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After fifty years, historians
and writers are still scrutinizing facts surrounding the assassination
of President John F. Kennedy. End of Days, by James
Swanson, is a gripping account of the days preceding and directly
after Kennedy's murder. Another book, If Kennedy Lived
by Jeff Greenfield, raises a number of key issues that would
have been affected had Kennedy hypothetically survived the
assassination.
End of Days: The Assassination of John F. Kennedy
is written like a crime story. Unfortunately, the facts are
both true and sobering as Swanson recreates four of the darkest
days in American history. The author gives minute-by-minute
details that include new revelations, facts well known, and
facts that might have been forgotten. He describes Lee Harvey
Oswald's attempt to kill another public figure, Major General
Edwin A. Walker, the abuse by Oswald of his wife, Kennedy's
arrival in Texas, the shooting, and the aftermath.
Swanson commented, "This is America's version of a Shakespearean
tragedy. For reference look at what the President said that
morning in his hotel room, 'If someone wants to shoot me from
a window with a rifle, nobody can stop it, so why worry about
it.' It was eerie because of the foreshadowing and symbolism.
I also wanted to explore what Jackie Kennedy endured and how
she did it with dignity and grace. She never abandoned JFK
after he was shot. She helped to give him a legacy where he
is respected and admired."
One of the most interesting parts of the book is when the
reader is allowed to speculate on the ineptness of the Secret
Service. In the car with Kennedy were two Secret Service Agents,
one who was driving and the other who was in charge of the
detail. The book describes the wide first shot that hit the
curb, and how people reacted to that shot: "But those
in the motorcade certainly heard the gunfire…At that
moment he (Kennedy) stopped waving to the crowd and lowered
his right arm. Jackie heard it too." Yet, the Secret
Service did not speed away, did not swerve, and did not react
by yelling to get down. Nor did they react to Jackie's Secret
Service Agent, Clint Hill, in the trail car, running toward
the Presidential limousine.
The reader can also contemplate, with the many details provided,
on why Oswald did it and why he never admitted to it, or why
JFK was buried without his brain and what happened to it.
Swanson noted, "Who took it and why have tissue samples
and skull fragments along with the brain disappeared? All
this unnecessary secrecy gave rise to the conspiracy theories.
It allowed people to get suspicious. These multiple conflicting
conspiracy stories had made us lose touch with the human drama
and emotions of that day: a wife lost her husband, children
lost their father, and a nation lost their President."
Jeff Greenfield's book, If Kennedy Lived, also discusses
the assassination, but as an alternate theory, he has President
Kennedy surviving. By far the most interesting part of the
book is when he shows how a slight change of circumstances
could have altered history. He stated, "It has been a
long standing fascination with me in looking at what would
happen if there were different leaders with different character
traits in power during critical times." The author explores
a number of key issues that would have been affected if Kennedy
had lived and was re-elected: exiting from Vietnam, the passage
of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, opening a dialogue with Cuba
and China, as well as how Kennedy's health and extramarital
sex life would affect his decision making.
What is not believable and definitely a stretch is Greenfield's
attempt to have Kennedy viewed as a non-Cold Warrior by citing
speeches given the last year of his life. The author seems
to ignore the parts of the speeches that call Communism repugnant
and evil. He never refers to the speech Kennedy would have
given in Dallas had he lived. In fact, Swanson quotes it in
End of Days, "Voices preaching doctrines wholly
unsuited to reality, wholly unsuited to the sixties, doctrines
which apparently assume that words will suffice without weapons…our
adversaries have not abandoned their ambitions, our dangers
have not diminished, our vigilance cannot be relaxed."
When asked about this, Greenfield stated, "Kennedy was
no fan of the Soviet system. What he was saying is that he
was not going to base a foreign policy on a risky approach.
I tried to write a plausible history."
Swanson's End of Days and Greenfield's If Kennedy
Lived are interesting reads. The books give a detailed
account of that era in American history where most Americans
can tell you where they were and what they were doing when
they heard that horrifying news. President and Jackie Kennedy
are martyred, admired, and respected, which is reflected in
both books.
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End
Of Days
If
Kennedy Lived