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The Oswald File
British solicitor Michael Eddowes discloses a complex conspiracy to assassinate President Kennedy that originated in the Soviet Union under the direct orders of Khruschev
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First published January 1, 1977
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 21, 2018
I had some trepidation prior to tackling 'The Oswald File' written by fellow Brit Michael Eddowes. I did have an inkling of the authors theories and was aware of his involvement in the exhumation of Oswald's body back in the late 1970's.
I feel that Eddowes evolved his theory after reading 'The Penkovsky Papers' and pursued his agenda from there. However, I have to acknowledge that he has done many years of tenacious research and he was certainly an intelligent man with a legal background. Even though I have read hundreds of books on the JFK case, this 1977 publication has exposed me to some completely new information, some of it quite profound.
The book consists of two parts. Part I deals with Lee Harvey Oswald, the U.S. Marine, his mysterious sojourn into Soviet Russia. The mystery of Oswald's journey to Helsinki is unresolved. Here Eddowes posits that a lookalike 'Oswald' replaced the original, returned to the U.S. and assassinated the President. While reading this I made many notes to query the narrative, particularly the events in Dealey Plaza that follows the FBI report. There are assumptions not just in the assassination but also with the Tippit killing where the author ignores the known anomalies to fit his theories. I'm not keen on theories, conspiracy or otherwise! Again, how and who recruited the Marine to up sticks for Moscow is unknown, as is the role of Jack Ruby and the deposit of the replacement 'Oswald's' fingerprints into the FBI database.
To be balanced with my review, Part I did provide snippets of new and interesting facts for me. Firstly the cosmetic surgery 'Zakharova' address in 'Oswald's' notebook is strange. The book also provided new information on the fellow traveler Albert Osborne as well as detail on 'Oswald's' job application on Inwood Rd., unfortunately no proof is given that the FBI removed this application form.
I think it is a mistake to dismiss 'The Oswald File' as a lot of baloney. Eddowes clearly trawled through the Warren Commission Report and its accompanying 26 Volumes to uncover troubling and un-explained items as well as much information known to government agencies that were kept from the Commission.
It is in Part II where the disturbing facts reside. Chapters 12 & 13 covering 'Oswald's' autopsy with lack of mastoidectomy scar and height of 5'-9" along with the fingerprint cards and Latona's testimony to the W.C. do indicate that there is something rotten in the state of this investigation.
Rather than shooting the messenger and dismissing his 'Oswald File' out of hand, perhaps readers can attempt to answer some of the very disturbing questions raised.
Finally, I inherited this book from the collection of Ian Griggs, the U.K. researcher and author who is sadly now in reclining health. It is signed by the author.
I feel that Eddowes evolved his theory after reading 'The Penkovsky Papers' and pursued his agenda from there. However, I have to acknowledge that he has done many years of tenacious research and he was certainly an intelligent man with a legal background. Even though I have read hundreds of books on the JFK case, this 1977 publication has exposed me to some completely new information, some of it quite profound.
The book consists of two parts. Part I deals with Lee Harvey Oswald, the U.S. Marine, his mysterious sojourn into Soviet Russia. The mystery of Oswald's journey to Helsinki is unresolved. Here Eddowes posits that a lookalike 'Oswald' replaced the original, returned to the U.S. and assassinated the President. While reading this I made many notes to query the narrative, particularly the events in Dealey Plaza that follows the FBI report. There are assumptions not just in the assassination but also with the Tippit killing where the author ignores the known anomalies to fit his theories. I'm not keen on theories, conspiracy or otherwise! Again, how and who recruited the Marine to up sticks for Moscow is unknown, as is the role of Jack Ruby and the deposit of the replacement 'Oswald's' fingerprints into the FBI database.
To be balanced with my review, Part I did provide snippets of new and interesting facts for me. Firstly the cosmetic surgery 'Zakharova' address in 'Oswald's' notebook is strange. The book also provided new information on the fellow traveler Albert Osborne as well as detail on 'Oswald's' job application on Inwood Rd., unfortunately no proof is given that the FBI removed this application form.
I think it is a mistake to dismiss 'The Oswald File' as a lot of baloney. Eddowes clearly trawled through the Warren Commission Report and its accompanying 26 Volumes to uncover troubling and un-explained items as well as much information known to government agencies that were kept from the Commission.
It is in Part II where the disturbing facts reside. Chapters 12 & 13 covering 'Oswald's' autopsy with lack of mastoidectomy scar and height of 5'-9" along with the fingerprint cards and Latona's testimony to the W.C. do indicate that there is something rotten in the state of this investigation.
Rather than shooting the messenger and dismissing his 'Oswald File' out of hand, perhaps readers can attempt to answer some of the very disturbing questions raised.
Finally, I inherited this book from the collection of Ian Griggs, the U.K. researcher and author who is sadly now in reclining health. It is signed by the author.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 10, 2013
I recently bought a used copy of this book from Myopic Books, a used bookstore the size of a two story house. Myopic Books is located in the Wicker Park neighborhood of Chicago. Wicker Park is a 'trendy' neighborhood with many residents in their 20s and 30s.
The book was first published in 1977. The author's thesis is that, contrary to the received view, it was not Lee Harvey Oswald who came back to the US after his defection to Russia--it was a Soviet spy who looked like Oswald who entered the US and assassinated President Kennedy.
The author claims, for example, that Oswald had a scar under his left ear due to an operation, but pictures of the person apprehended as the assassin of JFK does not show a scar under the left ear.
An objection which poses a severe problem for the author's thesis is that fingerprints of the person apprehended as the assassin match the fingerprints of Oswald. So how does the author deal with this objection, which he spends an entire chapter on? The author says the KGB planted fake fingerprint records in the FBI.
That is what philosophers of science call an "ad hoc immunizing stratagem." To make an analogy, it is like when a proponent of Creationism, when asked "But what about the fossil record?", replies, "The fossil record was placed by God in order to test our faith."
After I read this book--which on its cover has blurbs from mainstream newspapers--I looked on the internet, to learn more about this book and its author. A few years after this book was published, the author got the courts to exhume the body of the assassin, and it was determined that the body was indeed, Oswald's. Well, to the author's credit, he pursued a strong test to his conjecture.
The book was first published in 1977. The author's thesis is that, contrary to the received view, it was not Lee Harvey Oswald who came back to the US after his defection to Russia--it was a Soviet spy who looked like Oswald who entered the US and assassinated President Kennedy.
The author claims, for example, that Oswald had a scar under his left ear due to an operation, but pictures of the person apprehended as the assassin of JFK does not show a scar under the left ear.
An objection which poses a severe problem for the author's thesis is that fingerprints of the person apprehended as the assassin match the fingerprints of Oswald. So how does the author deal with this objection, which he spends an entire chapter on? The author says the KGB planted fake fingerprint records in the FBI.
That is what philosophers of science call an "ad hoc immunizing stratagem." To make an analogy, it is like when a proponent of Creationism, when asked "But what about the fossil record?", replies, "The fossil record was placed by God in order to test our faith."
After I read this book--which on its cover has blurbs from mainstream newspapers--I looked on the internet, to learn more about this book and its author. A few years after this book was published, the author got the courts to exhume the body of the assassin, and it was determined that the body was indeed, Oswald's. Well, to the author's credit, he pursued a strong test to his conjecture.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews