Crossfire: The Plot That Killed Kennedy

Rating:
Summary: This is not supposed to be a work of fiction.
Review: Jim Marrs writes a very interesting story of an assassination of a handsome popular President that is done by the government and framed on a young average American male. The fact that any of this is construed as what actually happened in the assassination of Kennedy is laughable. It's an good story when framed in the light that it is a creative work of fiction.

Rating:
Summary: An invaluable intro to JFK assassination facts and theories
Review: Jim Marrs' Crossfire: The Plot That Killed Kennedy, published in 1989, still offers, in my opinion, the best introduction to the JFK assassination newbie. It was not the first book on the subject I read, but I wish it would have been. The book I picked up first dove deep into some very specific aspects of the case, and a pretty comprehensive overview of the assassination and the theories offered as to the truth about it would have made my initial plunge much easier. Not only does Marrs seek to bring together and distill the bulk of information out there, he does so in an orderly and systematic fashion. Part One looks at the assassination itself: the motorcade route and security, the movements of JFK and John Connolly at the time they were hit, the accounts of all manner of witnesses in and around Dealey Plaza, a detailed look at activity in and around the Texas School Book Depository as well as the Grassy Knoll, etc. In Part Two, he pontificates on the motives and means of all of the most likely culprits behind the murder: Lee Harvey Oswald, the Soviet Union, pro-Castro as well as anti-Castro Cuban exiles, the Mafia, the CIA, the FBI, big business (especially oil), right-wing extremists, and the military. In Part Three, he examines all manner of evidence with a critical eye. The chaotic aftermath of the shooting offers up much food for thought in terms of unusual sightings and events, not the least of which is the murder of Officer Tippet and the movements of Lee Harvey Oswald from the time of the assassination to his capture in a local movie theatre. Jack Ruby's history and links to organized crime are threshed out, revealing many intriguing possibilities about the possible extent of Ruby's role in events. Marrs then attacks the basic foundations of the Warren Commission analysis, going into a good bit of detail about the probably forgery of incriminating photographs of Oswald, revealing unforgivably sloppy breakdowns in the chain of evidence, easily explaining how the bullet that miraculously appeared essentially intact on a stretcher in Dallas could not possibly have done all the damage the Warren Commission's "magic bullet" officially did. From there, he explores Jim Garrison's case against Clay Shaw for conspiring to kill the president and goes on to summarize the workings and findings of the House Select Committee on Assassinations in 1979. Only at the conclusion of the book does he express in a straightforward manner his own theory as to what happened.

Crossfire just offers one important piece of information after another, easily preparing the way for the reader to pursue a more detailed study of the assassination. Marrs is not totally objective at all times, yet he does touch upon just about every important facet of what is a most complicated case. The number of coincidences and links between different suspect groups is nothing short of incredible, and you really need to have an understanding of how, for example, the CIA and Mafia were linked together in efforts to kill Castro, how Oswald's possible role in intelligence plays into different scenarios, etc., in order to come to terms with all of the theories out there. The medical evidence in this case is amazingly frustrating and controversial, and one can get lost without an understanding of the differences in the testimony of employees of Parkland Hospital in Dallas and the findings of the undeniably unprofessional and sloppy (not to mention illegal) autopsy. Marrs isn't afraid to summarize the most controversial of opinions, which can help the assassination novice look out for potential landmines in his/her further reading.

In his concluding chapter, Marrs finally offers what he believes is a possible scenario to explain all of the facts he has attempted to address in the main body of the book. He in no way presents these ideas as facts or probabilities. He goes farther than some Warren Commission critics go, pointing fingers of potential culpability at a significant number of different groups somehow coming together to eliminate a man each group had reasons for opposing; he clearly sees the assassination in terms of a coup d'etat with some level of complicity (be it passive or active) at the highest levels of government. Many, including myself, find this to be a little far-fetched, but Marrs' personal theory does not get in the way of all the facts he presents throughout the book. Anyone who accepts the official story of the tragedy without question will naturally find fault with Marrs for his differing conclusions, but those willing to examine the case with an open mind will find much food for thought in this remarkable book. There are no footnotes to be found here, but Marrs lists a significant number of sources alongside a selected reading list. Basically, this book prepares you for a more detailed look at all of the evidence, making this an invaluable introductory guidebook to the tangled world of JFK assassination theorizing.

Rating:
Summary: An invaluable intro to JFK assassination facts and theories
Review: Jim Marrs' Crossfire: The Plot That Killed Kennedy, published in 1989, still offers, in my opinion, the best introduction to the JFK assassination newbie. It was not the first book on the subject I read, but I wish it would have been. The book I picked up first dove deep into some very specific aspects of the case, and a pretty comprehensive overview of the assassination and the theories offered as to the truth about it would have made my initial plunge much easier. Not only does Marrs seek to bring together and distill the bulk of information out there, he does so in an orderly and systematic fashion. Part One looks at the assassination itself: the motorcade route and security, the movements of JFK and John Connolly at the time they were hit, the accounts of all manner of witnesses in and around Dealey Plaza, a detailed look at activity in and around the Texas School Book Depository as well as the Grassy Knoll, etc. In Part Two, he pontificates on the motives and means of all of the most likely culprits behind the murder: Lee Harvey Oswald, the Soviet Union, pro-Castro as well as anti-Castro Cuban exiles, the Mafia, the CIA, the FBI, big business (especially oil), right-wing extremists, and the military. In Part Three, he examines all manner of evidence with a critical eye. The chaotic aftermath of the shooting offers up much food for thought in terms of unusual sightings and events, not the least of which is the murder of Officer Tippet and the movements of Lee Harvey Oswald from the time of the assassination to his capture in a local movie theatre. Jack Ruby's history and links to organized crime are threshed out, revealing many intriguing possibilities about the possible extent of Ruby's role in events. Marrs then attacks the basic foundations of the Warren Commission analysis, going into a good bit of detail about the probably forgery of incriminating photographs of Oswald, revealing unforgivably sloppy breakdowns in the chain of evidence, easily explaining how the bullet that miraculously appeared essentially intact on a stretcher in Dallas could not possibly have done all the damage the Warren Commission's "magic bullet" officially did. From there, he explores Jim Garrison's case against Clay Shaw for conspiring to kill the president and goes on to summarize the workings and findings of the House Select Committee on Assassinations in 1979. Only at the conclusion of the book does he express in a straightforward manner his own theory as to what happened.

Crossfire just offers one important piece of information after another, easily preparing the way for the reader to pursue a more detailed study of the assassination. Marrs is not totally objective at all times, yet he does touch upon just about every important facet of what is a most complicated case. The number of coincidences and links between different suspect groups is nothing short of incredible, and you really need to have an understanding of how, for example, the CIA and Mafia were linked together in efforts to kill Castro, how Oswald's possible role in intelligence plays into different scenarios, etc., in order to come to terms with all of the theories out there. The medical evidence in this case is amazingly frustrating and controversial, and one can get lost without an understanding of the differences in the testimony of employees of Parkland Hospital in Dallas and the findings of the undeniably unprofessional and sloppy (not to mention illegal) autopsy. Marrs isn't afraid to summarize the most controversial of opinions, which can help the assassination novice look out for potential landmines in his/her further reading.

In his concluding chapter, Marrs finally offers what he believes is a possible scenario to explain all of the facts he has attempted to address in the main body of the book. He in no way presents these ideas as facts or probabilities. He goes farther than some Warren Commission critics go, pointing fingers of potential culpability at a significant number of different groups somehow coming together to eliminate a man each group had reasons for opposing; he clearly sees the assassination in terms of a coup d'etat with some level of complicity (be it passive or active) at the highest levels of government. Many, including myself, find this to be a little far-fetched, but Marrs' personal theory does not get in the way of all the facts he presents throughout the book. Anyone who accepts the official story of the tragedy without question will naturally find fault with Marrs for his differing conclusions, but those willing to examine the case with an open mind will find much food for thought in this remarkable book. There are no footnotes to be found here, but Marrs lists a significant number of sources alongside a selected reading list. Basically, this book prepares you for a more detailed look at all of the evidence, making this an invaluable introductory guidebook to the tangled world of JFK assassination theorizing.

Rating:
Summary: Too Much Taken Too Far
Review: Jim Marrs, like most critics of the Warren Report, asserts that the Commission was selective with its evidence, vague about interpreting testimony, and filled with innuendoes that have little basis in reality. Unfortunately, many books objecting to the Commission's findings employ the same tactics and are therefore guilty of the same offenses. And this book is one of the biggest offenders.

Each of the short sections focuses on one of the unsettling and unresloved aspects of the tragedy of 11/22/63 that doesn't fit into the Warren Report's findings, and impulsively indicts someone as being a conspirator. When I first read this book back in the early 90's it had a peculiar effect on me. I would finish a section and say, "Ah! So it was the Mafia!" Only to finish the next section and say, "Ah! So it was the Cubans!" The next section had me going, "Ah! Rogue government agencies working with both elements did it!" And so on... Then one section, out of left field, described the wild moodswings of the New York Stock Exchange on the days immediately before the assassination. And I asked myself, "Wait a minute. Am I supposed to believe that Charles Schwab was involved, too?" Come on. I read the rest of the book with the same skepticism I'd read the Warren Report years earlier.

I tried re-reading CROSSFIRE earlier this year and I put it down almost immediately; that's what prompted me to write this review.

I do believe there was a conspiracy of some kind. (Gerald Posner's tantrum, CASE CLOSED, only further convinced me that the case is still, indeed, very much open.) But the plot couldn't have involved every right wing group, every government agency, Dallas cops, Corsicans, KGB, Cubans, and the Vinnie "Big Nose" Goombatz crime family.

Unfortunately, the trail to the truth about the assassination is getting darker, colder and lonelier with each passing year. Long ago it had slipped from current events to history: several other assassinations, conspiracies, and tragedies (like 9/11) only relegated the JFK murder further into the shadows of distant memory and, almost, irrelevance.

Stick with Josiah Thompson's SIX SECONDS IN DALLAS, if you can find it, and just about anything by Edward J. Epstein for a glimpse into this impenetrable event. Skip this mess.

Rocco Dormarunno, author of The Five Points

Rating:
Summary: Eye Opener!
Review: Mr. Marrs presents a very indepth study of the circumstances & events surrounding the death of JFK. It is well written and intriguing. Any intelligent, educated, open minded person has to conclude that the truth as told by the government & the Warren Commission is NOT the truth at all. It is very hard to say what exactly happened. We the public will never know the entire truth. But if you read this book with an open mind (that is important) you must conclude that there is definitely more to it & our government is guilty of lying to its people along with many other crimes.

Rating:
Summary: A thought-provoking analysis of the JFK assasination
Review: One of two books on which Oliver Stone's film "JFK" was based, "Crossfire" is perhaps the most convincing and interesting of all revisionist works on the infamous event. Meticulously researched, with dozens of witness accounts and factual tidbits, Marrs builds his case brick by brick, arriving at conclusions that are intelligent and wholly believable. The book itself covers all angles of the assasination, from Oswald's alleged CIA connection, to Castro's often suspected role in the events, to the possible involvement of the mob and political figures. Regardless of one's personal beliefs regarding the event, this is a book that is hard to put down, and will certainly cause the reader to re-think his or her previous conclusions

Rating:
Summary: The best book ever written on the JFK assassination
Review: Quite simply, this is the best book ever written on the JFK assassination. If you want to learn the basics of what did (and did not) happen that fateful day in Dallas, Texas, then read this book. (If you insist on keeping your head buried in the sand and believe the pack of lies that was/is the Warren Commission, then I suggest you visit with Gerald Posner and the other "lone nut" apologists/coincidence theorists).

Rating:
Summary: Well written, but its a no-go
Review: THe book is written well, I must give the author that. However, beyond that, this book is basically worthless. It shows a definite conspiracy slant and the information contained in it has been refuted. For the best book on the subject, see Posner's Case Closed.

Rating:
Summary: Some things you may not know
Review: The shot fired from the School Book Depository was the most difficult in the book. I know, because I fired expert in the armed forces and I've hunted all my life. Imagine this: the shot is steeply downhill, so you have to fire low or the bullet will pass over the target.And, you have to lead the target. Also. everytime you fire , one has to reacquire the target with a scope that's not sighted in and made of plastic, on it. Oswald barely graduated from boot camp because of his marksmanship. After his arrest, he was found to have gunpowder on his left hand, but none on his face! (Parriffen test). He may have killed the cop, but he didn't kill Kennedy...

Rating:
Summary: Everything you ever wanted to know about the JFK assassinati
Review: This book is unbelieveable. It has a ton of information and proves that the assassination was a COVER UP, CONSPIRACY AND OSWALD WAS A PASTY. Includes info on every person, place, and thing that even had a little bit to do with nov.22 1963. Talks about the Russians, Cubans, CIA, FBI,mobsters and the roles they played in the assasination. Tells how Oswald was framed by being sent to Russia and switched by the KGB w/ a fake, Russian Oswald that wasn't born in America. A Must read. Book looks long, but you will fly through it.