Amazing and extremely persuasive (& well documented)

books:


	• Ultimate Sacrifice: John and Robert Kennedy, the Plan for a Coup in Cuba, and the Murder of JFK Lamar Waldron, Thom Hartmann Carroll & Graf, 2005 - 912 pages average customer review:based on 114 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

Amazing and extremely persuasive (& well documented)

I'm only a third of the way through this nearly 1000 page book, but it's extremely impressive. Packed full of details, this book does an excellent job of laying the groundwork for a satisfying and wholly credible conspiracy theory. According to this account, the root of the JFK assassination can be found in RFK's (and JFK's, to lesser extent) pursuit of the mafia, beginning in 1958 (see 'The Enemy Within' by RFK for more). And the book provides even the background of this public investigation (NYC mob boss Anastasia's barbershop murder...increasing mafia power and influence, resulting in increasing mafia murders as a result of mafia infighting for a share of the expanding pie, ect...). The official version- the 'lone nut theory'- is so weak as to be laughable, yet it still persists. Professional mafia-hired hitmen assassinated JFK and Oswald was a patsy. If this wasn't the case, then why would Jack Ruby (who had a long and deep relationship with the mafia) assassinate Oswald? To kill a communist???...because he loved JFK??? Ruby killed him because they (the mafia) absolutely needed to shut Oswald up...that simple. This book is very well-written, researched, and documented. Highly recommended.

for more information click here

A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT HAPPENED

A clear, understandable recital of the facts. Well documented.
One of the best-if not the best,I've read on the subject.
There is a great deal of material, but can be digested.
Clear and precise in showing WHY and HOW things happened on Nov 22, 1963.

for more information click here

Worth the time

I finished this book. Took awhile, but did it. Close to 900 pages. "We'll explain further in another chapter," or words to that effect were sprinkled throughout and wore thin, but explain they did. I've wondered, over the years, why RFK wasn't more aggressive about pursuing the truth and why he presented obstacles to Garrison's investigation, etc--and this book explains all that and more. The theories make sense, and the documentation is laid out nicely. And next to Bugliosi's bag of hot air and overwrought opinion, Ultimate Sacrifice looks even more important. I see it's now available in paperback, so the investment is halved. I'd say it surely deserves a spot on serious researchers' shelves.

for more information click here

Wow!

Anyone who wants to know what really happened to JFK should get this book. More solid research than any other book on JFK. Amazing revelations.

Too Many Unsubstantiated Facts Leading Nowhere

As with most books about the JFK Assassination, 'Ultimate Sacrifice' suffers from its own evangelism; having decided on a theory, the authors opt for proselytizing over objectivity. Authors Waldron and Hartmann start by taking themselves and their theory much too seriously, trying to convince the reader of the correctness of their conclusions by presenting a gigantic load of so called facts to overwhelm the reader. Most of these "facts", however, are far from substantiated, coming as they are from the usual secondary sources rather than original research, while ignoring much good evidence that detract from them.

There are way too many assumptions of unproven allegations in this book for me to take the authors' conclusions seriously, despite the new evidence they provide from some admirable original research to try to back them up. To take just a few examples:

1. The authors accept without question that Oswald was an American agent before he went to Russia. They cite the usual suspicious, yet inconclusive evidence about this such as the 'phony' suicide attempt, Oswald seen with unsavory characters while in Japan, an alleged false defector program the US was supposed to have run, and just the general feeling that it seems to make sense. And yet, the authors completely ignore the much greater evidence opposed to this inference found in the well-researched chapters on Oswald's time in Russia in the Mailer biography, much of it coming from KGB sources who had been watching him constantly. Indeed, not one shred of spy-like behavior was made evident too them by their subject during his entire stay.

2. The authors believe Oswald did not take his Marxism seriously, but was only pretending to be a true believer as part of his cover. Were this true, Oswald must have been the best method actor of all time, never getting out of character, even with his wife and close friends. And oh yes, all those commie books in his room were `planted'. Amazing analysis!

3. The authors decide to accept with little question the interpretation of the ambiguous ballistic and medical data of the assassination that best fits their theory, namely that the fatal shot came from the Grassy Knoll, while discounting the Single Bullet theory. Once more they completely neglect the most scientific data available that counters this notion: the Barger Acoustic analysis done during the HSCA hearings. Nor do they cite the excellent analysis of the first shots in the Zapruder film done for the Frontline special on Oswald that clearly shows the flap of Connelly's collar being flipped up as the bullet -- the same bullet that emerged from Kennedy's throat -- passes through into his shoulder.

There is much more of this type of thing, too much so for me to find much value in what evidence the authors do present. I say this believing indeed that JFK was assassinated as the result of a conspiracy involving elements of Cosa Nostra and CIA. But the breadth of scope of their arguments is just too much for the lack of depth of the evidence they provide.

Do not mistake me, there is some value in this book. The research on the Tampa and Chicago threats is intriguing. The details on the CIA-Mafia assassination plots is both informative and believable. And the presentation of Ruby's ties to Organize crime is the most convincing and thorough I have seen. Unfortunately, when the authors try to cover all the mysterious associations of Johnny Roselli, the Mafia point man on the assassination, they mainly rely on a single secondary source, All American Mafioso by Charles Rappleye and Ed Becker while completely neglecting to cite the most curious close friendship he maintained with top CIA officer William K. Harvey, point man for Executive Action assassinations, until his death. The same tactic of using a very small number of JFK assassination books to back up their arguments is used to show the actions and meaningfull associations of the other mobsters involved in the conspiracy as well.

What is needed in the field of JFK assassination research is not more rehash of old and untested data to backup new conspiracy theories, but a well constructed analysis focused on manageable areas of the assassination using original research, including validating rather than blindly accepting evidence cited in previous works. At times Ultimate Sacrifice does attempt this, but far too seldom; and in the end, the books bites off more than it can chew and concludes very little.

for more information click here

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Ultimate Sacrifice reveals, for the first time, John and Robert Kennedy's plan for a coup in Cuba on December 1, 1963 ? a plan that involved a U.S. military invasion. Unique, distinctly different, and far more advanced than any previously disclosed operation, this plan is corroborated by many declassified military and CIA documents that have never been quoted in any book before. It provides the missing piece of the puzzle regarding JFK's murder, and explains why Bobby Kennedy told close associates that the Mafia was behind his brother's assassination. The Mafia had managed to infiltrate the Kennedys' intended coup. Ultimate Sacrifice describes and documents an attempt they made to kill JFK in a motorcade several days prior to Dallas. This attempt had more than a dozen parallels to Dallas. Building on the work of the seven governmental committees that investigated aspects of JFK's assassination, the four million documents that were declassified in the 1990s, and exclusive interviews with many Kennedy insiders, the authors are able to tell the full story of these incidents. Ultimate Sacrifice Makes News with Kennedy's Cuba Coup Plan New History Reveals Previously Unknown CIA Code Name ? As Well As Linked Assassination Attempt

for more information click here

hot