This work is a witty exploration of the eerie similarities between the assassinations of presidents Abraham Lincoln and John Kennedy that have fascinated both casual and serious history buffs for more than half a century. From the compilation of these mysterious coincidences to the campfire story of a curse cast upon the American presidency, this account is filled with captivating anecdotes that are often hard to believe. Balancing historical research with a sprinkle of whimsy, this book is the most substantial investigation of a nearly folkloric American topic. Pulling back the curtain of history, it sheds light on what makes these coincidences so intriguing and enduring.
*Includes dozens of pictures of Lincoln, Kennedy, and other important people, places, and events. *Explains how Booth's plot against Lincoln evolved and the political circumstances that compelled Kennedy to make his fateful trip to Dallas. *Covers the aftermath of both assassinations, including the manhunt for Booth and the investigations of the Kennedy assassination. *Discusses the conspiracy theories surrounding the Kennedy assassination and the similarities and differences between Kennedy, Lincoln and their assassinations. In the annals of American history, few moments have been so thoroughly seared into the nation's conscience that Americans can remember exactly where and when they heard about an earth-shattering event. In the 19th century, there was the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, and in the 20th century there was Pearl Harbor and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Until April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth was one of the most famous actors of his time, and President Abraham Lincoln had even watched him perform. But his most significant performance at a theater did not take place on the stage. That night, Booth became one of history's most infamous assassins when he assassinated President Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. Although Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia had surrendered days earlier, Booth believed the war was not yet over because Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston's army was still fighting the Union Army, so he and his group of conspirators plotted to kill Lincoln and other top officials in a bid to decapitate the federal government and help the South. Perhaps not surprisingly, the actor's flair for the dramatic came at a cost to the plot. It took almost no time for the shocked public and the federal government to begin unraveling Booth's conspiracy, which had mostly faltered from the beginning. Following the shooting, America's most famous manhunt commenced, which itself became the stuff of legends. November 22, 1963 started as a typical Friday, and many Americans were unaware that President Kennedy was even heading to Dallas, Texas. John and Jackie arrived in Dallas in the morning, with Texas Governor John Connally alongside them and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson due to arrive later to meet them there. As the First Couple rode with the Connallys in an open motorcade en route to a speech Kennedy would deliver later. As they waved to the people lining the streets, around 12:30 p.m. Central Standard Time, Governor Connally's wife turned around to the first couple and said, "Mr. President, you can't say Dallas doesn't love you." Moments later, the most controversial assassination in American history took place as a series of shots were fired at the motorcade. The indelible images provided by the Zapruder film of Kennedy being hit in the throat and head, followed by Jackie crawling over the backseat toward the trunk are now instantly recognizable. Within minutes, the news of the shooting began to spread from Dallas across the nation, and everyone's worst fears were confirmed when the President was declared dead about half an hour after the shooting. In the wake of the shooting, Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested, proclaimed his innocence, and was then murdered himself by Jack Ruby two days later. The day after that, the President was given a state funeral and procession. The unbelievable chain of events that took place in those 72 hours understandably left the nation shell-shocked. Killing The President chronicles the two most shocking assassinations in American history, the chaos that ensued in the immediate aftermath, and their similarities and differences. Along with dozens of pictures, you will learn about the assassinations of Lincoln and Kennedy like you never have before.
This work is a witty exploration of the eerie similarities between the assassinations of presidents Abraham Lincoln and John Kennedy that have fascinated both casual and serious history buffs for more than half a century. From the compilation of these mysterious coincidences to the campfire story of a curse cast upon the American presidency, this account is filled with captivating anecdotes that are often hard to believe. Balancing historical research with a sprinkle of whimsy, this book is the most substantial investigation of a nearly folkloric American topic. Pulling back the curtain of history, it sheds light on what makes these coincidences so intriguing and enduring.
On a sunny day in Dallas, Texas, at the end of a campaign trip, President John Fitzgerald Kennedy is assassinated by an angry, lonely drifter named Lee Harvey Oswald. The former Marine Corps sharpshooter escapes briefly, but is hunted down, captured, and then shot dead while in police custody. Kennedy's Last Days is a gripping account of the events leading up to the most notorious crime of the twentieth century. Author Bill O'Reilly vividly describes the Kennedy family's life in the public eye, the crises facing the president around the world and at home, the nation's growing fascination with their vigorous, youthful president, and finally, the shocking events leading up to his demise. Adapted from Bill O'Reilly's best-selling historical thriller Killing Kennedy, with an unforgettable cast of characters, page-turning action, and art on every spread, Kennedy's Last Days is history that reads like a thriller. This exciting book will captivate adults and young readers alike.
President Abraham Lincoln grew up in a one-room log cabin. President John F. Kennedy was raised in the lap of luxury. One was a Republican and one a Democrat. They lived and served a hundred years apart. Yet they had a number of things in common. Some were coincidental: having seven letters in their last names. Some were monumental: Lincoln's support for the abolitionist movement and Kennedy's support for the civil rights movement. They both lost a son while in office. And, of course, both were assassinated. In this illuminating book, Gene Barretta offers an insightful portrait of two of our country's most famous presidents.
Best-selling, Oxford-educated investigative author Joseph P. Farrell takes on the Kennedy assassination and the involvement of Lyndon Baines Johnson and the Texas "machine” that he controlled. Farrell says that a coalescence of interests in the military industrial complex, the CIA, and Lyndon Baines Johnson's powerful and corrupt political machine in Texas led to the events culminating in the assassination of JFK. Without the help of the Dallas police chief and others of the Texas underworld, including Jack Ruby, the Kennedy assassination could not have taken place. Farrell analyzes the data as only he can, and comes to some astonishing conclusions. Chapters include: Oswald, the FBI, and the CIA: Hoover's Concern of a Second Oswald; Oswald and the Anti-Castro Cubans; The Mafia; Hoover, Johnson, and the Mob; The FBI, the Secret Service, Hoover, and Johnson; The CIA and "Murder Incorporated”; Ruby's Bizarre Behavior; The French Connection and Permindex; Big Oil; The Military; Disturbing Datasets, Doppelgängers, Duplicates and Discrepancies; Two Caskets, Two (or was that Three?) Ambulances, One Body: The Case of David S. Lifton; Two (or is that Three?) Faces of Oswald; Too Many (or Was That Too Few?) Bullets; Too Many Films, with Too Many, or Too Few, Frames; The Dead Witnesses: Jack Zangretti, Maurice Brooks Gatlin, John Garret "Gary” Underhill, Guy F. Bannister, Jr., Mary Pinchot Meyer, Rose Cheramie, Dorothy Mae Killgallen, Congressman Hale Boggs; The Alchemy of the Assassination: Ritual Magic and Murder, Masonic Symbolism, and the Darkest Players in the Death of JFK; LBJ and the Planning of the Texas Trip; LBJ: A Study in Character, Connections, and Cabals; LBJ and the Aftermath: Accessory After the Fact; The Requirements of Coups D'État; more.
Reads like a pacey, page-turning, cold war political thriller." Dermot O'Leary This is the story of JFK's assassination as told from the frontline: it is about the people - from the highest to the lowest - who were caught up in that four-day whirlwind in November 1963. From Dallas nightclub reporter Tony Zoppi, who found himself carrying the president's casket; Secret Service agent Clint Hill beating his hands in despair on the trunk of the limousine as he watches Kennedy die; Howard Brennan, a construction worker on a lunch break watching a man take aim on the motorcade with a rifle; reporter Hugh Aynesworth with only an electricity bill on which to write notes for the scoop of his career; DJ John Peel a few feet from Oswald as he's questioned by the press; to Robert Kennedy sitting in the dark in the back of an empty army truck, waiting for his brother's body to arrive. The Assassination of JFK: Minute by Minute is pure chronological narrative, giving a blow by blow account of the terrible events as they unfolded. "Packed with vivid detail, and arranged in the minute by minute style that Jonathan Mayo has pioneered, this account of the murder of John F Kennedy gripped me from the first page to the last." Jeremy Vine
