a refreshing approach: I mean, okay, so JFK survives - but still somebody tried to murder him, that needs to be an issue, doesn't it?
Overall, I liked the approach presented here. It was a fast, entertaining read and offered a scenario that was, in the most parts, very plausible. I especially lov ...more
Overall, I liked the approach presented here. It was a fast, entertaining read and offered a scenario that was, in the most parts, very plausible. I especially lov ...more
This is a timely book with the fiftieth anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s assassination just a few weeks away, but it should have lasting appeal. The question of how the United States, and the world, would have changed had the thirty-fifth president not been murdered will haunt our collective consciousness forever. Numerous books have tackled this question in one form or another. Bryce Zabel has taken an original and logical approach to providing an answer. Zabel is a veteran journalist, and this
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Jul 22, 2014
Josh
rated it
really liked it
Recommends it for:
Fiction fans, history buffs, people who were personally offended by Weird Al's "Foil" video
Recommended to Josh by:
Netgalley
As a rule, I do not like fiction. It is not that I think fiction is bad or that it is a genre that has no value. Quite simply, most fiction I have tried to read just does not keep my attention.
So it may seem odd that I chose to read, finished, and enjoyed greatly this work of fiction. A couple of things, my disdain for fiction is becoming less prominent as I am exposed to more good works. Also, I thoroughly enjoy history and have been, like many, inundated with JFK material over the ...more
So it may seem odd that I chose to read, finished, and enjoyed greatly this work of fiction. A couple of things, my disdain for fiction is becoming less prominent as I am exposed to more good works. Also, I thoroughly enjoy history and have been, like many, inundated with JFK material over the ...more
Review: SURROUNDED BY ENEMIES by Bryce Zabeli
I've been a "What If?" person as long as I can remember: the kind of individual with a curious bent of mind who needs to examine the road not taken. So it's no wonder that alternative history is one of my lifelong interests. What If the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor had been circumvented? What If Hitler occupied Britain? What If William the Conqueror didn't conquer? And so forth. Of course, one of the biggies of the last 50 years: what i ...more
I've been a "What If?" person as long as I can remember: the kind of individual with a curious bent of mind who needs to examine the road not taken. So it's no wonder that alternative history is one of my lifelong interests. What If the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor had been circumvented? What If Hitler occupied Britain? What If William the Conqueror didn't conquer? And so forth. Of course, one of the biggies of the last 50 years: what i ...more
There's no nice way to say it, I'd never found myself wishing Kennedy had lived before I read this book. It was surprisingly interesting and, if not realistic, believable. Who knows how it might have actually gone - but this story is a worthy one.
And there is something intensely disturbing, and deeply wrong about the mere existance of the CIA, NSA, and the entire post-911 Alphabet soup of Gestapo and Stazi forces in this country. . . and the loudest voices against them are, ironically, the peop ...more
And there is something intensely disturbing, and deeply wrong about the mere existance of the CIA, NSA, and the entire post-911 Alphabet soup of Gestapo and Stazi forces in this country. . . and the loudest voices against them are, ironically, the peop ...more
Thought-provoking "alternative- history" what-if take on what a post-'63 JFK administration might have looked like... considering that the president (and his attorney general brother Bobby) are now consumed by figuring out who is trying to kill him, and getting back at them. Because it's written by an award-winning screenwriter, it's less an historical tome than a fast-paced thriller with you-are-there scenes and dialogue. Which is not to say that the author hasn't done his homework, for the sto
...more
I listened to this as an audio book and as such it really worked. It was written in such a way that the audio was like a documentary show discussing the attempt on JFK's life in Dallas and the resulting affect on his Presidency. Being very familiar with the period helped a great deal as I was able to more easily compare what happened in our timeline (OTL) versus this hypothetical one. My main concern with the story is that the author seems to have made *everything* happen to Kennedy that was pos
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Very interesting altered history. Liked the altered photos on the cover of the fictional weekly magazine also.
So the premise is that JFK survived Dallas, was never injured, and how this changes him and his administration. Since the men who wanted him dead are still at large, they try another route to oust him from the Presidency. Jack & Bobby Kennedy almost turn into the embattled Richard Nixon after Watergate in our timeline as they fight a smear campaign aimed at JFK’s major ch ...more
So the premise is that JFK survived Dallas, was never injured, and how this changes him and his administration. Since the men who wanted him dead are still at large, they try another route to oust him from the Presidency. Jack & Bobby Kennedy almost turn into the embattled Richard Nixon after Watergate in our timeline as they fight a smear campaign aimed at JFK’s major ch ...more
I utterly loved this book! Firstly, I am a JFK nut & will read anything about him, but this is the first time I have ever read anything that made me forget he had been assassinated.
This book reads like complete fact, not alternative-world fiction, at times I struggled to work out which bits were fact & which bits were fiction.
Extremely well written & researched, only downside was towards the end of the book where it went a tad 'Hollywood' with a relationship between John ...more
This book reads like complete fact, not alternative-world fiction, at times I struggled to work out which bits were fact & which bits were fiction.
Extremely well written & researched, only downside was towards the end of the book where it went a tad 'Hollywood' with a relationship between John ...more
I read this book in a single evening. I couldn't put it down. Zabel's done his homework and this re-tread of history past Dallas-1963 are illuminating and sad. I will share this: you don't get the ending that you expect from this book. Still, it was a riveting read and I suggest it to anyone who loves History, speculative non-Fiction, or JFK.
A great book, I loved every page of it. It was well written and thought out. Things might have been better if this had happened.
I enjoyed this one, written as though it were another "All the President's Men." An interesting look at what could have happened if JFK had survived Dallas.
I am sure that many of us have wondered what would have happened had JFK survived the assassination attempt in Dallas. While nobody can be sure, this alternate history novel puts forth some very interesting extrapolations. I can't say much without ruining it for anyone who wants to read it, but I will say that certain things that happened in the real world also happened here, but in very different ways. This is a real page-turner!
It was OK
I liked this take on the question, "what if President Kennedy" was not killed in Dallas. I'm not sure if everything that happens in this alternate future made sense but overall a good story. I especially enjoyed the Post Presidental segments.
I liked this take on the question, "what if President Kennedy" was not killed in Dallas. I'm not sure if everything that happens in this alternate future made sense but overall a good story. I especially enjoyed the Post Presidental segments.
Very interesting.
What if JFK had survived the assassination?. Getting out of Dallas was the easy part.
Gave a different perspective about enemies n JFK
Great story, with powerful lessons
I read the original web series, "Winter of Our Discontent" by Zabel and Turtledove and I was glad to see this finished. Anyone who likes political history, alternate history, or just a well-written story will like this. I finished it in 30 hours.
The premise is simple and the storyline entirely plausible. We've lionized JFK because his death cut short any real criticism or scrutiny of his administration. In this story, JFK lives and the resulting in ...more
I read the original web series, "Winter of Our Discontent" by Zabel and Turtledove and I was glad to see this finished. Anyone who likes political history, alternate history, or just a well-written story will like this. I finished it in 30 hours.
The premise is simple and the storyline entirely plausible. We've lionized JFK because his death cut short any real criticism or scrutiny of his administration. In this story, JFK lives and the resulting in ...more
Ever since the events of November 22, 1963 there has been much speculation regarding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. There's been debate over whether accused assassin Lee Harvey Oswald was even involved, what forces may or may not have been behind the assassination and so forth. There's also been the question of what might have happened if he had survived the assassination attempt. Many have tried answering that question with movies and books, some more fantastical than others. F
...more
Bryce Zabel in his new book, "Surrounded by Enemies" Book One in the Breakpoint series published by Diversion Books gives us What if Kennedy survived Dallas?
From the back cover: President John F. Kennedy has lived through the ambush in Dealey Plaza. America holds its collective breath, seeing its president nearly executed in broad daylight. But as the country marches on, the office of the President finds itself under a much more insidious type of fire. Political scandal, an endless w ...more
From the back cover: President John F. Kennedy has lived through the ambush in Dealey Plaza. America holds its collective breath, seeing its president nearly executed in broad daylight. But as the country marches on, the office of the President finds itself under a much more insidious type of fire. Political scandal, an endless w ...more
I was excited by the premise in the title "What if Kennedy Survived Dallas?" The first half of the book was interesting. But I found the alternative history that the author devised for Kennedy, his clan and other prominent political figures to be implausible. He invents a magazine called Top Story which chronicles the events of Kennedy's post-Dallas life.
There is some discussion of the Oswald as lone gunman versus multiple shooters controversy. The Kennedys are convinced that other e ...more
There is some discussion of the Oswald as lone gunman versus multiple shooters controversy. The Kennedys are convinced that other e ...more
What do you think would have happened to the world had JFK survived Dallas, Texas? Would the USA, the world have been a better or worse place? Would we have the same opinion of him? What about his brother Robert? In SURROUNDED BY ENEMIES we are given an alternate reality in which JFK does survive and serves as President of the United States.
The story begins with that fateful drive in Texas. We are given a glimpse of what is happening through the eyes of one secret service agent. It is because o ...more
The story begins with that fateful drive in Texas. We are given a glimpse of what is happening through the eyes of one secret service agent. It is because o ...more
I was lucky enough to have read this book during the late stages of its development and I can say that it is a wonderful book for anyone, but particularly if you are interested in the history of the 1960's and its consequences. Bryce Zabel creates a very plausible alternate history. As you read, you feel as if this was the real history of those times because he has spared no detail, he has overlooked nothing in developing an alternative. Like Gregory Maguire's Wicked, Surrounded by Enemies is an
...more
Thought-provoking "alternative-history" what-if take on what a post-'63 JFK administration might have looked like... considering that the president (and his attorney general brother Bobby) are now consumed by figuring out who is trying to kill him, and getting back at them. Because it's written by an award-winning screenwriter, it's less an historical tome than a fast-paced thriller with you-are-there scenes and dialogue. Which is not to say that the author hasn't done his homework, for the stor
...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JFK Plays Detective! | 1 | 6 | Oct 09, 2013 07:36PM |
Readers also enjoyed
Screenwriter Bryce Zabel has created five primetime network television series, including NBC's Emmy-winning "Dark Skies." He has written for a dozen other popular TV shows, and written and produced feature and television projects for many of Hollywood's networks and studios. He's collaborated with such top creative talents as Steven Spielberg and Stan Lee. A former CNN correspondent, Bryce receive
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