Day Kennedy Was Shot

"THE DAY KENNEDY WAS SHOT" was written by Jim Bishop and provides some fascinating insights into the last day of President John F. Kennedy's life. My copy of Mr. Bishop's ultra-detailed book is a 1983 hardcover edition, 713 pages in length. The book is divided into four major sections, chronicling the events of November 22, 1963, in practically minute-by-minute fashion (beginning at 7:00 AM CST). The four sections are labelled: "The Morning Hours", "The Afternoon Hours", "The Evening Hours", and "The Midnight Hours". Many bits and pieces of little-known trivia concerning JFK's last day can be accessed through this compelling volume. Such as: Mr. Kennedy's last breakfast consisted of the following fare .... Two eggs (boiled for precisely five minutes), toast (with marmalade on the side), orange juice, and a large pot of coffee. Throughout the book, Mr. Bishop supports the Single-Bullet Theory (SBT) and advocates the idea that Lee Harvey Oswald was the lone assassin on November 22nd, which is a point-of-view that I agree with wholeheartedly. There are, however, a few portions of the book that I disagree with and fail to understand (especially from a "Lone Assassin" standpoint). Such as: I find Mr. Bishop's account of the first (missed) rifle shot somewhat curious, given what we can see JFK doing after this shot via the Zapruder Film. Bishop has the first shot missing the car's occupants, striking the concrete of Elm Street to the right rear of the Presidential limousine; this bullet causes "dust" and "concrete chips" to fly up off the street (noticed by at least one witness in Dealey Plaza -- Mrs. Donald S. Baker). Bishop's book claims (on Page 172) that Mrs. Baker "saw the spray and pulled back". Mrs. Baker's Warren Commission testimony does confirm this. However, this first missed shot, according to Bishop's book, is also what causes President Kennedy to stop waving as the President (supposedly) actually FEELS (per Bishop's text) the effects of this missed shot, being peppered (similar to bystander James Tague on this very SAME shot) in the face with debris. This "peppering" in the face causes JFK to raise his arms up to his face in an automatic protective motion. Mr. Bishop does not "line up", or correspond, his version of events with the Zapruder film frames (which is unfortunate here), so we can only guess as to exactly WHEN on the Z-Film this first (missed) shot occurs via Bishop's narrative. But this version by Mr. Bishop (although very close to what I believe occurred) is probably incorrect in a few respects. One of which is the fact that (on the Z-Film) we can easily see that the President continues to wave after such a "Jim Bishop first shot which peppered JFK in the face" had to have occurred. JFK is still waving and smiling to the crowd on his right as late as Z188 (or so), which is just two seconds away from what is the "SBT Frame" (Z224) -- obviously not enough time for Oswald to shoot twice with his Mannlicher-Carcano rifle

Over the past 40 years, no event in American history has been so scrutinized or conjectured about than the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Millions of words have been written about that tragic day in Dallas: Some point the finger of blame solely at Lee Harvey Oswald, while others weave a confusing web of conspiracy theories that accuse the Mafia, French criminals, Fidel Castro, anti-Castro Cuban exiles and/or militarists in the government who wanted to expand America's role in Vietnam.One of the best books on the Kennedy assassination is the late Jim Bishop's gripping The Day Kennedy Was Shot, a detailed hour-by-hour account of the events of November 22, 1963, starting with the President's 7:00 AM wake-up at Fort Worth's Hotel Texas and ends 20 hours later in Washington, DC. Bishop follows all the major players -- JFK, Jackie, Lyndon B. Johnson, Oswald, Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby -- and eyewitnesses -- Helen Ganss, an elderly Ft. Worth widow who had been allowed to stay at the Hotel Texas even when the other guests were moved out by the Secret Service; Linnie Mae Randall, an Irving, Texas housewife who, while washing the dishes in her kitchen, she "saw Lee Harvey Oswald, bare head down, coming up Fifth Street with a long package in his hand. He held the fat part under his arm; the tapered end was pointing at the sidewalk. The rain didn't seem to bother him. He walked steadily, up Fifth, across the corner lot, toward Mrs. Randall's garage. She kept watching him, a dark, pretty woman with shoulder-length black hair. By rote, she set the dishes upright in the drain."John F. Kennedy had less than six hours left to live, of course, but while turning the pages of Bishop's 1968 book one feels the tension building up with each seemingly mundane detail (such as Mrs. Randall's dishes). The reader knows that once the President's party leaves the Hotel Texas for Carswell Air Force Base to board Air Force One for that short hop to Love Field, his fate is sealed. Bishop, working from various sources despite Mrs. Kennedy's attempts to block publication of his book, describes every minute detail of those tragic 20 hours -- from the rainy weather over Texas to the bloodstained pink dress that Jackie Kennedy wore throughout that horrible day -- in crisp and clear prose.

Since Nov. 1963 thousands of books have been written about the events of the 22nd. Forty years later it's interesting to look back.In preparation for a trip to Dallas, I read THE DAY KENNEDY WAS SHOT. As the owner of many, many books on JFK and the assassination and a real Kennedy buff, I had a lot to chose from. In fact, I had started Manchester's NOVEMBER 1963.If you want a real feel for the time period and the chaos of that terrible day in Dallas, I would recommend Bishop. For those of us who loved John Kennedy, it's refreshing to read about JFK with out the comments about his womanizing. You see him as a loving family man with a totally devoted staff. In some respects I probably learned more details that I wanted to know. If you want to read about the autopsy and the embalming and all the minor details of the day, this should be your pick. YOu find that lots of people are shown to clay feet, especially Jackie.Even if you are a conspiracy buff, it's interesting to see the roots of some of the theories that emerged over the next 40 years. For instance, I found the comments about the relationship between Jackie and Bobbie interesting because some years ago someone alleged that they had an affair after JFK's death. The descriptions of the blacks in the tale are interesting. Comments are made like "a Negro man..." But this was 1963. I did however think that Bishop glorified JFK's civil rights record.If you want to feel "The Way We Were" in 1963 and the real personal tradegy of the day read this book. JFK lost his life, but a nation lost its innocence. His staff and cabinet lost a friend and cause. It's excellent background for anyone interested in JFK and his tragic death.

Jim Bishop is an outstanding writer and his format using hours of the day (i.e., 7:00 am, 8:00 am, etc.) took you to where everyone was at that time--Lee, JFK, the FBI Agent responsibile for Oswald, Jackie, the football, Ruby, etc,. His research was in-depth and made you never question its validity. I lived in Dallas when this event took place, but was too young to know what was happening. Jim Bishop took back to Dallas on that day and gave me more than I ever expected to receive from the book. This book will make you feel like a history buff. His excellent writing ability led me to purchase another of his books--"The Day Lincoln was Shot"--This one is "Ditto".