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"The one book you should read is Who Shot JFK? A Guide to the Major Conspiracy Theories by Bob Callahan. And then (trust us on this) never read another word on the subject again. It's like smack."
Ripsaw

 

WHO SHOT JFK?
A Guide to the Major Conspiracy Theories
A Fireside Book, Published by Simon & Schuster
November 1993


The single most compelling event in modern American history took place on Elm Street in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963. In the thirty years since the murder of John F. Kennedy, a staggering number of conspiracy theories—from the preposterous to the plausible—have appeared, confirming, denying, contradicting, and debunking one another.

WHO SHOT JFK? is designed so the reader can question and understand the events and controversy around the assassination, and sort through contradictory theories:

» Did Lee Harvey Oswald kill Kennedy? Did he act alone?
» Was Castro behind the killing? Was it the KGB?
» Were the killers Bay of Pigs exiles and dissidents?
» Were the Minutemen or Neo-Nazis involved in the plot?
» What about Jimmy Hoffa, and his friends in the mob?
» Was the murder planned or the killer hidden by the CIA?

Here, gathered for the first time, are more than 20 major theories along with their evidence. WHO SHOT JFK? critiques the critics, separates speculation from substantial evidence and hearsay from direct testimony, and allows the reader to decide who really pulled the trigger.

SAYS EDDIE Now out of print, this is a real collector's item. I worked it as project editor and art designer, grafting a pop-art comic book style onto the material while trying to balance irreverence—the only way to approach some of these theories—with a zeal for veracity when it came to the serious stuff. The finished book isn't going to change anyone's take on the murder, but it provides an efficient way of understanding all the axes that have been ground over the years, who's been grinding them, and why. It's political science as murder mystery.

The image of New Orleans mafia boss Carlos Marcello is a fantastic example of the artwork that Mark Zingarelli provided. Mark came in thinking he'd do a couple dozen spot illos, and ended up churning out close to 100 illustrations. He really put his heart into it.

 
Moments after the assassination, the FBI detained four suspects whose presence in Dealey Plaza has haunted many conspiracy buffs ever since. One suspect was Eugene Brading, a California con-man with active associations among the Dallas Mob, and a reputed courier for Carlos Marcello. Three exceptionally well-dressed "tramps" were also picked up in the railroad yards behind the plaza. Critics have had a field day attempting to identify these men. Some candidates have included Maj. Gen. Edward Lansdale, former Saigon station chief for the CIA and an architect of the Bay of Pigs invasion; the mysterious "Raoul," said by James Earl Ray to have masterminded the death of Martin Luther King; E. Howard Hunt and Frank Sturgis, who have gone to court to successfully clear their names of this charge; and a wide assortment of Dallas mobsters, and French and American intelligence operatives. One small-time Dallas hood, Charles Harrelson, father of Cheers actor Woody Harrelson, has even confessed to the murder of JFK.