Thursday, December 20, 2012

Finished (Audiobook) - "Killing Kennedy" - Bill O'Reilly

I was pleasantly surprised that "Killing Kennedy" was merely a biography of John F. Kennedy, from war years through the untimely end of his presidency.

Given O'Reilly's position at Fox News, I was expecting a much more lopsided railing against a democratic president.  Instead, it seemed to be a fair overview, not overly critical of aspects of the administration which probably need deeper review (e.g. the Bay of Pigs and even the Cuban Missile Crisis).  O'Reilly even does a good job of mentioning some of the conspiracy theories around the assassination, without giving any undue credibility - he maintains the "magic bullet" and the "lone gunman" explanations, while allowing that there were instances that keep the conspiracy theories alive (e.g. Oswald calling himself a "Patsy", even the odd presence of Ruby in a "secure area", where he killed Oswald).

However, the book does not dwell on these loose ends, maintaining that the total story is never likely to come out, should there be a larger story.

The portrayal of Jackie Kennedy's actions thoroughout the administration, including her handling of the extra-marital affairs, and particularly her handing of the horrific assassination and aftermath were well told, neither straying into high drama, or downplaying the seriousness of the events and the poise which Jackie maintained.

It certainly would have been easy to slide into the world of controversy and speculation, the affairs could have taken more of the book, and any suspicion of Jackie's relationship with Aristotle Onassis, it would have been a fun book, but quickly would have veered away from history into pseudo-history.

A very easy book to listen to, particularly as the story is well known - easy to listen in small snippets.

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