Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy

There should be absolutely no doubt in your mind who assassinated John F Kennedy by the halfway point of this book.

Bugliosi's book on the JFK assassination is one of a very few *sane* books on the subject. And it is absolutely masterful. So many of these books start out by repeating mistakes and outright lies from other books; VB checked each fact carefully before he presented it as a fact. It's literally true, that _Reclaiming History_ is the only book you need to read, to know everything worth knowing about the JFK killing. It's not just good reading, it's an excellent reference to check other books against. *Highly recommended.* --ken

Bugliosi combines 4 Days in November with reviews of evidence and the life of Oswald, and Conclusions of the Warren Commission to prove that the Kennedy Assisination was the work of one man. As you read it, though, you wonder, at least about possible Soviet involvement since he was in contact with the Soviets in Mexico just weeks before the assassination. Could he have been an Manchurian Candidate? My only question. Like a trial Lawyer he starts off with his premise that he will prove that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone and then he proceeds to attempt to peel back the evidence a little at a time. This books is really quite a read. Frankly, I have been caught up in reading the many different perspectives of the authors of the conspiracy books over the years and when he asks how many of them and how many of us and others who believe there may have been a cover up had ever read the Warren Commission Report. Apparently, none had or rarely have. I have one of the more famous of the books about the consiracy, frankly it is rather unreadable to me, a jumble of information that from the start leads nowhere. There are others that are very compelling, but if Bugliosi is correct, that the Warren Report, much maligned, has never been read, well, what can I say, I need the full picture, so, I will read on. This has been his lifes work after leaving the world of prosecution. One area that remains though is he mentions that no one has ever come out to say it was a conspiracy among the conspirators. However, if you believe the Alex Jones website that E. Howard Hunt had a 'deathbed confession' before he died and also that a pupported mistress of LBJ had information regarding the VP at the time. Interesting as these may be, neither of those two apparent revelations ever made a ripple in the conspiracy world. Bugliosi has a way to get to the heart of the matter. Not always agreeing with him, he definately writes to your heart as well. You would think that if he is willing to take on the current president he would be willing to think the 'Military Industrial Complex' would be a target of his. No matter what the real conclusion, this book will challenge all of us to think about the cold blooded murder of a president that many of us looked at for hope. I still think about, looking back, at how much our nation changed after this day in history. We became a much sadder folk, and went a little inward with despair, almost imploding in Vietnam. May the truth prevail some day.

I was 9 years old when Olver Stone's JFK was released - and that film and subsequent studies about Kennedy in school piqued my interest into the entire assassination. In 1993, after seeing a documentary on CBS or NBC, made for the 30-year anniversary of the tragedy, I REALLY got interested - at at age 11, started scouring the public library, devouring as many books on the assassination that I could. Although my personal research is paltry compared to the real buffs (on either side of the conspiracy debate), and my own interest in the case has waned over the years (puberty and whatnot), JFK has remained a subject of interest, and I have read dozens and dozens of books, seen countless documentaries and read the Warren Commission's report (though not all 40 volumes - just the 900 page paperback). Because of the film JFK, and the fact that the vast majority of the books written on the subject are pro-conspiracy, my young mind was shaped into that way of thinking. Although never a hardcore conspiracy believer, I certainly believed in not only government cover-up, but found the idea of a second gunman very, very probable. In the last four years or so, that has significantly changed -- seeing the 3-D recreation of the Zapruder film in 2003 or 2004 completely obliterated my previous thoughts, thoughts I had held for more than a decade (which at the time amounted to half of my life). Any waning questions I had about a cover-up or broader conspiracy were pretty firmly squelched after reading Vincent Bugliosi's fantastic, fantastic book. While certainly ambitious (you could say overly so) and audacious with its goal - to undo 40 years of misinformation - the book largely succeeds. I say largely, because even though I give this book 5-stars (no question, to me, it is worth it) - the sheer breadth of the book and the concentrated nature of the information does not make this the easiest read for someone who comes to the subject with little interest or advanced knowledge. For those individuals, I highly recommend the unabridged audible download of the book, read wonderfully by Edward Herrmann -- I listened to it while on a long road trip with some friends, after reading the book, and it was engrossing and engaging in a way the written word can sometimes be overwhelming. Issues of the denseness of the text aside, the book is just fantastic - Bugliosi does a unbelievable job laying out the events and then critiquing the aftermath, the theories, the criticisms and the public response. I have read more about those 4 Days in November than most people my age, but I was so captivated by Bugliosi's description and breakdown, it was almost like hearing the story for the first time. "Story" is an interesting word choice, because really, that is what the Kennedy saga has become: a story; a fable. More than just a historical event, the mythical nature of that presidency and especially it tragic end has become so much larger than life, it is easy for even rationale think

Vincent Bugliosi's "Reclaiming History" is an excellent book, and well worth the long read. It is a good overview of all of the events of November 22, 1963, here in Dallas, and a good overview of many of the problems with the Warren Commission and other theories. However, the reader should keep in mind that Mr. Bugliosi is a Prosecutor, and not a researcher or investigator. His tendency is to build a case to prosecute the defendant, and explain away, or debunk any information that counters his case. Unfortunately, like a Prosecutor, this includes discrediting any witness that puts forth any information that points elsewhere. Vincent often addresses the background of the witness, instead of answering or explaining the information the witness presents. Vincent spends the first half of the book rehashing the 1986 trial of Oswald, where he was the Prosecutor against Gerry Spence. He uses 53 points of evidence to prove that Oswald was guilty of shooting the President from behind. He then goes on to review the many problems with the evidence, but bases the evaluation of these problems on the premise that he has already proven Oswald guilty. Since he has already proven Oswald guilty, the problems can be disregarded. Mr Buliosi does admit (page 18 of the Introduction) that almost all of the evidence in the case has some "problem" with it. He says that each problem can be explained, in itself; however, he never states when the sheer number of problems reaches the point where it becomes doubt. It is not surprising that Vince takes this tact, as he has always been a Prosecutor. It is not the Prosecutor's job to look for the "truth", as that should have been done by the Investigators. It is also not his job to evaluate legitimate problems that create doubt, as that would be the function of the Defense Attorney. It is the Prosecutor's job to present a case that would convict the defendant, and to explain away, or discredit witnesses, that present other evidence. Mr Bugliosi also lumps all of us who have any doubts about the Warren Commission into the group of "Conspiracy Buffs", and states that we are all "kookier than a 3 dollar bill". He thusly tries to discredit any legitimate concerns and questions we may have, by using the most extreme examples. He further uses the explanation that the public has heard that there was a Conspiracy for so long, that they simply now believe it. He also uses the old concept that "a great man needs to be killed by a great evil", and that is why many believe that a Lone Nut could not do it. He never addresses (or even admits) to those of us who wish we could believe that Lee Harvey Oswald was a lone shooter, but are still troubled with the mass of points that point elsewhere, or to other shooters. Again, the book is a good read (quantity and quality), but the reader should be aware of the bias of the writer to Prosecute a case rather than look for truth. Jerry Dealey - Dallas historian, Dealey Plaza namesake famil

I have NOT read "Reclaiming History" in its entirety. There. Now I can be accused of a inproper review or something. But I HAVE spent the last 3 days combing through this 1600+ page tome on the Kennedy assassination, and it is by far the most complete and thorough account of that terrible day ever committed to print. Back at the turn of the century (meaning 2000, it's just cool to say it that way), I was working at a public library, and this book (back then it was called "Final Verdict") was the number ONE requested item. However, it kept getting delayed, over and over, until it was finally taken off the records for requests in mid 2004. Well, now we know why it took so long to come out. Spanning 20 years of work and research, this massive book could easily be mistaken for yet another rambling, kooky conspiracy theory-filled diatribe. Yet, it isn't. In the afterward to the paperback version of "Helter Skelter", Bugliosi made it known for the first time that he was writing a book on the Kennedy assassination, and that he believed that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. That afterword was written in 1995, and many true crime fans were waiting, with bated breath, for 12 years for this one. In between, Bugliosi wrote "Outrage: The Five reasons why O.J. Simpson got Away with Murder", which I think was, at the time, his best work, only because it cast such a different perspective on that wretched case. This book, however, is his masterpiece. Bugliosi not only spends the 1600 pages effictively making the case for Oswald's guilt, he debunks virtually every single conspiracy theory that has popped up in the last 44 years, such as "Badge Man", "Gordon Arnold", "The Men Who Killed Kennedy", Oliver Stone's "JFK", and my personal favorite, Dr. Charles Crenshaw, who made the rounds on "Hard Copy" and "A Current Affair" in the mid 90's over his book, "JFK: Conspiracy of Silence", where he, a Parkland Hospital doctor who WAS in the E.R. trying to save JFK's life, SWORE that the President was shot from the FRONT, contrary to other doctors on the scene that day. The famous "Single/Magic Bullet Theory" is proved to have been POSSIBLE, and perhaps even FACT, depending on what you believe. You can toss that whole Oliver Stone "Bullet stopping in mid-air, zigzagging" theory out the window. See the DVD of "The Kennedy Assassination: Beyond Conspiracy" for a computer rendering of how it really happened. Much time is devoted to Oswald, his defection to Russia, his Pro-Castro views, and, most importantly, how he could have caused ALL of the damage to Kennedy and John Connolly that day. Much time is also devoted to Jack Ruby, and all the theories that made him a mafia hitman, designed to take out Oswald before he could talk. Almost all of this has been covered in other JFK Assassination books before, but never in a more thorough and effective manner. I'm already seeing idiots posting "reviews" here, consisting merely of rambling conspiracy arguements. "