Customer Reviews:
Superb - A pictorial history of the removal of our 35th, and last real Pres........2006-07-13
The shadow Gov't basically rules now. That's
why we have the 90-I.Q. idiot that we have @
1600 Pennsylvania Ave.! A great book that all
Amer-I-cans should have!
"Death Project" is the best.......2006-05-21
What impressed me the most were the many mysterious deaths relating to the Coup. I formed a strong opinion of the Coup at that time but did not continue to think about it very much. It was not until some 25 years later with the help of the internet and some disposable income that I was able to get ahold of enough material to sort out the disinformation and false flags and get the true , however hard to swallow , picture of the crime.
Now that I know it was a classic Coup d' etat with the Secret Service stopping protection that day, I hope the truth will finally stopped being surpressed by the mainstream media.
Why does it still matter? It matters because our Government continues to lie and insult our intelligence regarding this Coup d' etat. And the powers that took out our President, installed themselves in power as a result of this Coup are still very much there.
A Conspiracy,no doubt;but who and why ?.......2006-01-03
Anybody who has been following the Assassination of JFK will find this an excellent resource.I have read or watched everything I've come across since that fateful day in Dallas.I still remember the newsreels I watched for several days from the actual killing ,the live shooting of Oswald by Ruby in front of many millions of viewers ,the funeral and all that came in the way of investigations , books ,articles ,TV specials and movies.
This is by far the best coverage of the evidence by photos that I have ever seen all collected in one book.A lot of the things shown in the book will be familiar;but here we get the most detail on every aspect of things that have been questioned
and even in cases manipulated.I have to admit that I felt that some of the conclusions and detail 'seen' were a stretch;but I don't have the benefit of the extreme expertise that the investigators,scientists and detectives use to deduce evidence and meaning.
I was not so aware of the prepondence of evidence and argument that exists to show why it was a conspiracy,and can in no way be dismissed as the act of a lone killer.For about 20 years the occurrence of a conspiracy might have been in doubt;but no longer.
I have had this book on the shelf for quite a long time but didn't think there was a lot of new stuff here.I just thought it had excellent detail.I finally decided to read it and was very impressed .Then I read a lot of the reviews and was very surprised to find recent reviews on a book published back in 1993.
A recent review by Vince Palamara on December,2005;really got my attention.A check of his other reviews produced a storehouse of reviews on JFK and other conspiracies;and is a resource in itself.One review of his on "Ultimate Sacrifice" by Lamar Waldron was particularly interesting,and the reviews on that book are a real eye opener.I had not heard of this new book and from the flood on recent reviews makes it look like the whole issue is about to blow open again.I am anxiously looking forward to reading it.
Now that it appears that the arguments about a conspiracy may be behind us; the focus is going to be who and why.Not only JFK,but what about conspiracy in RFK,Martin Luthur King and what about many others connected.I have never believed that we have heard the end of the Marilyn Monroe story yet.
Anyone interested in the JFK Assassination should get this book.
BEST single volume on the photographic evidence..........2005-12-23
...for the actual photographs. Richard Trask's "Pictures Of The Pain" is perhaps more scholarly, but this volume is great for the graphics. Get it!!!!
Vince Palamara-JFK/ Secret Service expert (History Channel, author of two books, in over 30 other author's books, etc.)
Pittsburgh, PA
BEST JFK ASSASSINATION BOOK: ULTIMATE SACRIFICE
BEST JFK SECRET SERVICE BOOK: SURVIVOR'S GUILT BY YOURS TRULY :)
Get This Volume For The Photos, Not The "Theories".......2005-11-17
Robert J. Groden's "The Killing Of A President" is a very good resource book for many of the photographs connected with the events surrounding the 1963 assassination of President John Kennedy.
The softcover version of "TKOAP" that I own, published in 1994, consists of 223 pages and is printed on very high-quality (thick) paper stock. The book measures approximately 9-1/4" (W) x 10-7/8" (H), and has a nice "collectible" feel to it.
This volume is just crammed full of high-quality photographs and still-frames from motion-picture sequences that were taken on November 22, 1963 (the day of JFK's murder). Some of the pictures depicted here are large-sized and take up entire pages, with a few filling out full two-page spreads.
Several of JFK's autopsy photos are published within this volume, as well, and are rather graphic and gruesome in nature (especially if you've never had the chance to view them before via other means). So, be forewarned before you turn to Pages 72 through 85.
The book's text and photo captions are all "pro-CT" in nature (i.e.: pushing the idea that a vast, multi-shooter conspiracy existed to assassinate President Kennedy in Dallas' Dealey Plaza).
It's a nicely-styled publication, IMO. But the book's 'style' certainly doesn't mean Mr. Groden has proven that any type of "conspiracy" existed on 11-22-63. I do not think he has; and I also don't think that more than one man (Lee Harvey Oswald) was aiming a weapon at JFK that day in Dallas. The overwhelming evidence in the case (on the whole) tells me that one lone killer was involved in ending the President's life that sunny Friday afternoon.
I'm forced to chuckle when reading in this book of Mr. Groden's "8-Shot" shooting scenario that he believes took place on 11/22. (He even suggests that there might have been up to TEN shots fired at the President's limousine, despite the fact that ONLY THREE of these many shots were heard by the large majority of the witnesses at the scene.)
Mr. Groden obviously realizes that in any such 8-to-10-shot scenario, a total of up to SEVEN of the bullets had to somehow disappear from view before they could enter any kind of 'official' record in the case (because Oswald, the resident "Patsy" in the JFK killing, per CT accounts, could only have fired three shots from his rifle in the allotted timeframe during the shooting).
And we must also keep in mind -- per Mr. Groden's theory (in which he has Texas Governor John B. Connally hit TWICE, not just once) -- that FIVE total bullets, including the JFK head-shot missile, MUST "disappear" completely from the record AFTER having gone into TWO different victims' bodies (JFK & Connally). And this includes the 'disappearance' of TWO bullets that struck a man who LIVED through the shooting (Connally). Talk about "Magic Bullets"! Mr. Groden apparently has not just ONE, but FIVE such miracle (vanishing) missiles. Quite remarkable indeed.
How in the world could ANY "plotters" possibly EXPECT a crazy multi-shot plan like this to succeed? It's completely nutty to think that anyone wanting to "frame" Lee Oswald would be WILLING to shoot that many times at the ONE intended target and from multiple angles and locations.
Another thing to ask yourself (if you believe in this notion of 8 or 10 shots actually being fired at JFK) -- Just what kind of CRAPPY shooters were being employed to rub out the Chief Executive on November 22nd? Mr. Groden is purporting that up to HALF the shots that were fired (5 out of 10 in the ludicrously-high TEN-SHOT theory being proposed) not only missed their intended target (which was obviously JFK), but all these various shots missed the ENTIRE AUTOMOBILE! Some great riflemen, huh?
Want another good belly-laugh? Keep reading......
Good Gosh! Would you look at this! .... Up to TEN shots and (per Groden) NOT ONE OF THEM being fired from Oswald's "Sniper's Nest" in the Texas School Book Depository Building?! (He hints that ONE, and only ONE, of these many shots COULD have come from the "Oswald window", but he feels that even THAT shot "probably" came from elsewhere -- the Dal-Tex Building on Houston Street.)
You'd THINK that, given an 8- or 10-shot shooting scenario, that Mr. G. might have a few more of the shots emanating from the ONLY POSITIVELY KNOWN SOURCE OF GUNFIRE -- the southeastern-most window on the 6th Floor of the Depository, from where Oswald HIMSELF was positively identified as firing a rifle at the motorcade!
Evidently, Mr. Groden must think that this rifle-toting "Oswald Look-alike" in the SE corner window on the 6th Floor of the Depository was only PRETENDING to fire his rifle at President Kennedy, in order to further implicate "Patsy Oswald". I guess it didn't matter to any of the conspirators that NONE of the wounds on the victims would 'line up' properly if the 'plotters' don't have some bullets coming from that Oswald window -- but that (apparently) didn't concern the architects of this doomed-to-fail-from-the-start "Frame-The-Patsy" conspiracy plot.
And then there's also the testimony of Harold Norman to consider when evaluating the overall validity of any of Mr. Groden's claims. Norman worked in the Book Depository Building and was situated on the 5th Floor, directly underneath the 'Oswald window' at the time of the shooting. Norman actually HEARD the working of the rifle's 'bolt' above him, and HEARD three cartridge cases hitting the floor right above him. Given such detailed testimony from someone within the Book Depository itself (including his preciseness re. hearing "THREE" hulls/shells dropping to the floor and exactly "THREE" shots being fired), how can Mr. Groden possibly purport a theory which includes ZERO shots or just ONE shot coming from the Oswald location?
Mr. Groden also postulates in this book, as I previously mentioned, his belief that Governor Connally was hit by two separate bullets, the last of these (which Groden says caused the wrist injury to Connally) supposedly occurring six-tenths of a second AFTER the fatal head shot to JFK.
This "2-shot" theory to 'JBC' is totally unsupported by the evidence and the filmed (Zapruder) record -- not to mention the fact that NEITHER of these bullets, per this theory, is ever found by Parkland Hospital personnel. The ONE bullet discovered at Parkland, according to conspiracists, was "planted" by someone (Bullet CE399). Connally's doctor (Dr. Shaw), however, said on 11/22 that ALL of Connally's wounds were probably caused by "one bullet" (not two).
And then there's the "Zapruder Film", which (IMO) verifies that Connally's wrist was struck by a bullet WELL prior to the JFK head shot. This "verification", IMO, occurs on the Z-Film in the form of a very rapid movement of Connally's right arm just a few Z-Frames after what I consider to be the one and only shot to John Connally's body -- that being the "Single-Bullet Theory" missile, which occurs at Z223-Z224 on the Zapruder home movie. The extremely fast UP then DOWN movement of JBC's right arm confirms, in my mind, the fact that his wrist has been hit by something at that precise moment. It's obviously an involuntary arm movement.
I also get particular amusement when I read anything pertaining to the so-called "Umbrella Man" in connection with the Kennedy murder. The "Umbrella Man" was a bystander in Dealey Plaza who held an open umbrella above his head as JFK's car passed by him on Elm Street. Some "CTers" seem to feel that this man fired a "poisoned dart" or some other type of projectile into the throat of JFK, thereby paralyzing the President just prior to the fatal head shot.
While Mr. Groden doesn't come right out in this book and say he believes such a cockeyed theory, he does give "The Umbrella Man" a nice two-page layout in "TKOAP" (pages 188-189), and hints at the possibility that this man waving his rain-shielding device was MORE than just a man carrying an umbrella.
Re. "Umbrella Man" -- Can you just hear the 'plotters', on 11-21-63, planning the details of the assassination which would be occurring the following day? I can. It would have made for a very amusing powwow. Here's what such a PRE-Assassination conversation amongst the conspirators mapping out the shooting just might have sounded like........
>>> "Let's see, Marty -- you're our "Umbrella" dude, and you shoot first -- right out in plain sight on Elm Street where many dozens of people will probably be filming you and therefore will have you on movies and still pics (but don't worry, the post-assassination "Cover-Up Team" can explain away those pics as "fakes" like everything else we're about to do tomorrow).
"OK, so, Marty, you've checked out that 'Umbrella Dart' thing-a-ma-bob, right? It's working OK? It wouldn't do to have a "misfired" poisoned dart, because you might then hit the "DCM" ("Dark-Complected Man"), who's gonna be standing next to you and wave to JFK as a "final sign" to him of who it is that's about to kill him, remember.
"OK, so Marty's got the Umbrella thing down cold. He'll fire the WARNING shot into Kennedy's neck so that he'll be paralyzed for a shot that comes many seconds later. There's no real need, of course, for this dart-shot; in fact it's pretty stupid if ya ask me -- but them's my orders from 'upstairs' guys, so we gotta live with it.
"OK, so then Francisco in the Dal-Tex is to fire next, after the Umbrella shot; but Francisco's second shot into JFK's back is ALSO a low-powered shot, like the Umbrella shot. Only'll go into the back about two inches. Remember, guys, we don't want to kill him yet! Not after just a mere two shots! We want him to have TWO "Warning" shots, so that Kennedy and his many Secret Service agents will have ample time to GET WISE to what is about to happen, and he'll have time to duck away from our "Kill" shot. After all, fair is fair, right?
"Plus, we also want this "Patsy" plot of ours to be so overly-complicated and impossible to pull off in order to make as much work as possible for our "Cover-up" operatives who'll be taking over the conspiracy case tomorrow at 12:31 PM -- like having to fake AS MUCH EVIDENCE AS WE CAN POSSIBLY DREAM UP. We want these guys to have to dig out of JFK's body AS MANY USELESS, NEEDLESS BULLETS AS POSSIBLE in order to earn their keep tomorrow!
"We COULD just use Billy Bob here (who kinda looks like Oswald) as the lone shooter from the Sniper's-Nest window -- but -- Nah! Let's go whole hog and clog the works with as many futile and needless shots as possible to give the cover-up crew a good workout tomorrow! OK? OK! Let's do it!"
<
<<
Place obligatory "ROFL" icon here ----> :-)
-------------------
To summarize ..... "The Killing Of A President" is definitely a 'Must-Have' publication for any JFK assassination buff or researcher (CTers and LNers alike) -- but ONLY for the large photographic record of the tragic assassination that is documented within these 223 pages. If all of this pro-CT text that's printed here could be eradicated, it'd be an even far better volume, IMHO.
My Amazon Review "Breakdown" for this item ----
For the photographs depicted: 5 Stars.
For the text/captions: 0 Stars (I just simply can't embrace ANY of these conspiracy notions).
Overall rating: 2.5 Stars.
Book Description
The Mystique of Conspiracy delves into the mystery surrounding the JFK assassination. It focuses mainly on anti-Castro Cuban exiles and their relationship with the CIA, but it also offers an excellent framework to gauge the "plausibility" of any conspiracy theory. Unique to this work is the offer included at the back of the book to involve the reader in an online exchange with the author. The author, an online Professor of criminal justice at the University of Phoenix, will guide the reader/student into formulating his or her own credible approach to solving the nagging mystery behind the JFK assassination (or any conspiracy theory they are interested in). Also compelling is the Foreword and personal letters included in the Appendix written to the author in 1978 by David Atlee Phillips, former CIA Western Hemisphere Division Chief. Mr. Phillips passed away in 1988, but many have tried to link him directly to a CIA plot to assassinate JFK utilizing anti-Castro Cuban exiles. A new name in the annals of the JFK assassination is CIA covert operative George Joannides. Mr. Joannides passed away in 1999, but his role in directing a group of anti-Castro Cuban exiles who had contact with the assassin in New Orleans several months before the assassination has never been made public up until now. As recent as 2005 the CIA went to court and blocked the release of any documents on George Joannides. David Atlee Phillips was Mr. Joannides' supervisor in the CIA. This book will be of interest to anyone interested in the "mystique" surrounding conspiracy theories, whether it is JFK, RFK, MLK, Princess Diana, 9/11 or Russian defector Alexander Litvinenko, killed in London by radioactive polonium 210. There is a common thread that runs through them all. The author will reveal what that is.
Customer Reviews:
Worth reading.......2007-08-02
Actually this essentially "no conspiracy" book is rather good in that the author especially given his background, shares useful insights into the minds of the intelligence agencies and indicates how unlikely it would have been that Oswald was part of a plot. The author is open minded enough to accept possible conspiracy. A rare level headed book on a subject that invariable gets clouded by myth, blurred fact and fiction and heated passionate but frequently ill informed debate.
interesting.......2007-02-21
As the leading civilian authority on the U.S. Secret Service (and President Kennedy's interaction with the agency), I was much interested in this book by Brian Bugge; his pedigree speaks for itself. If you are at all interested in the anti-Castro Cuban connection to the case, as well as the CIA's responsibilities in this area, you will not go wrong in purchasing this work. Vince Palamara
Customer Reviews:
Today America has become the nightmare (Arnold Toynbee).......2007-08-25
Prouty's autobiography is very revealing indeed.
Of course, it contains controversial items (Would JFK have stopped the Vietnam War?). But, it is the general picture that counts, and here, the author is prophetic.
Prouty presents his world view as follows: `The world is ruled by a power elite. The basic motivations are always the same. Money lays at the root ... the enormous amount spent on military matériel.'
This elite wields its power partly and most importantly through invisible intelligence agencies. `The power of any agency allowed to operate in secrecy is boundless'.
Nationally, JFK would probably be reelected in 1964, also via carefully directed investments, which should have influenced favorably the voting in heavily contested states. This reelection for another 4 years was very hard to swallow for a part of the power elite. JFK had promised to cut the defense budget and destroy one of its power bases (`split an intelligence agency into a thousand pieces and scatter it to the winds.')
JFK's masterfully planned assassination was a coup d'état, not less than a total takeover of the US government. The cover-up of the assassination, which is still going on, shows the immense power of the culprits. They controlled the Warner Commission and could (can) force, until today, the media and Congress to pay lip service to them. Congress was never capable to launch an adequate investigation into the murder.
Internationally, `the world's power elite benefited splendidly from the staggering sums involved in the Vietnam War.' The author's moving evocation of the fate of a pastoral Vietnamese village shows that `people's lives are valueless when they get in the way of elitist interests.' (Mark Curtis)
The powerful show absolutely no respect for national sovereignty (e.g., Vietnam, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Afghanistan, Panama, Iraq, the Philippines, even Grenada), which is the principle on which `the family of nations exists, with its property rights and the rights of man.'
At the end, Prouty is even prophetic: `the power elite utilizes all manner of plots to achieve their ambitious goal. That gamesmanship is called `Terrorism'.
This book is a must read for all those wanting to understand the world we live in.
Simply Great!.......2006-09-02
In this volume, Colonel Fletcher Prouty captures both the secret history of the United States from 1945 to 1975 and the reasons behind the plot to kill President Kennedy. Herein, the courageous Colonel illustrates quite clearly that the clandestine history and the assassination plot were intrinsically linked.
From the important information in this book, we learn that the war in Vietnam actually began on September 2, 1945, when Ho Chi Minh was established as the new leader of Vietnam by our OSS, the predecessor of the CIA, and the US Army. The United States was thoughtful enough to provide all the weapons, ammunition, and supplies necessary for Ho and Giap to pursue their war against the French, which culminated in the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu. Following that defeat, the CIA arranged for the transfer of 1.1 million "refugees" from the North of Vietnam to the South. These folks caused such disruption in the fragile agricultural economy of the South that their arrival ultimately drove the orginal residents to banditry in order that they might survive. These displaced bandits became what was later known as the Viet Cong. Hence, the CIA created the conditions necessary for a full scale war in Vietnam.
On coming to office, Kennedy, a brilliant and studious man, came soon to understand the perfidy of the CIA. One of first his acts on realizing this was to fire CIA director Allen Dulles. Soon thereafter, he issued one the most important, and unknown, documents of US history, NSAM 263. Issued in October of 1963, this document called for 1,000 US military personnel to come home from Vietnam by that Christmas. The remainder were to be out of Vietnam by the end of 1965. Had John Kennedy lived, what Americans know as the war in Vietnam would never have happened.
Prouty demonstrates herein that the powers that be ultimately made the decision that they could not allow Kennedy to live. He makes it clear that assassination researches who make a career of examining the details of the government's false cover story truly miss the point. What matters is not how the President was killed, but why. And the answer to that question is that the assassination was a coup d'etat, transferring control of the government of the United States to a power elite, which has been in control ever since. Hence, we have the strange silence of every succeeding President on the issue of the cover up of the Kennedy assassination.
The book is well written and extraordinarily important. He would understand our nation and how it came to be in the condition that now obtains would be well advised to read carefully this terribly important book. God bless.
America has Waited a Long Time to Hear the Truth..........2005-09-22
Finally, those involved are getting old enough not to place concern about their own welfare above truth anymore.
This book provides so many connections, such a depth of behind the scenes knowledge and inner workings of the specific programs operating at the time, you can't help but be bowled over.
***Note: Anyone interested in the Kennedy Assassination should realize that there is a "misinformation plant" in the Library Journal review department. Every honest book on the subject has been unconvincingly discredited by them, while they praise and try to steer you towards known flake CIA-financed writers such as Gerald Posner.
It's rather common to hear of wrongdoing by the CIA. I saw a graph recently that showed American citizen's belief in their government plummetting after the Kennedy Assassination. Almost no one accepted the Warren Commission Report and such a cover up has casted doubt on our government ever since.
This "High Cabal" as Churchill called them obviously doesn't start with the CIA, or the Federal Reserve. It predates Christianity, but it's quite simple. There are bums who seek handouts and never try to rise, and there are bums who gain a position over others but still yearn for that same handout, taking it by force, by skimming, whatever is neccessary to defeat justice, honor and civility. These are not great men and they will not be remembered like an Edison or a Ford. They are the most creative parasites on the planet, and the most deeply engrained.
Currency control has changed EIGHT times since America's inception. The most vocal fighter against irrational banking was Andrew Jackson; not Kennedy or Lincoln (google "Jackson Bank Veto"). He fought and defeated in his time what has morphed into the Federal Reserve Bank. Before the Civil War, such bankers were buying politicians, planting press stories, steering elections, stealing freedoms, killing people--anything to assure a fascist cushion between themselves and existence.
Do we ever hear anything bad about the Federal Reserve? In Jackson's time, they were entrenched 16 years deep and it was difficult to rout them out then. They did try to kill him. Now they are ninety years deep. They have owned many Presidents, they control the Justice and State Departments, and the CIA secretly furthers their agenda.
Nothing happens at the Assassination Level without their approval. In today's world, America is struggling in recession (bankruptcy) mostly due to the $360 Billion we now pay to the Fed for their generous "Debt-Money" System, and that is an exponentially increasing burden. EVERY dollar in our country has interest being paid on it as if it were borrowed! Due to this, bankruptcy for America is a mathematical certainty. (Imagine if you had to pay interest not just on every dollar you owed, but on every dollar you made! America IS!)
With changes in the laws, soon none of us will be permitted to walk away from our debts and start over--as if our hard economic times is our own personal fault.
We are all about to become debt slaves, as they intend. If you want to have a chance at recovery, if you want your kids to have a chance at a decent future, join me and I'll give you the Moral Armor neccessary to beat down these parasites and restore America to what it was meant to be. They CAN be defeated, but not without YOUR empowerment. If you can't stand up or are afraid to, I'll show you how. Invest in yourself right now and let's save this ship!
Enthralling.......2005-07-27
If you are looking for a book for a by name list of "who done it" or who was shooting from what building, on what knoll, from what curb side drain, then this is not your book.
If you are looking for "why was it done," which is a far more important question; then this IS your book. This book takes you back to the end of WWII and then up through 1963 and a bit beyond. It is more a history book of what was truly happening behind the scenes with the CIA and the Military Industrial Complex in that time period, as it pertains to Indochina, and the Korean Peninsula. From the view and stand point of someone that was on the inside, and took part to a certain degree in such operations there and elsewhere. It speaks of what Winston Churchill called "The High Cabal" and how these elite group of people simply run the world to better suite themselves and those around them, using the CIA as their tool.
You'll learn in this book possible reason behind the Korean Conflict, the war in Vietnam, the Bay of Pigs fiasco and so on. You'll learn of the ultra secret side of the CIA and its origins, and how and why Kennedy meant to dismantle it, which was probably the catalyst for his ultimate demise.
(...)
Excellent book.
Completely Ludicrus.......2005-03-29
Contrary to popular belief today, Kennedy was a cold warrior. There is no evidence at all that he was (in his second term, if he even got one) going to end the cold war, or pull out of Vietnam. Michael Lind in his book 'Vietnam: The Necessary War' addresses this issue, and points out that the record clearly shows otherwise. Several of the people who claim that Kennedy told them he was going to pull out of Vietnam revealed this information in the late 60's after the war had become traumatic for the country. Robert McNamara (one of the original architects of the Vietnam War), who has speculated for years that Kennedy would have withdrawn from Vietnam, admits that Kennedy never told him he was going to pull out. In an interview with Walter Cronkite a few months before he was assassinated Kennedy said (about Vietnam): "I think it would be a mistake to withdraw." Oliver Stone (cleverly), only shows bits and pieces of the interview at the beginning of JFK. Editing the interview to make it look like Kennedy was going to withdraw. In fact, the day he was assassinated Kennedy gave a speech endorsing our involvement in Vietnam. The claim that Kennedy was going to pull out of Vietnam is speculation at best. Go to : http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/stjohn.htm
This post details many of the myths surrounding JFK's policy stances, and shows that (by today's standards) Kennedy (most likely) would have been a moderate Republican. There was no motive (as Prouty claims) to kill Kennedy.
Also go to: http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/prouty.htm
For some more of Prouty's crackpot opinions.
Kennedy was a cold warrior: he was conspicuously absent (as a representative from Massachusetts) when the House of Representatives voted to censure Joseph McCarthy (he even praised McCarthy on several occasions). He ran against Nixon in 1960 on the missile gap (i.e. we were behind the Soviets in the number of ICBM's). He said in his inaugural address: "......Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of liberty." Doesn't sound to me like he was going to "bug out" of Vietnam.
Also, check out: http://www.jfk-online.com/jfk100vietnam.html
This further debunks the idea that JFK was going to withdraw from Vietnam.
Average customer rating:
- Interesting story, but reads like a tabloid.
- Overwrought and a bit pretentious
- Book Report by Brent Simon - JFK, Nixon, Stone
- JFK, Nixon, Oliver Stone and Me: An Idealist's Journey from
- Book Review from the Hollywood Reporter 12/24/02
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JFK, Nixon, Oliver Stone and Me: An Idealist's Journey from Capitol Hill to Hollywood Hell
Eric Hamburg
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Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years
ASIN: 1586480294
Release Date: 2002-09-17 |
Book Description
A revealing insider's look at one of Hollywood's most prominent, private, and notoriously difficult directors; at the way the film business works; and at the Washington/Hollywood connection. JFK, Nixon, Oliver Stone and Me is the funny, thoughtful memoir of an accomplished former Congressional staffer who left D.C. for Hollywood and a job with Oliver Stone, hoping to help make politically engaged films and a difference, and found himself instead in a wildly dysfunctional universe ruled by greed, paranoia, narcissism, competition, alcohol and drugs. After finishing law school, Eric Hamburg became an unusually effective young staffer on Capitol Hill-convincing his boss, Rep. Lee Hamilton of Indiana, to submit a bill that would release the House's closely held files on the John F. Kennedy assassination investigation, one of Hamburg's own pet obsessions. This led to his meeting Oliver Stone and soon-much to his own surprise-Hamburg found swimming amongst the sneakiest of Hollywood sharks. Hamburg describes his fascinating experiences working on the films Nixon and Any Given Sunday while navigating the arcane politics of Stone's studio, Ixtlan. Pursuing film projects (and Kennedy assassination leads), he also muses on the ways and means of the movie biz; on the strange symbiotic Washington/Hollywood relationship; on the meaning of success and the price of power. His story is a contemporary Mr. Smith Goes to Hollywood, told by a narrator of wit, intelligence, and a singular set of experiences.
Customer Reviews:
Interesting story, but reads like a tabloid........2005-12-27
I bought this book at an inventory clearance, which proved an accurate guide to my expectations. It is the story of a lawyer working as a congressional aide who parlayed his interest in the JFK assassination to become a production assistant to Oliver Stone. The title refers to films of the latter, not JFK and Nixon themselves.
The idea of an intelligent, idealistic outsider learning firsthand about the machinations of Hollywood is certainly intriguing, and this is what the subtitle suggests the theme will be. However, this theme becomes subverted to two parallel, personal agendas of the author: 1. a forum for his own speculations about the "truth" regarding the JFK assassination and Watergate, and 2. a catharsis for the estrangement he suffered from Stone in the wake of their collaboration. Towards the end, it reads like an open letter to Stone, pleading for his rehabilitation from a self-destructive lifestyle. For those who like conspiracy theories and juicy gossip about celebrities, this will be a bonus. Personally, I was hoping to learn more about the process by which Oliver Stone gets his movies made, and less about the shortcomings of the man without whom, I think it is fair to say, there would be no market for this book.
At one point, Hamburg writes that he came to Hollywood to "learn how to make political films, not do business deals." Perhaps this was meant to be ironic, since after finishing reading his story, it appears to me that film-making is all about business deals. In fact, it would have been interesting to learn how Oliver Stone arranges the funding to realize his creative vision (and hedonistic lifestyle). Here, there are only a few dismissive comments about seedy-sounding "money men".
One of the useful aspects of this book is its overview of contemporary published opinion on the JFK assassination and Watergate. A bibliography listing the works mentioned throughout the text would have been helpful.
Overwrought and a bit pretentious.......2005-11-30
Hamburg obviously writes for a different genre, allegedly screenwriting. And while ascribing himself much credit, his prose falls largely flat. Many of the sentences read on a basic level, a recitation of his accomplishments, marginal people he met, and esoteric details that are painful to dig through. For the Stone fan, an interesting read, for the average person, it has its moments. But its material, and its potential, is so much greater than what Hamburg delivers. For all the material possible, the book delivers flat. It's not worth the money and not really worth the time. It often reads as Hamburg's diary entries, with most chapters being a scant three or four pages, rather than a real story about great opportunities and fascinating characters. Hamburg is also a constant name-dropper, for almost no discernable reason. It seemed as though Hamburg's insights were immature, overwrought, and full of snide commentary and self promotion. It's no coincidence that his career centers on the two parts of the country that hype both: Hollywood and Washington.
Book Report by Brent Simon - JFK, Nixon, Stone.......2003-05-22
JFK, Nixon, Oliver Stone & Me
Eric Hamburg
Public Affairs
reviewed by Brent Simon
A deliciously, amazingly illuminating account of Tinseltown excess, Eric Hamburgýs JFK, Nixon, Oliver Stone & Me recounts an idealistýs journey from Capitol Hill to Hollywood hell. A terrifically entertaining read disguised with a memoirýs overcoat, Hamburgýs book details his occupational pilgrimage from legislative assistant under influential House of Representatives member Lee Hamilton to his position at director Stoneýs Ixtlan Films, where he handled legal and business affairs while also initiating the ideas that would in time come to take shape as the films Nixon and Any Given Sunday.
Itýs a very personal book, and draws almost exclusively from the authorýs remembrances and journal entries of the time covered. This means first there is some overlap, both thematically and in detail; Hamburg sometimes repeats himself even closely within the text in a manner unacceptable for top-shelf reportage. He even blatantly misidentifies Reese Witherspoon as Brooke Shields at point. Still, these occasional faux pas (was the book even edited?) do not blunt the tomeýs power or change its bottom line.
For those interested in the ins and outs of high-end cinematic wheeling and dealing, Hamburgýs book is chock full of tasty firsthand details about Oliver Stoneýs peccadilloes and a myriad of ever-rotating but always kooky projects he pursued in bits and pieces. Of the latter, most intriguing were planned biopics on J. Edgar Hoover and Manuel Noreiga (Al Pacino graciously refused $10 million from a pay-or-play deal when it fell apart), plus movies on Afghanistan, Stoneýs obsessive hatred of columnist Maureen Dowd (known in various iterations as Media and Power) and even a possible sequel to JFK, which was the project Stone was working on when Hamburg first met him. The details of the directorýs disastrous personal life are even more vivid and revelatory: Stoneýs ceaseless drug abuse, irrational flare-ups, legendary cheapness, interpersonal abrasiveness and possible shaping youthful sexual encounter(s) with his motherý yikes!
Most unnerving, though, are Hamburgýs stories of his dealings and interactions with Danny Halsted, a former Disney exec who wormed his way into Stoneýs production company and whom Hamburg refers to here almost exclusively as "Danny the Weasel." To recount the many jaw-dropping instances of Halstedýs idiocy, conniving, theft and general disreputable behavior would take too much space here, but suffice to say that it both represents and confirms all the worst youýve ever heard or suspected about Hollywood suits masquerading as creative executives. This isnýt a horror novel, but at times JFK, Nixon, Oliver Stone & Me ranks right up there with the most unsettling of Stephen Kingýs works.
JFK, Nixon, Oliver Stone and Me: An Idealist's Journey from.......2003-05-20
This book was lousy fluff. The author is a testament to Washington/Hollywood self-absorption, and is very comfortable blaming the USA (and its' alleged CIA/Cuba connections) for all the world's wrongs. Meanwhile, the author is completely star-struck in the company of the totalitarian murderer, Fidel Castro. Go figure.
Book Review from the Hollywood Reporter 12/24/02.......2003-03-08
JFK, Nixon, Oliver Stone Dec. 24, 2002 By Michael Farkash Eric Hamburg Public Affairs,464 pages As the song goes, "Paranoia strikes deep." That's one of the central experiences of a savvy political aide and speechwriter who went to work for writer-director-producer Oliver Stone. Eric Hamburg's "JFK, Nixon, Oliver Stone & Me: An Idealist's Journey From Capitol Hill to Hollywood Hell" is a sharp, well-written book that tunes into some familiar territory, notably the bad, mad geography of film production politics and the decades-old mysteries surrounding the death of John F. Kennedy and the Cuban connection. The book is very accessible, very readable and filled with admiration for professionals like Anthony Hopkins and mixed, mostly angry assessments of Stone and the people surrounding the filmmaker. The dark byways of the film biz should have been no surprise for the bright, politically astute Hamburg, who worked for years on Capitol Hill -- but then, hearing about the nasty, difficult parts of the film production process and living them are two quite different things. Serving as a producer and development executive at Stone's production company, Ixtlan, the author originated and won co-producing credits on the films "Nixon" and "Any Given Sunday." He explores the paranoid, vain, greedy, sometimes drug-fueled aspects of Stone's world of film development, where solid ground can often give way to a quicksand of uncertainty. Using his Washington connections, Stone's name and persistence, Hamburg was able to get key figures from the JFK and Nixon years to meet with him and Stone and persuade them to contribute stories and background to Stone's films. He also shares with us his research trips to places like Cuba and a brief meeting with Fidel Castro. But Hamburg became quickly disenchanted with what he calls the "Oliver Zone" -- suspicions, dark rages, drug use and a habit of playing staff people against one another. It's like royal court intrigue. Writes Hamburg: "Oliver was moody and unpredictable, often irrational and absolutely insane when it came to money. This was a very dangerous subject with him. "However, Hamburg received some good advice -- those three little words that mean everything in negotiations: "Hire a lawyer." In case the reader wonders if film development is a habit-forming occupation -- Hamburg continues working as a producer and writer in Los Angeles.
Book Description
This absorbing book tells, for the first time in its entirety, the story of the arrest and trial of Clay Shaw, charged with conspiracy in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The trial and the events leading up to it were headline news internationally for almost three years in the late 1960s. Those who dismissed the Warren Report as government cover-up now saw the conspiracy that they had always suspected slowly being unraveled before their eyes.
Customer Reviews:
The Truth Has Never Been "Out There".......2007-04-07
My 15-year-old nephew Michael shall be writing all future reviews, just for future reference...
"False Witness" is a landmark moment of JFK-related journalism, a clear reminder of how media manipulation occurs all too often. My only problem with the book is that author Pat Lambert is a conspiracy buff and does not try to discredit any of the theories, because I am an ardent believer in the official version of the assassination and love reading Gerald Posner's "Case Closed" and Gus Russo's "Live By the Sword". Even with that flaw, I believe Lambert does an admirable job in skewering Jim Garrison and Oliver Stone and exposing them for the frauds they are.
Reading "False Witness" has convinced me of two things: That Jim Garrison was simply a publicity-hungry, abusive, deranged and megalomanical man wanting his "15 minutes of fame" as well as a sexual deviant and a pedophile; and Oliver Stone, while definitely a very artistic director, twisted and grossly distorted the truth about Garrison and the assassination in order to target and shock those teenagers that would adore Marilyn Manson in the near future.
There should more books like this, books that show us that Lee Harvey Oswald in his unstable frame of mind was still capable of shooting JFK on his own and that searching for an "X-Files"-like conspiracy to explain things is an exercise in futility. We all know the truth, but most of us choose not to accept it.
avoid this anti-Garrison debacle from Patricia Lambert BILLINGS.......2006-01-16
While I am not a huge fan of Jim Garrison or his case, he is to be commended for the focus he gave to Ferrie, Banister, Oswald, New Orleans, the Z film, and, ultimately, the "JFK" movie/ his own books/ the JFK Act/ the ARRB. In fact, James DiEugenio, William Davy, and Joan Mellen have written quality books defending his side of things.
Back in the mid-1970's, Patricia Lambert, then known as Patricia BILLINGS (ANY RELATION TO RICHARD BILLINGS OF HSCA FAME???), she was an assisitant to David Lifton on "Best Evidence" *and* wrote two (technically, three) heavy-hitting articles on the Secret Service's failures in Dallas (which I duly acknowledge in my work on the Secret Service). Shades of Dan Moldea and a few others, she has know changed her stripes.
What else can I say? AVOID.
vince palamara
Absolutely dreadful book........2005-03-14
I have little to add other than what has already been said. Patricia Lambert operates in an utterly bizarre world in which liars (such as Clay "I would never have a gun in my house" Shaw, who perjured himself in a court of law when he denied any connections to the CIA), lovers of young boys (David Ferrie), and assassination conspirators (both of them), are whitewashed, and, in Shaw's case, described as "almost saintly." On the other hand, a decent man such as Jim Garrison (who is nonetheless probably not deserving of beatification), who worked his hardest to make the American public aware of the truth, is villified and slandered because his stance is not a popular one with the political and media establishments.
If you'd like the real story, try to get ahold of Bill Davy's excellent book Let Justice be Done. The Assassinations, which is edited by Jim DiEugenio and Lisa Pease, is an excellent resource on the assassinations of the 60's and has some very fine content on the Garrison Investigation. Also, be on the lookout for Professor Joan Mellen's upcoming biography of Jim Garrison, A Farewell to Justice, which, if possible, will make this book even more irrelevant than it already is.
Lambert Misleads the Public.......2005-01-02
This book may as well be thrown into my garbage can. I have studied Jim Garrison for years now, and Ms. Lambert's work has been the worst I have seen yet. I believe that she has been reading alot of the nonsense that was published in between 1967-1969 by such reporters as James Phelan, Rosemary James, along with James Kirkwood.
The material that she uses has been misquoted, misconstrued, and overall, alot of the things printed is just fiction. Patricia, I think you would have been better off writing about Monica Lewinski, and the sexual ordeals of Larry Flint. Your book is distorted, and a fabrication from start to finish.
Utter garbage.......2004-08-27
I can't believe anyone is still trying to put out the lies that NBC and their b.s. "whitepaper" did against Jim Garrison. Garrison was and is a hero, he's the only one who brought a prosecution in the murder of the president of the United States. Shaw was CIA, it was admitted after his death, under oath, by Richard Helms. Victor Marchetti, executive secretary for the CIA director, said in 1975 that the CIA was actively giving assitance to Shaw and his lawyers, and had a big hand in the NBC hatchett job on Garrison. Shaw knew Oswald, and Ferrie, was photographed with both and was in Clinton with both. No one was drugged, a witness voluntarily was given sodium pentathol, there was no "bribes", but there were attempts to set up Garrison to discredit him. Lambert is an out and out liar, and this book is garbage. I'd rate it a 0 but that option isn't offered.
Book Description
Oliver Twist is a desperate orphan. A gang of thieves takes him in and teaches him to steal, but then he is caught. What will become of poor Oliver Twist? Kids can find out in this easy-to-read chapter book adaptation of the Dickens classic.
Download Description
An adaptation of Dickens's story of the orphan forced to practice thievery and live a life of crime in nineteenth-century London.
Customer Reviews:
Still a Masterpiece.......2007-07-28
I bought the Penguin Classic version and recommend that purchase highly. This is among Dickens's best and almost on par with other great novels such as Anna Karenina, Pride and Prejudice, Madame Bovary, etc. In short, it is a masterpiece that brings together all of Dickens's writing skills with a great story. It has some literary flaws, and I would rate it slightly behind David Copperfield but it remains one of the most original and interesting of Dickens's novels.
As background information, I am in the process of reading most of Dickens's 22 novels and longer short stories, and set up a Listmania list. I bought the Penguin Classics version of the novel. As a suggestion, avoid the Penguin Popular Classics with the plain green covers (I bought two). They fall apart and do not stand up to a read, especially books over 500 pages in length. The Regular Penguin Classics with the photo or painting on the front are excellent and some have maps and illustrations (drawings). The Wordsworth Classics are not as good, and some are illustrated.
Charles Dickens, who lived from 1812 to 1870, is the best know male English writer of the 19th century. He authored 22 novels plus numerous short pieces. Most of his writing was first written in serialized form, later published as single novels.
A young Dickens at the age of 12 had the unenviable job of attaching labels 10 hours a day at the Warren's boot blacking factory. That experience shaped much of his writing career. Still in his teens he became a law clerk, then later in his twenties a journalist. The last job as a reporter led to the serialized writing of his novels. His works were social commentaries with larger than life characters, or colorful caricatures, living in the slums of London. He was a critic of poverty, social injustice, and the slow moving court system.
All of Dickens's experiences come together in his novels. The Pickwick Papers is mostly humorous, but Oliver twist is a dark novel set in the crime plagued streets of early 19th century London. There are very few nice characters here. Mostly, they seem very unfriendly, and most a lot worse: criminals, and abusing social workers. The pull between the good and the bad or negative, is personified by the difference of opinion between Oliver's benefactor, Mr. Brownlow, and the criminal Fagin. As is generally well known, the tale contains a cast of very odd characters with even odder names, such as The Artful Dodger, Fagin, and magistrate Fang. The only flaw in the story is that there are too many coincidences; otherwise it is a stunning tale and an innovative book.
Having read many of Dickens's novels I still rate David Copperfield as best as a work of literature and rate Oliver Twist as close behind and a must read. The book was read by Queen Victoria and Karl Marx, and both enjoyed the read. The novel had a far reaching social impact. It is hard to fathom that this is one of Dickens's first novels and written in his mid-twenties.
Suffer The Child.......2007-06-23
Does anyone enjoy "Oliver Twist" nearly so much when things are going well for the novel's young protagonist as when they are going badly? Do you notice how quickly you scan the pages when names like "Mr. Brownlow" "Rose" and "Mr. Losberne" are in the text, only slowing down when it's "Fagin" "Sikes" and "Mr. Bumble"?
Cruelty can be a positive quality when writing fiction. Dickens' torture test for his young hero saves the book from mawkish excess and, along with an uncompromising social conscience, gives it readability and drive.
Oliver Twist is a miserable orphan, his birth a mistake and his life a matter of no consequence to anyone but himself. Yet time and again, a guiding hand of mysterious providence suggests something of deeper importance connected to the business of his life. This is so even when he finds himself in the London underworld, under the guileful care of the master thief Fagin, who bestows praise upon Oliver's eager ears while coaching him down a criminal path where only a scaffold awaits.
A bit overlong, yes. "It is a tale told of grief and trial, and sorrow, young man, and such tales usually are; if it were one of unmixed joy and happiness, it would be very brief."
Though it is ironic how that formula works in reverse in "Oliver Twist", one understands what Mr. Brownlow means by that statement. The narrative of "Oliver Twist" covers a lot of ground, and presents a strong case for the reasonless cruelty of life even as it argues for humanistic compassion. If there is any release from life's savagery, it may only be found in death or dreams.
In his introduction to my Signet Classic edition, Edward Le Comte notes the "fairy tale" quality of "Oliver Twist" as a license for its sentimentality. That may be a hard sell for the casual reader. People come out of nowhere to sacrifice themselves on Oliver's behalf for vague reasons, often involving freakish coincidences. One fair maiden languishes under a life-threatening condition that can only be described as "acute Victorianism". Oliver himself soon becomes a helpless bystander in his own story, albeit one with perfect manners and diction despite his dirt-poor upbringing. Reading through this only works as a window to Dickens' time.
But the novel excels in the negative, in its conception of bad guys such as the homicidal Sikes, the engaging Artful Dodger, and especially smooth Fagin, the real center of menace in the story despite Sikes' bluster. You feel the soot and desperation of these people's sad lives in every bitter page.
With Fagin, Dickens plays with his audience's anti-Semitism mercilessly, always calling him "the Jew" and making Fagin's motives around Oliver obscure early on to recall the insidious "blood libel" of the time that supposed Jews guilty of slaughtering innocents.
Was Dickens anti-Semitic? No. He did write an anti-Semitic book, albeit not by design. It's hard to imagine Dickens' audience in 1838 making a distinction between the criminal and his ethnicity. Nor did Dickens think they would. He didn't care. He was on a mission.
And there's the rub. Dickens is not holding back anything grabbing his readers by the throat, which is why "Oliver Twist" worked then and still does today. It's not his best book, but it's a good one all the same, uniquely committed, maybe his most powerful. Seeing a debased world through the prism of middle-class morality has its flaws, but the focus is painfully keen and Dickens makes it hard to look away.
Gripping Classic Literature........2007-01-22
I always wanted to read this book--and any other Dickens--after being subjected to the musical featuring child stars Mark Lester and the late Jack Wild. It is with great sarcasm that, though I love the musical, to find that the novel differs greatly is such a surprise. I will also admit that this is the first Dickens novel I have ever read, and find it interesting to note that children have never had easy lives since the beginning of man's origins up until now. We just hear more about it these days.
The amazing cruelty with which orphans have been treated through history is depicted here with a verbal imagery which the reader will not soon forget, and the cast of supporting characters keeps one fascinated due to the human characteristics Dickens gives them. How a largely bland, yet sympathetic little boy stays true to the purest of righteous virtues seems far fetched at times given his treatment at the workhouse and being constantly surrounded by thieves and murderers like Fagin, Sikes, the Artful Dodger, and Master (All he does is laugh) Bates (I won't even elaborate on that name, but snickered quite a bit at it). Most children would have succumbed to their surroundings long before 12, but Dickens seems to be going for nature verses nurture here, pointing out that people can rise above their environment, and I cannot argue. Most people know someone who came from awful circumstances, only to become the opposite of all the negativity they've been surrounded with. So then, maybe there are street walkers like Nancy--the true hero of this story--who have hearts of gold as well, and there are wealthy people who are the antithesis of everything you have ever heard like the man who comes to adopt Oliver.
Dickens makes one thing very clear in Oliver Twist: right makes might, and if you hold on long enough goodness can indeed win the day, no matter how hard life gets sometimes. He also stresses that, among the many paths in life one chooses, the virtues of goodness and honesty are the best roads to take in the end. A classic worth reading more than once.
Oliver Twist is a classic novel from Dickens prolific pen........2007-01-04
The young genius Charles Dickens (1812-1870) was still publishing monthly installments of "The Pickwick Papers" when he began writing Oliver Twist.
What a tale! Young Oliver is born in the workhouse to a mother who dies giving him birth. He is apprenticed to the undertaker Sowerby; fights with one of the undertakers idiotic apprentices Noah Claypool; flees to London and comes into the clutches of the evil Fagin arch pickpocket. In this den of thieves we meet such unforgettable characters as the Artful Dodger; the despicable Bill Sikes and his mistress Nancy.
There are also many good people who populate the many pages of this novel. The Maylie family especially young Rose who rescue Oliver after he is injured in a foiled robbery escapade are helpful to the young waif. Mr. Brownlow is also a rescuer who eventually adopts Oliver. This novel is a fine bildungsroman as we follow child Oliver on his tempestuous journey through the London streets.
Oliver Twist contains many scenes which are film worthy. These scenes include the flight of Bill Sikes from the London mob following his murder of Nancy; Fagin's last hours in Newgate Prison prior to his being hanged;
the vivid descriptions of nineteenth century London and pastoral scenes
of beauty. The portrait of Oliver's half-brother Monks is well drawn.
The novel is not perfect. It relies too much on coincidence to be realistic. It is if you will a fairy tale but a great one!
Oliver Twist- .......2006-11-08
The story of Oliver Twist, written by Charles Dickens, is a classic bildungsroman, about the difficulties a child had to endure to survive in the 1800's. Dickens satirizes the atrocious trait of human selfishness by illustrating how it comprises ones humanity as the helpless and vulnerable are victimized for personal gain. Oliver Twist is an orphan from a small village not far from London, who is forced into social conventions by a city council. He escapes his horrible captor, a woman who steals food money for her personal use, but unfortunately lands in the hands of a criminal mastermind, who forces him to pickpocket in the London streets. He luckily is taken under the loving care of a family who gains the information of Oliver's previous captor. Many scenes are dedicated to the fallout of this criminal family which proves that with a positive environment, people are able to succeed in life. Oliver Twist has been around for nearly 200 years and I found it a very good novel, not only for its content but also for its moral truths. It is interesting because it allows children and young adults to imagine what life was like back then and to contrast their lives to Oliver's. This realization allows the reader to see that some people have more difficult lives then others and to not take advantage of them.
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Stone Cold
David Baldacci
Manufacturer: Grand Central Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0446577391
Release Date: 2007-11-06 |
Book Description
The #1 bestselling author ofThe Collectors and Simple Genius returns with STONE COLD...an unforgetable novel of revenge, conspiracy, and murder that brings a band of unlikely heroes face-to-face with their greatest threat.Oliver Stone, the leader of the mysterious group that calls itself the Camel Club, is both feared and respected by those who've crossed his path. Keeping a vigilant watch over our leaders in Washington, D.C., the Camel Club has won over some allies, but it has also earned formidable enemies-including those in power who will do anything to prevent Stone and his friends from uncovering the hidden, secret work of the government.Annabelle Conroy, an honorary member of the Camel Club, is also the greatest con artist of her generation. She has swindled forty million dollars from casino king Jerry Bagger, the man who murdered her mother. Now he's hot on her trail with only one goal in mind: Annabelle's death. But as Stone and the Camel Club circle the wagons to protect Annabelle, a new opponent, who makes Bagger's menace pale by comparison, suddenly arises.One by one, men from Stone's shadowy past are turning up dead. Behind this slaughter stands one man: Harry Finn. To almost all who know him, Finn is a doting father and loving husband who uses his skills behind the scenes to keep our nation safe. But the other face of Harry Finn is that of an unstoppable killer who inevitably sets his lethal bull's-eye on Oliver Stone. And with Finn, Stone may well have met his match.As Annabelle and the Camel Club fight for their lives, the twists and turns whipsaw, leading to a finale that is as explosive as it is shattering. And when buried secrets are at last violently resurrected, the members of the Camel Club left standing will be changed forever. With unrelenting pacing, stunning reversals, and two of the most compelling characters in modern fiction, STONE COLD is David Baldacci writing at his breathtaking best.
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Scarface: The Movie Scriptbook
Oliver Stone
Manufacturer: IDW Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1600100953 |
Book Description
Relive the epic '80s movie staple of greed, success and excess! IDW presents this special printing of Oliver Stone's notorious screenplay, telling the story of Tony Montana and his grab for ultimate power in cocaine-obsessed Miami.
Book Description
A documented screenplay of the Oliver Stone film, complete with historical annotation, with 340 research notes and 97 reactions and commentaries by Norman Mailer, Tom Wicker, Gerald R. Ford, and many others. "It's a lesson in craft to watch JFK on video while reading along, charting what got cut, softened, and rethought." -Entertainment Weekly
Customer Reviews:
Quite Literally, Arlen Specter Didn't Come Up With The "Single-Bullet Theory" -- The Autopsy Doctors Sprouted The "SBT" Seeds.......2006-01-09
In Oliver Stone's 1991 motion picture "JFK" (and in this book version of that film), a major stepping "stone" to "conspiracy" that's used by Mr. Stone (and nearly all other conspiracy theorists who have studied the John F. Kennedy assassination since that sad event occurred in 1963) is the contention that the controversial "Single-Bullet Theory" is and was a completely preposterous myth that could never have happened in a million lifetimes, and was placed into the Warren Commission's final report re. the Kennedy assassination solely out of NECESSITY. I, however, cannot disagree more strongly with such an allegation.
While it's true that Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter is given the most credit for having come up with the "Single-Bullet Theory" to explain the simultaneous wounding of President Kennedy and Texas Governor John Connally -- as a point of fact, the "SBT" was in reality "More Than Half Way Home" (so to speak) as early as November 23rd, 1963 (well before Mr. Specter had ever gazed at any of the evidence in the JFK assassination case).
Why? --- Because the seeds that ultimately sprouted the wholly-acceptable and utterly-logical "Single-Bullet Theory" are right there in the November 1963 autopsy report signed by Drs. Humes, Boswell, and Finck.
It wasn't Arlen Specter who just arbitrarily decided (on a whim or ON HIS OWN) that a single bullet had gone completely through the upper back of President Kennedy and had exited his throat in the front. It was the AUTOPSY DOCTORS who made this critical determination on November 23, 1963 (one day after Kennedy's death and the FIRST DAY when ALL available and required information had been assembled and evaluated by the autopsy doctors; i.e., the first day when Drs. Humes, Boswell, and Finck had any knowledge at all that a bullet hole had been located in the front of President Kennedy's neck).
The remainder of the SBT was, of course, pieced together in the early portions of 1964 by Specter (and probably other WC people as well) while utilizing other important information and evidence surrounding the assassination.
The WC testimony of Robert Frazier of the FBI was an integral part of the "SBT puzzle". Frazier testified to the very important information about there having been no limousine damage in the rear-seat areas of the vehicle, proving that no bullet or bullets had penetrated the back seats or the Connally "jump" seats; nor did any whole or nearly-whole bullet(s) come to rest anywhere near JFK's or Connally's seats on 11/22/63.
And there's, of course, the other vital (bodily) link in the "SBT chain" -- John Connally's body and his wounds (with the "elongated" entry wound on the Governor's back being a tell-tale sign that the bullet which struck Mr. Connally almost certainly had hit something or someone else first before entering the Governor's back); plus the lack of ANY bullets in Connally's body (and none found in JFK's body either, which was determined at his autopsy); and the determination by Connally's doctor (Dr. Shaw) that Connally's wounds were all most likely caused by just one single bullet.
Which leads us to the ONLY BULLET ever discovered anywhere near the victims that could have been linked in any fashion to the wounds sustained by Kennedy and/or Connally (the non-fatal wounds to JFK that is) -- famous Bullet #CE399, which was found on a stretcher at Parkland Hospital by Darrell Tomlinson prior to 2:00 PM (CST) on 11/22/63, which would have been a ludicrous time for any conspirator(s) to have wanted to "plant" such a bullet -- because it was WAY TOO SOON to know for certain if OTHER missiles would be recovered from either of the victims, other bullets which (if found) would have rendered a "Planted CE399" completely useless and superfluous and, above all, PLOT-BLOWING!
CE399 was linked to Lee Harvey Oswald's Mannlicher-Carcano rifle (to the exclusion of every weapon ever made), and, via NAA analysis, that very same bullet has been linked (with near certainty) to the bullet fragments removed from the wrist of wounded Governor Connally.
Given all of the above (in its totality), can someone please explain how in the "Real World" (where most of the population resides) the Warren Commission could have come to any conclusion OTHER than the Single-Bullet scenario to explain all of these above-mentioned factors?
Obviously, they could not have explained the wounds themselves (and the wounds' physical arrangement on the two victims' bodies)....and the lack of bullets....and the lack of limo damage via ANY other logical and reasonable way -- other than to say what the Warren Commission ultimately did say: One single missile (CE399) travelled through John Kennedy's upper body, exited his throat, entered John Connally's back (sideways), traversed the Governor's chest (taking out a rib en route), exited the Governor's chest just below the right nipple, continued on its flight into Connally's right wrist, then exited the wrist where it became spent in the Governor's left thigh .... where it then was dislodged at some point (in the car or in the hospital), ending up on Governor Connally's stretcher, where the bullet was then discovered by hospital employee Darrell Tomlinson at approximately 12:50 PM to 12:55 PM, Dallas time, on November 22nd, 1963.
But the literal genesis of the Single-Bullet Theory lies NOT within the Warren Commission or Arlen Specter specifically -- it lies in the autopsy report itself, a report which was signed by three different doctors WEEKS before the Warren Commission even began to assemble its panel of counsel members and legal assistants (which didn't occur until mid-December 1963).
Let's have a look (verbatim) at just exactly what was determined to be the truth concerning the details of President Kennedy's back and neck wounds as of November 23, 1963 (six days before the Warren Commission was even created):
"Summary: Based on the above observations, it is our opinion that the deceased died as a result of two perforating gunshot wounds inflicted by high-velocity projectiles, fired by a person or persons unknown. The projectiles were fired from a point behind and somewhat above the level of the deceased. .... The fatal missile entered the skull above and to the right of the external occipital protuberance. .... The other missile entered the right superior posterior thorax above the scapula and traversed the soft tissues of the supra-scapular and the supra-clavicular portions of the base of the right side of the neck. This missile produced contusions of the right apical parietal pleura and of the apical portion of the right upper lobe of the lung. The missile contused the strap muscles of the right side of the neck, damaged the trachea, AND MADE ITS EXIT THROUGH THE ANTERIOR SURFACE OF THE NECK. As far as can be ascertained, this missile struck no bony structures in its path through the body."* (Added emphasis my own.)
* = From Page 6 of the Official Autopsy Report on President John F. Kennedy (aka: "Pathological Examination Report"); Bearing the signatures of all three doctors who were present at JFK's 11/22/63 autopsy at Bethesda Naval Medical Center, Maryland; Signed by: Commander James J. Humes, Commander J. Thornton Boswell, and Lt. Col. Pierre A. Finck.
--------------
The above passages from John F. Kennedy's official medical legal autopsy report absolutely destroy the idea spouted by conspiracy theorists of TWO separate bullets striking the back and neck areas of President Kennedy. And, in essence, this reference to an 'Into-The-Back-And-Out-The-Neck' bullet path, as described by JFK's autopsy doctors, results in (literally) two-thirds of the "Single-Bullet Theory" being purported just ONE DAY after Kennedy's death. The "two-thirds" being -- An OFFICIAL explanation by the autopsy doctors themselves linking .... #1.) The entry wound on JFK's upper back to .... #2.) The exit wound on the front of his neck.
Why it is that the word of ALL THREE of these pathologists who signed off on the Official Autopsy Report describing the wounds of a murdered American President are tossed into the nearest ash can by virtually ALL conspiracy promoters is something I have a difficult time reconciling (except to say that the "CTers" desperately NEED that autopsy report to be dead-wrong in order to further the notion that THREE separate bullets struck JFK and John Connally that day in Dallas, instead of just the one "SBT" missile).
But the OFFICIAL record is crystal clear regarding the back and neck wounds to President Kennedy....and has been crystal clear since November of 1963.
To repeat this ultra-important point -- The doctors said that just ONE bullet passed clean through John F. Kennedy!!
Therefore -- unless every last one of these three autopsy doctors are (to a man) hopeless and utter incompetents or all three of them are lying scumbags who would deliberately falsify the most important autopsy report any of them would ever sign in their entire lives -- then the very first (and verifiably-TRUE) seeds and important links to the Single-Bullet Theory lie in that 1963 Autopsy Report -- and not just in Arlen Specter's mind (nor in any unsubstantiated "theory" placed on the table by Mr. Specter alone, as many CTers seem to believe).
Conspiracy theorists should begin to accept the obvious -- that "obvious" being: the Single-Bullet Theory is the most logical and valid scenario to explain the seven wounds sustained by John F. Kennedy and John B. Connally in Dealey Plaza. And it is the ONLY possible explanation of the event that stands up to critical scrutiny, detailed analysis, and common-sense interpretation of the evidence when the ENTIRE batch of Single-Bullet-favoring evidence is gathered together in the same place.
Denying this fact is to play Oliver Stone's game -- a game highlighted by mystery killers firing from the Grassy Knoll, unexplainable disappearing bullets, and a series of bullet holes (made by THREE different gunmen) in TWO different victims that mirror a SINGLE-BULLET EVENT so closely as to be deemed "perfect" for the adoption of the "SBT" in the months following the shooting.
And I ask with the utmost sincerity -- Who in their right mind would have any desire to play that conspiracy-filled game of impossible-to-pull-off nonsense? Not I, that's for certain.
an epic, the least to say........2004-03-04
Among all the stories which popup every day, this is one story that we should tell our children exactly how and why it happened, the book as the movie did, presented the whole enigma in such a fantastic realistec way, you feel actually living with the characters breathing with them, at times joining in discussions... the complexity and huge number of names and sides in the story means it is not for teatime at all, you really need to concentrate well with this one.
The event was a trajidy no question about it, and what the late Mr.Garrison tried to do was to prevent what we are witnessing nowadays by disclosing the truth, to tell the truth is a courageous mission, to stick to it and face such enormous powers ready to do any thing even kill the president is even harder.
I do recommend that we should have a copy of this story whether as a book or as film, for the sake of history which is always twisted by the claws of the most powerful .
Travesty.......2002-09-04
This is an absolute travesty. Every possible conspiracy element - discredited or not - is added in. Garrison's investigation of the innocent Clay Shaw - the least substantive theory - is the platform for Stone's delusions. And it would HAVE to be about the Vietnam War wouldn't it !
Take one example, the three tramps arrested in Dealey Plaza: Stone has them armed in the film , but they were not connected in any way and were later released.Read Anthony Summers instead and ignore this rubbish.
"Even The Shooters Don't Know".......2001-02-24
"JFK, The Book of the Film "is really an extraordinary achievement....
The screenplay incorporates practically every rumor, fact, factoid, and theory regarding the events of November 22, 1963.
Almost every line of dialouge is meticulously footnoted....
The second half of the book is a compendium of op-ed articles both in defense of and attacking (as in the case of Tom Wicker, Alexander Cockburn, et al) both Oliver Stone and the film. At times these attacks seem both humorless and hysterical ("hey guys..it's a MOVIE!")
Though the book is ten years old, I find myself taking it off the shelf every six months or so to browse both the screenplay and the media barrage surrounding it.
A great book!
Exhilirating and thought-provoking.......2000-10-01
Possibly the smartest screenplay ever written for an American political film. People tend to respond to this movie according to their own beliefs and conspiracy theories, instead of respecting the brilliant technique with which screenwriters Oliver Stone & Zachary Sklar bring these familiar events to new life. Not for the literal-minded, perhaps, but a brilliant construction, a movie that shakes up assumptions and makes you think. Worth a second look, on video and on paper.
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- The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography (Oprah's Book Club)
- The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography (Oprah's Book Club)
- The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography (Oprah's Book Club)
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- The Stanley Kubrick Archives
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Books Index
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Murder in Dealey Plaza: What We Know Now that We Didn't Know Then
Crossfire: The Plot That Killed Kennedy
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JFK: Assassination Files
JFK: The Case for Conspiracy
