Back in the 1960's and 1970's I was a tremendous JFK assaination obsessive. I even did my college history honors project on all the different conspiracy theories. What I learned was that that the conspiracy theories changed with the times. In the 60's you had your choice of the Russians and Cubans or Jim Garrison's theory that the plot was somehow hatched in New Orleans In the 70's it became fashionable to believe that it was the CIA and/or the Mafia that was behind it. All of these different and conflicting theories have led me to believe that Oswald acted alone althugh the Warren Report raised more questions than answers. Having read numerous books about the assassination I would reccomend that the best book to start with is still Jim Bishop's The Day Kennedy was Shot.
11/22/63 by Stephen King is the only book that literally I could NOT put down. Long, but I’d wake at 2 AM to continue reading. An amazing fictionalized version of a period in time.
I would highly recommend that you read Gerald Posner’s book, “Case Closed”, which is a compellingly and well documented read, reaching the conclusion that Oswald acted alone. Great read!
I've never read but been on my list for years. After reading Mailer's "Oswald's Tale," I am convinced he acted alone. I look for stuff to challenge my point of view, but all that's out there is far-out, tin-foil hat type stuff. I'll read Posner this year. Thanks.
You've got to check out "Who Killed JFK?", the podcast by Rob Reiner and Soledad O'Brien. VERY persuasive about the existence of a conspiracy beyond Oswald.
In 1978, I had just graduated from college and took a road trip to visit a friend in Abilene. On a whim, I took a side trip to Dallas, arriving at two in the morning. The JFK assassination still echoed in my young life as I wandered through Dealey Plaza in the dark. The night was still, the air heavy with history, as I stood alone gazing up at the window of the Book Depository building. What struck me was how small and narrow the exit ramp to the highway was. How monumental the event that had unfolded here. It was overwhelming.
Thank you for sharing your story! Brings that time period and those events alive for me; I was 5 at the time. Very descriptive and can feel and sense all that you described in terms of family and neighbors etc...since I am similar age; was steeped in and part of the cultural and time frame you are writing about. I had older brothers; but my parents were not the kind to discuss the news; so the interaction and discussion about this, (besides the day of the shooting); and , well everything else worldly and political...did not exist in our house. Really amazing! We definitlely lived in a bubble. Great writing, thanks again.
As a near lifelong Dallas-ite, and having visited the 6th Floor Museum/JFK@least 20 times, I can attest that it is small&certainly won't take all day but what you see, hear, and feel may rattle around in your head forever.
Seemingly, everyone in Dallas has a cousin/aunt/uncle who knows a guy who was a security guard who swears he knows that key piece of info to solve the lasting intrigue over Who Shot JFK(?).
There are only about 2...maybe 3 museums worth visiting in Dallas and this is def one of them.
Any time we have visitors from out of town, I'm never mad at taking them. So much of history never comes alive for people. Visiting the 6the Floor allows it to, for at least one afternoon.
I went during college on a trip across the country and was blown away by our absolute lack of gun control. We then had MLK and RFK murdered by men with easy access to guns. What have we done as a nation? Nothing but actually make it easier to buy guns. In fact it is sometimes easier to buy a gun than eggs in America 🇺🇸. You would think that after killing so many important men we would do something. We didn't and that is a national shame.
In the early 80’s I was working for a developer of retirement housing. We were putting together a marketing campaign, and needed a spokesperson who was both recognizable and someone that people trusted. We ended up with Harry Morgan, who had just completed a long run as Colonel Potter on the Mash television show.
We were in Dallas to shoot a series of commercials. The process took a couple of days, with long periods of downtime. I was assigned with staying with Harry when he was not filming. Really a great guy, and he had some really interesting stories. For example, he had been in London shortly before WWII, and he and some other actors decided to attend a session of the House of Commons. Neville Chamberlain was present, having just returned from ceding a portion of Czechoslovakia, to Germany— peace in our time. A very contentious session of Parliament.
We started talking about the Kennedy assassination, and I told him I had never been to Dealey Plaza. His response: “Neither have I, let’s go”. So we took off in his limo.
I had seen a lot of pictures of Dealey Plaza, and envisioned a large open area, perhaps a couple hundred yards long. Very surprised when we got there— it was tiny! No museum yet, so we just walked around a bit as the sun was starting to set. Not quite sure how to describe it, but there was a feeling of gloom, as though the air was heavy. I could tell Harry was affected too.
40 years later, I think I am ready for another visit.
Another very informative book is “JFK, a Conspiracy of Silence “ by Charles Crenshaw MD. He was resident at Parkland Hospital when both Kennedy and Oswald were brought in. Kennedy was basically beyond help, but Oswald bled to death and could have been saved. Would have been so compelling if Oswald had a trial
I had a very similar experience to you.... standing in that window is a surreal experience. I tell everyone that goes to Dallas to go visit. It is surprising how hard it hits.
I had a conference in Dallas maybe 5 years ago and went a day early just to do what you did Chris. I was in 3rd grade the day JFK was shot, sent home early by the nuns after a brief prayer session in the church, and then got to watch Oswald killed on live tv. I too was so impressed by how SMALL the entire scene was. The fatal turn onto Dealey Plaza, the infamous grassy knoll, just standing in the street briefly on the spot JFK was shot. And the relative lack of any real security provided to JFK given the extreme hatred he experienced in TX. The museum was also very interesting and I recommend a visit to all who are interested!
I've always been very interested in this historical tragedy. I have very clear memories of where I was and what I was doing when this happened even though I was only in 2nd Grade.
“0n the Trail of the Assassins “ by Jim Garrison. Its book JFK movie based on. It seems Garrison himself may have jumped to some conclusions, but hard to read it and think Oswald was a lone gunman. . I also toured 6th floor museum then stood on grassy knoll . I got chills on knoll
Back in the 1960's and 1970's I was a tremendous JFK assaination obsessive. I even did my college history honors project on all the different conspiracy theories. What I learned was that that the conspiracy theories changed with the times. In the 60's you had your choice of the Russians and Cubans or Jim Garrison's theory that the plot was somehow hatched in New Orleans In the 70's it became fashionable to believe that it was the CIA and/or the Mafia that was behind it. All of these different and conflicting theories have led me to believe that Oswald acted alone althugh the Warren Report raised more questions than answers. Having read numerous books about the assassination I would reccomend that the best book to start with is still Jim Bishop's The Day Kennedy was Shot.
11/22/63 by Stephen King is the only book that literally I could NOT put down. Long, but I’d wake at 2 AM to continue reading. An amazing fictionalized version of a period in time.
Reading it right now, Lou! It's good, but you are right about being long. He could have moved it along, but it's still good and very immersive!
I would highly recommend that you read Gerald Posner’s book, “Case Closed”, which is a compellingly and well documented read, reaching the conclusion that Oswald acted alone. Great read!
I've never read but been on my list for years. After reading Mailer's "Oswald's Tale," I am convinced he acted alone. I look for stuff to challenge my point of view, but all that's out there is far-out, tin-foil hat type stuff. I'll read Posner this year. Thanks.
Posner has a substack, it's a good one: https://www.justthefacts.media
You've got to check out "Who Killed JFK?", the podcast by Rob Reiner and Soledad O'Brien. VERY persuasive about the existence of a conspiracy beyond Oswald.
I also very much enjoyed this and found it quite compelling.
Hi Chris,
In 1978, I had just graduated from college and took a road trip to visit a friend in Abilene. On a whim, I took a side trip to Dallas, arriving at two in the morning. The JFK assassination still echoed in my young life as I wandered through Dealey Plaza in the dark. The night was still, the air heavy with history, as I stood alone gazing up at the window of the Book Depository building. What struck me was how small and narrow the exit ramp to the highway was. How monumental the event that had unfolded here. It was overwhelming.
I was recently honored to receive a nonfiction prize from The Letter Review for a piece on the assassination told from the perspective of my 7-year-old self. If you’d like to read it, you can find it here: Mourning Bells Are Ringing - https://letterreview.com/mourning-bells-are-ringing-new-nonfiction-by-brian-demarest/.
Thank you for letting me share this short story with you.
—Brian
Thank you for sharing your story! Brings that time period and those events alive for me; I was 5 at the time. Very descriptive and can feel and sense all that you described in terms of family and neighbors etc...since I am similar age; was steeped in and part of the cultural and time frame you are writing about. I had older brothers; but my parents were not the kind to discuss the news; so the interaction and discussion about this, (besides the day of the shooting); and , well everything else worldly and political...did not exist in our house. Really amazing! We definitlely lived in a bubble. Great writing, thanks again.
As a near lifelong Dallas-ite, and having visited the 6th Floor Museum/JFK@least 20 times, I can attest that it is small&certainly won't take all day but what you see, hear, and feel may rattle around in your head forever.
Seemingly, everyone in Dallas has a cousin/aunt/uncle who knows a guy who was a security guard who swears he knows that key piece of info to solve the lasting intrigue over Who Shot JFK(?).
There are only about 2...maybe 3 museums worth visiting in Dallas and this is def one of them.
Any time we have visitors from out of town, I'm never mad at taking them. So much of history never comes alive for people. Visiting the 6the Floor allows it to, for at least one afternoon.
I went during college on a trip across the country and was blown away by our absolute lack of gun control. We then had MLK and RFK murdered by men with easy access to guns. What have we done as a nation? Nothing but actually make it easier to buy guns. In fact it is sometimes easier to buy a gun than eggs in America 🇺🇸. You would think that after killing so many important men we would do something. We didn't and that is a national shame.
Important public figures have probably never been safer. It's the rest of us ... . LOLz
In the early 80’s I was working for a developer of retirement housing. We were putting together a marketing campaign, and needed a spokesperson who was both recognizable and someone that people trusted. We ended up with Harry Morgan, who had just completed a long run as Colonel Potter on the Mash television show.
We were in Dallas to shoot a series of commercials. The process took a couple of days, with long periods of downtime. I was assigned with staying with Harry when he was not filming. Really a great guy, and he had some really interesting stories. For example, he had been in London shortly before WWII, and he and some other actors decided to attend a session of the House of Commons. Neville Chamberlain was present, having just returned from ceding a portion of Czechoslovakia, to Germany— peace in our time. A very contentious session of Parliament.
We started talking about the Kennedy assassination, and I told him I had never been to Dealey Plaza. His response: “Neither have I, let’s go”. So we took off in his limo.
I had seen a lot of pictures of Dealey Plaza, and envisioned a large open area, perhaps a couple hundred yards long. Very surprised when we got there— it was tiny! No museum yet, so we just walked around a bit as the sun was starting to set. Not quite sure how to describe it, but there was a feeling of gloom, as though the air was heavy. I could tell Harry was affected too.
40 years later, I think I am ready for another visit.
Another very informative book is “JFK, a Conspiracy of Silence “ by Charles Crenshaw MD. He was resident at Parkland Hospital when both Kennedy and Oswald were brought in. Kennedy was basically beyond help, but Oswald bled to death and could have been saved. Would have been so compelling if Oswald had a trial
11/22/63 is not only a great book but the miniseries is highly entertaining. Stephen King can write!
I had a very similar experience to you.... standing in that window is a surreal experience. I tell everyone that goes to Dallas to go visit. It is surprising how hard it hits.
The Walter Cronkite minute by minute coverage of the assassination. His final comment, “ He’s Gone” or something close to that.
I had a conference in Dallas maybe 5 years ago and went a day early just to do what you did Chris. I was in 3rd grade the day JFK was shot, sent home early by the nuns after a brief prayer session in the church, and then got to watch Oswald killed on live tv. I too was so impressed by how SMALL the entire scene was. The fatal turn onto Dealey Plaza, the infamous grassy knoll, just standing in the street briefly on the spot JFK was shot. And the relative lack of any real security provided to JFK given the extreme hatred he experienced in TX. The museum was also very interesting and I recommend a visit to all who are interested!
No conspiracy? Read Douglass's JFK and the Unspeakable.
I've always been very interested in this historical tragedy. I have very clear memories of where I was and what I was doing when this happened even though I was only in 2nd Grade.
“0n the Trail of the Assassins “ by Jim Garrison. Its book JFK movie based on. It seems Garrison himself may have jumped to some conclusions, but hard to read it and think Oswald was a lone gunman. . I also toured 6th floor museum then stood on grassy knoll . I got chills on knoll