First Hand Knowledge: How I Participated in the CIA - Mafia Murder of President Kennedy

The main complaint the people below seem to have against Morrow is his arrogance and so-called encounters with women (this is a normal trait for many in that line of work anyways). If you get past that, the book has much infomation and details of the political and intelligence perspective/views of that time. Morrow's dealings with the underworld is quite interesting, and his chapters on the Kennedy brothers is very revealing. If Morrow threw in a few "007-ish" parts to beef up the story a little, just take it in stride. But the information he shares about the D.C community and main figures of that era is quite fascinating. I definitely recommend this book if you have any interest in JFK assassination history.

This is all so interesting, but who ordered and allowed the CIA to direct the hit on JFK. The head of the CIA would have been told what and where. Hoover was up to his scrawny neck in it, so was Lyndon and Nixon. I'd like to know who ordered it. So much for big business, undermining the intelligence of the ordinary American with wheeling and dealing and determining who lives and dies. It appeared to be like a game of dominoes with consequences beyond a laymans comprehension. They have no right, as good peoples lives have been cut short because of it. Its all very well to mention Marcello, Gambino family, Roselli, Hoover and half of the CIA, but who were the so-called respectable moneyed persons pulling the strings? Thats the mystery. Otherwise great reading.

When I first read this book back in 1994, I thought it was going to be another typical, but perhaps amusing, book on who-killed-JFK. Was I wrong! After reading it, I knew our understanding of JFK and that era was much more complex and shocking than what is portrayed in the media or books. Exposes much of the Kennedy brothers' antics (not the sexual escapades of JFK & RFK -- but the political), leaving the reader numb and shaking his head....could this really have happened? Too convincing and detailed to be fiction, it is a book you can read over and over again. For those who were too young to remember, or not alive during that time, you get a feel of the political environment of the early 60's. The book gives you the understanding of why JFK was taken out of the picture (though not justifying it), and reads much better than any work of fiction. I'm not surprised that this book is now out of print....somehow, I DON'T think because it didn't sell well. It's just too dangerous to keep in print! My recommendation is, if you can get your hands on a copy, get one while you can, and stash it. You won't be sorry. NOT like the other "conspiracy" books; NOT a book of theory -- but of real-life events from someone who knew and worked among those who organized and pulled off the biggest conspiracy in this century. Also, if you want a frighteningly accurate portrait of the JFK and his brother, read this. The expose' of "Dark Side of Camelot" was only melodramatic compared to "First Hand Knowledge."

Most books on the JFK assassination focus on who did it. This confuses the real issue. It seems that anyone with a weapon, some ammunition, and a lot of cojones can shoot at a President or anyone else. Morrow's book, though flawed, contains rare passages on the much more interesting and important question of who covered up the truth and why: J. Edgar Hoover, who wanted to bury the Kennedys politically to keep his job, Lyndon Johnson, who coveted the Presidency but had dirty secrets of his own to hide, and the CIA, who in conjunction with Cuban exiles were pursuing their own war against Castro and the spread of communism in the Western Hemisphere. Morrow, a CIA contract agent, claims he was unknowingly on the periphery of the actual hit. He says he bought four Mannlicher rifles which he believed would be used in an attempt on Castro's life, but which actually wound up in the hands of a professional hit team in Dealey Plaza. His descriptions of a couple of other jobs he did for the CIA look plagiarized from Ian Fleming. Supposedly he was in Cuba's interior on the eve of the Bay of Pigs invasion, when he collected evidence of Soviet missile construction which was ignored by the Kennedys for a year and a half. He also recounts a dashing motorcycle getaway from Castro's agents during a trip to the Bahamas. The bravado of these James Bond stories looks phony and somewhat ridiculous when compared to the rest of the text. If you can ignore the baloney, this is a worthwhile read for anyone interested in the assassination. However, in discussing the coverup, this book ignores the most interesting issues of all. There is no discussion of the political climate at the height of the Cold War, 15 years into the atomic age, and the possible consequences if the CIA had not aggressively opposed Castro. Further, there is no analysis of how the Kennedy Administration managed to alienate and make enemies of so many powerful groups - seemingly everyone they dealt with. You have to go a long way to provide incentives for covering up something as incredible as the truth.