Rating: 
Summary: Dark matter
Review: People who will do anything to get what they want, if they really exist at all, are essentially invisible to us everyday folks, and we're equally invisible to them - a mundane backdrop. They are kind of like the "dark matter" that physicists say binds the universe together and either explains its eventual collapse or infinite expansion. The scientists can't find it, but their equations say it must be there.If you've ever studied the "equations" that describe the circumstances and involved parties leading up to the first Kennedy assassination, you've probably felt like those physicists. Was it a Mafia hit? Was it rogue CIA elements? Castro? This book is Oliver Stone on PCP. It has all the characters (The Mob, CIA, Cuban exiles, Hoover, Hoffa, Castro, JFK & RFK), and all the darkest themes that have been suggested to link them together and to the events leading up to 11/22/63. "American Tabloid" is a tightly wound fiction that says, in the end, that it was all of them, and somehow none of them. It was an inevitable intersection of individuals and institutions deranged by their own willingness to do anything to attain and hold power. Don't read the book if you idolize JFK. Don't expect Agatha Christie dialogue. It wraps a staccato style around a collection of truly depraved individuals. It's a credit to the weird energy of that style, and to Ellroy, that he somehow draws us toward its twisted central characters. The same unwholesome urge that moves your foot to the brake when you pass a bad accident will have you staying up too late reading. What happened? If you've always wondered how the goons who killed JFK managed to erase so much history that attempts to find "scientific" answers are shot full of holes, read this book. Once you believe that the "dark matter" in the human soul exists - and Ellroy will make you believe - you'll know how easily the erasure was accomplished
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Summary: Believe it or not....
Review: How could Ellroy imagine such a complex story ? I still can't understand how it is possible to mix, that successfuly, reality and "supposed" fiction. Also, it's hard not getting confused by all the facts based on history and those he made up! Beside, if real politics could be that interesting... The characters are raw, mean and still...so human! Definitely a must read.
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Summary: America's Defining Moment Through a Jaundiced Eye
Review: Ellroy's scattered, machine gun prose and deeply flawed characters can alienate a casual reader, but his work remains a rewarding experience for those willing to dig in and wallow in the mire his creations exist in. American Tabloid takes that most sacred moment in history, Camelot, and cuts it open along the belly. From the point of view of three men in the know and behind the scenes of that times power brokers, Ellroy shows that the difference between crime and politics is razor thin and often fatal. Lacking the holy self-righteousness of Oliver Stone's JFK, American Tabloid is another fictional telling of the rise and fall of the Kennedy Administration, but not only does Ellroy have the canvas to widen his lens considerably (encompassing Cuba, Vegas, Washington and more), his film-noir filter paints a more believable, and much darker picture of that time in history. It's not idealism vs. power-mongering, it's simply power vs. power, with a healthy dose of vengeance, double-crosses, and outright hate coming down on all sides. If you're already an Ellroy fan, it's beautiful leap from his L.A. novels, containing a more coherent story-line with less wandering than L.A. Confidential. If you're not already a fan, it's 600+ page length and slang heavy rapid-fire prose might be daunting at first, but determined readers will be sucked in completely.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: The book was long. The price too high. Six hundred pages of writing like this. I want a refund.
Rating:
Summary: Had To Give Up On It!
Review: When I first started reading American Tabloid I thought I was in for a real treat. However, after reading a few hundred pages, I started to realize I didn't care about the characters due to the one-dimensionality Ellroy gives them. Further, the plot, while moving at a fast-pace, was not well-developed and I was really tiring of Ellroy's writing style. While I pushed myself to read further(largely because I had already bought Ellroy's sequel to American Tabloid, The Cold Six Thousand), I finally had to give up on it after getting to the half way point. Now I have to see if I can exchange The Cold Six Thousand. I know many of you reading this review will be skeptical given the many very favorable reviews previously written about American Tabloid. The only thing I can say to this is if you feel you must read this book, take it from the library. Please don't waste your money like I did.
Rating: 
Summary: It bothers me that we like it.
Review: Ellroy is more talented than, say, Dennis Lehane. He is consistently dark where Elmore Leonard can be whimsical. His violence transcends the shoot-em-up stuff of Stephen Hunter. He has a gift for dialogue and can plumb deep into a character's psyche. He is undoubtedly street wise. But American Tabloid is still marked by graphic violence, rumor, gossip, sex, drugs, and perversion. Beneath the veneer of getting to the real historical facts, there is a lot of 'skank' here. And I think we need to ask ourselves if we are being titillated by an expanded version of "Hush-Hush". We need to examine why we are drawn to the episodes of murder and violence. A writer like Joseph Conrad examined the dark side of man without incessant violence leaping from every page. I'm not trying to be a prig; I'm honestly trying to understand if this is a 'moral' book. I'm also trying to understand whether this is 'good' writing. The characters of Ward Littel and Boyd Kemper are interesting in their tragic dimensions. Big Pete is simply a goon; to attempt to pull anything else out of his character is folly. We already know that JFK was Bill Clinton on steroids, that Hoover was an malevolent closet queen, that the mob is powerful, evil and pervasive. Ellroy does a nice job drawing a conflicted RFK. The book does an effective job of exposing the evil that lurks beneath the surface of historical events. The question is whether or not Ellroy's writing transcends this evil.
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Summary: Nothing less than a masterpiece....
Review: Okay...I have a weird history with this book. I LOVE Ellroy's novels - the L.A. Quartet in general is a personal fave (especially the tortured psychosexualism of THE BLACK DAHLIA). Heck, I even love the early stuff - the Lloyd Hopkins books, etc. - but I was never able to make it more than about 100 pages into this one. I just found it too dense - too clipped - too staccato. It wasn't a "normal" book, but I realize now, finally having finished it (just today, in fact) that it would have been about 2000 pages if it had been written like an aforementioned "normal" book. I finally tackled TABLOID so I could move on to the Dog's new one, THE COLD SIX THOUSAND. And boy am I glad I did. Kemper Boyd, Ward Littell, Pete Bondurant - I'll never forget these guys, any more than I'll ever forget the bad boys that populated Ellroy's previous books. I maintain this is a book where you pick one of the three to identify with and sort of put yourself in his seat 'til the end of the ride (I myself chose Kemper Boyd, but, wow, did I pay for that little bit of identification). This is just amazing fiction. Is there anyone even close to Ellroy in contemporary American literature? I read a lot, but I can't think of anyone. It's just a staggering read. Even its flaws and excesses are so profound, that an Ellroy misstep is better than most novelists' moment of greatness. READ THIS BOOK. IT WILL TAKE YOUR HEAD OFF.
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Summary: Sleaze Lit 101
Review: It's weird knowing of James Ellroy and not reading any of his books. I had loved the film version of "L.A. Confidential", but for some reason, I couldn't bring myself to pick up some of his material. Whatever the reason, some time ago, I picked up "American Tabloid" and basically didn't put it down until I got to the last page. It's a great book about the strange events that made up the late 50's and early 60's, weaved around a fictional story of corrupt men and the even worse men that pay their bills. The fact that this mucks around in almost "sacred cow" events (the Bay of Pigs, JFK's assassination) doesn't even matter. This is a crime drama that just happens to have famous people as the supporting cast. It's truly one of the last great crime books of the last decade.
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Summary: Great alternate history
Review: This is one of the ten best books I have ever read. Ellroy takes one of the most debated events in world history and credibly adds his own set of possibilities to the mix. I am no conspiracy junkie, but I simply do not believe Oswald was the lone shooter, or if he ever pulled a trigger that day. For me, Ellroy weaves a wonderfully complex web of conspiracy that feels like a guilty pleasure to read. The tight prose is typical Ellroy, and the scope of this book is epic. Unless you are a mindless sheep willing to be led to slaughter, you will probably never feel the same way about Warren Commission findings again. Read this book.
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Summary: Blistering,paranoid and brilliant
Review: James Ellroy writes "hard boiled" fiction. If you hard boil an egg for about a week,perhaps. Ellroy inhabits a world all his own in crime literature. Having somehow survived a childhood from dantes seventh circle, he grew up to write these angry books where the bad guys are powerful white men{thinking of inherent power structures, he's quite correct}.American tabloid tells the story ,in all its vainglorious insanity, of that sweet time in Americana called "Camelot". This riveting novel actually is a meditation on power, who has it, and what it does. Betrayal{Bay of Pigs, Kennedy blowing off a CIA agent, everybody BUT the Kennedy's racking Marilyn Monoroe, J edgar Hoover, Joe Kennedy, Howard Hughes} all amke appearances leading to Dealy Plaza. s always, Ellroys descriptive powers are unmatched in describing viloence{the Cuban cab front company has some interesting moments}, and no one, no one, comes off as good in this. A profoundly disturbing book, a meditation on power, America, and who really runs things.One of our better writers in any genre has written another would be classic. Very very well done . Highest recommendation.
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