Kennedy and Lincoln: Medical and Ballistic Comparisons of Their Assassinations

"Kennedy And Lincoln: Medical And Ballistic Comparisons Of Their Assassinations", published in 1980, is an impressive hardcover volume written by Dr. John K. Lattimer. This book, which spans 398 total pages, is one that I would highly recommend to anyone who is interested in researching the JFK case. Though Dr. Lattimer has a habit of repeating himself in the text of this volume (sometimes providing triple or even quadruple redundancy when discussing many of the points brought up in the book), his writing style and paragraphing technique are very reader-friendly and easy on the eyes, with bold-face topic headers used frequently to isolate the various sections of evidence he is discussing. For the first 120 pages of the book, Lattimer focuses his attention on the April 14, 1865, assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, as well as providing interesting details concerning the other two portions of the intricate conspiracy plot that assassin John Wilkes Booth had devised for the elimination of two additional Government officials on that Good Friday back in 1865 -- which were the planned assassinations of Vice President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State William Seward.* * = The planned attack on Johnson, however, was aborted entirely; while Seward survived his terrifying ordeal after being savagely and repeatedly stabbed by would-be assassin Lewis Payne. There are many fascinating tidbits of information about the Lincoln assassination conspiracy in this volume that I previously had never known, including practically a blow-by-blow description of Payne's attack on Seward and a fairly-detailed section in the book centering on the manhunt and eventual killing of John Wilkes Booth in Garrett's Barn twelve days after Booth had shot and killed President Lincoln. And, too, there's a section in the book that mentions the irresistible similarities and coincidences between Lincoln's and Kennedy's deaths. Such as: 1.) Both victims were shot in the back of the head. 2.) The wife of each victim was sitting right beside her husband when the attacks occurred, with each First Lady holding the head of her husband just after the fatal blow. 3.) Both Lincoln and Kennedy were shot on a Friday. 4.) Each victim's Vice President was named "Johnson". 5.) Both Lincoln and Kennedy liked rocking chairs (Lincoln was fatally shot while sitting in such a chair). 6.) Both Presidential assassins (Booth and Oswald) were each confronted by an officer named "Baker" while in flight from their crimes. 7.) Lincoln's and JFK's killers both were shot by a single bullet before either man could stand trial, and each lived for approximately two hours after being gunned down (and both Booth and Oswald were shot by "Colt revolvers" as well). ------------------------ The final two-thirds of "Kennedy And Lincoln" deals exclusively with the JFK assassination, which occurred almost exactly 100 years after Lincoln's murder (98.5 years to be exact). Over the course of many years,

Scholarly, authoritative and compelling - and at the same time an easy read. This book is one of the best resources on the Kennedy assassination available. Never mind the comparisons between Lincoln and JFK though indeed interesting. The Kennedy section is the greater part of the book and is a valuable source of information to the researcher. It seems a shame that this book is often ignored by researchers, perhaps because at first glance it does not appear to be a true "who shot JFK" book. Indeed it is and quite simply one of the best. An excellent contribution to the body of work on this subject and one of the very few actually written by a genuine, professionally trained and experienced individual in the field in which they specialize. The medical and ballistics evidence is presented clearly and is not overcomplicated by tedious over analysis. The book is highly convincing in showing that beyond a reasonable doubt, all the shots were fired from above and behind. A simple example - why was the exit wound in Kennedy's neck so small - because it was really a wound of entry ? No, because the collar and tie held the skin in place to create a small exit wound. Try finding that in any of the other 200 plus books on the subject.

I bought this book when it was first published, but like many "buffs," I didn't seriously read it because I didn't have any interest in a lone gunman viewpoint. Unlike most self-styled experts, Lattimer actually knows what he is talking about (as both a ballistics expert and a former combat surgeon). But what makes this work most valuable is that Lattimer used actual scientific evidence to back his opinions. For example, he actually shoots skulls and animal carcasses with a Carcano to reproduce the wounds and movements of JFK during the shooting. Go to your local medical school library and look up the peer-reviewed medical journal articles written by Lattimer on this subject if you want an objective scientific view.

This book is a good book for those of you out there who want to learn more about the Kennedy and Lincoln Assassinations and what interesting things made them similar. ENJOY!