The Killing of a President: The Complete Photographic Record of the Assassination, the Conspiracy, and
Friday, July 2nd, 2010 at
3:41 am
Product Description
More than 650 full-color and quadratone photographs provide a definitive photographic record of the Kennedy assassination, refuting the findings of the Warren Commission and providing a step-by-step chronology of the events of the murder. Reprint. 50,000 first printing…. More >>
Tagged with: Assassination • Complete • Conspiracy • Killing • Photographic • president • Record
Filed under: Conspiracy
Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!
I must admit that I have never [ and will never ] read this book. I only write this review so those who read it will know that Robert Groden is an unscrupulous person who continually lies [ I have evidence ] and misstates the truth in his writings.
My roommate visited Dallas a few months ago [ and the sixth floor museum ] and upon his return he was eager to share with me a periodical named ‘JFK: The Case For Conspiracy’ [ written by Groden; 46pgs/ New Frontier Publishing 2003 ]. He, knowing that I believed Oswald acted alone, quickly turned to page 40 and showed me a photogragh of what appeared to be smoke billowing above the grassy knoll. I calmed him down and tried to explain to him that it would be awfully ignorant of them conspirators to use that kind of gunpowder, when “smokeless” gunpowder was invented in the 1870′s!! We didn’t talk much more about it [ he is aware that I know this case ], but I decided to read the thing anyways. Not surprising, 46 pages of nonsense.
To give you a small sampling of the lies that this guys writes, here are a few paragraghs from the section devoted to the murder of Officer J. D. Tippit [ pg 14/ only one page devoted to this important aspect of the case!!! ]. Pay attention to the third paragragh, it’s hilarious……
………….About forty minutes after the assassination, Dallas Police officer J. D. Tippit was shot to death in what may have been an unrelated incident several miles from the assassination scene in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas.
The official investigators all came to the unsupported conclusion that Oswald had shot Officer Tippit. There is absolutely no evidence linking the two crimes, and none of the witnesses who actually witnessed the Tippit killing, indentified Lee Oswald [ a vicious canard ] as the murderer.
The physical evidence also tends to clear Oswald as the Tippit killer. Shortly after 1:00pm Oswald arrived at his rooming house at 1026 North Beckley in Oak Cliff. Departing the house ” a few minutes after 1:00″, Probably about 1:04 to 1:05 according to his landlady Earlene Roberts, he waited at the bus stop on the corner heading north. Tippit was shot nine tenths of a mile south of the rooming house at about 1:10 to 1:11 pm [ more like 1:15, but I won't harp on that ]. This would only allow five to seven minutes [ well, which is it: 5, 6, or 7 minutes? ] for Lee to arrive at the scene of the shooting nearly a mile away. It would take an Olympic class runner, or a co-conspirator driving him, for Oswald to get to Tenth Street and Patton Avenue in time………………….
???????? CAN ANYONE EXPLAIN TO ME WHAT THAT HAS TO DO WITH “PHYSICAL EVIDENCE”?? That entire third paragragh is derived from eyewitness testimony and has nothing to do with the “physical evidence” of the Tippit murder. Moreover, there are six pieces of physical evidence that tie Oswald to the crime scene, including: Oswald’s 38 caliber pistol which was on his person at the time of his arrest; four spent 38 caliber hulls found at the scene which were matched to Oswald’s pistol [ballistically ], to the exclusion of every other pistol in the world!!; and Oswald’s jacket [ identified by Marina Oswald and fibers found on the inside of the jacket matched the brown and orange fibers of Oswalds shirt, EXCACTLY!! ], which was found two blocks from the crime scene in a gas station parking lot on Jefferson Blvd. Further, three eyewitnesses [ Helen Markham, Jack Tatum, and Domingo Bienvidas ] saw the shooting and positively indentified Lee Oswald as the shooter. Not to mention the six eyewitnesses that identified Lee Oswald fleeing the scene with a gun!! But Mr. Groden would have you believe that the Dallas Police were running around, coming to an “unsupported conclusion”. And he is one of the “leading advocates” for conspiracy [that should tell you something ].
Groden is a fraud and a grifter, and he puts his kids through school because people are too hardheaded to look at the evidence, which is overwhelming. My advice is to stay away from anything this guy is selling.
Rating: 1 / 5
When I last reviewed this book I was a serious conspiracy buff who was convinced that LHO did not act alone. This book fueled that fire. I have since been enlightened and no longer believe there was any kind of conspiracy. My reasons are not relevant here, but I am compelled to retract my previous review in case some of you folks may want to refer to it if you are considering purchasing it. It is still a well written book with great photos. Nice tabletop book for a conversation starter. Unfortunately, the evidence within it’s covers is very gray area stuff. I am no longer convinced.
Rating: 2 / 5
Robert J. Groden’s “The Killing Of A President” is a very good resource book for many of the photographs connected with the events surrounding the 1963 assassination of President John Kennedy.
The softcover version of “TKOAP” that I own, published in 1994, consists of 223 pages and is printed on very high-quality (thick) paper stock. The book measures approximately 9-1/4″ (W) x 10-7/8″ (H), and has a nice “collectible” feel to it.
This volume is just crammed full of high-quality photographs and still-frames from motion-picture sequences that were taken on November 22, 1963 (the day of JFK’s murder). Some of the pictures depicted here are large-sized and take up entire pages, with a few filling out full two-page spreads.
Several of JFK’s autopsy photos are published within this volume, as well, and are rather graphic and gruesome in nature (especially if you’ve never had the chance to view them before via other means). So, be forewarned before you turn to Pages 72 through 85.
The book’s text and photo captions are all “pro-CT” in nature (i.e.: pushing the idea that a vast, multi-shooter conspiracy existed to assassinate President Kennedy in Dallas’ Dealey Plaza).
It’s a nicely-styled publication, IMO. But the book’s ‘style’ certainly doesn’t mean Mr. Groden has proven that any type of “conspiracy” existed on 11-22-63. I do not think he has; and I also don’t think that more than one man (Lee Harvey Oswald) was aiming a weapon at JFK that day in Dallas. The overwhelming evidence in the case (on the whole) tells me that one lone killer was involved in ending the President’s life that sunny Friday afternoon.
I’m forced to chuckle when reading in this book of Mr. Groden’s “8-Shot” shooting scenario that he believes took place on 11/22. (He even suggests that there might have been up to TEN shots fired at the President’s limousine, despite the fact that ONLY THREE of these many shots were heard by the large majority of the witnesses at the scene.)
Mr. Groden obviously realizes that in any such 8-to-10-shot scenario, a total of up to SEVEN of the bullets had to somehow disappear from view before they could enter any kind of ‘official’ record in the case (because Oswald, the resident “Patsy” in the JFK killing, per CT accounts, could only have fired three shots from his rifle in the allotted timeframe during the shooting).
And we must also keep in mind — per Mr. Groden’s theory (in which he has Texas Governor John B. Connally hit TWICE, not just once) — that FIVE total bullets, including the JFK head-shot missile, MUST “disappear” completely from the record AFTER having gone into TWO different victims’ bodies (JFK & Connally). And this includes the ‘disappearance’ of TWO bullets that struck a man who LIVED through the shooting (Connally). Talk about “Magic Bullets”! Mr. Groden apparently has not just ONE, but FIVE such miracle (vanishing) missiles. Quite remarkable indeed.
How in the world could ANY “plotters” possibly EXPECT a crazy multi-shot plan like this to succeed? It’s completely nutty to think that anyone wanting to “frame” Lee Oswald would be WILLING to shoot that many times at the ONE intended target and from multiple angles and locations.
Another thing to ask yourself (if you believe in this notion of 8 or 10 shots actually being fired at JFK) — Just what kind of CRAPPY shooters were being employed to rub out the Chief Executive on November 22nd? Mr. Groden is purporting that up to HALF the shots that were fired (5 out of 10 in the ludicrously-high TEN-SHOT theory being proposed) not only missed their intended target (which was obviously JFK), but all these various shots missed the ENTIRE AUTOMOBILE! Some great riflemen, huh?
Want another good belly-laugh? Keep reading……
Good Gosh! Would you look at this! …. Up to TEN shots and (per Groden) NOT ONE OF THEM being fired from Oswald’s “Sniper’s Nest” in the Texas School Book Depository Building?! (He hints that ONE, and only ONE, of these many shots COULD have come from the “Oswald window”, but he feels that even THAT shot “probably” came from elsewhere — the Dal-Tex Building on Houston Street.)
You’d THINK that, given an 8- or 10-shot shooting scenario, that Mr. G. might have a few more of the shots emanating from the ONLY POSITIVELY KNOWN SOURCE OF GUNFIRE — the southeastern-most window on the 6th Floor of the Depository, from where Oswald HIMSELF was positively identified as firing a rifle at the motorcade!
Evidently, Mr. Groden must think that this rifle-toting “Oswald Look-alike” in the SE corner window on the 6th Floor of the Depository was only PRETENDING to fire his rifle at President Kennedy, in order to further implicate “Patsy Oswald”. I guess it didn’t matter to any of the conspirators that NONE of the wounds on the victims would ‘line up’ properly if the ‘plotters’ don’t have some bullets coming from that Oswald window — but that (apparently) didn’t concern the architects of this doomed-to-fail-from-the-start “Frame-The-Patsy” conspiracy plot.
And then there’s also the testimony of Harold Norman to consider when evaluating the overall validity of any of Mr. Groden’s claims. Norman worked in the Book Depository Building and was situated on the 5th Floor, directly underneath the ‘Oswald window’ at the time of the shooting. Norman actually HEARD the working of the rifle’s ‘bolt’ above him, and HEARD three cartridge cases hitting the floor right above him. Given such detailed testimony from someone within the Book Depository itself (including his preciseness re. hearing “THREE” hulls/shells dropping to the floor and exactly “THREE” shots being fired), how can Mr. Groden possibly purport a theory which includes ZERO shots or just ONE shot coming from the Oswald location?
Mr. Groden also postulates in this book, as I previously mentioned, his belief that Governor Connally was hit by two separate bullets, the last of these (which Groden says caused the wrist injury to Connally) supposedly occurring six-tenths of a second AFTER the fatal head shot to JFK.
This “2-shot” theory to ‘JBC’ is totally unsupported by the evidence and the filmed (Zapruder) record — not to mention the fact that NEITHER of these bullets, per this theory, is ever found by Parkland Hospital personnel. The ONE bullet discovered at Parkland, according to conspiracists, was “planted” by someone (Bullet CE399). Connally’s doctor (Dr. Shaw), however, said on 11/22 that ALL of Connally’s wounds were probably caused by “one bullet” (not two).
And then there’s the “Zapruder Film”, which (IMO) verifies that Connally’s wrist was struck by a bullet WELL prior to the JFK head shot. This “verification”, IMO, occurs on the Z-Film in the form of a very rapid movement of Connally’s right arm just a few Z-Frames after what I consider to be the one and only shot to John Connally’s body — that being the “Single-Bullet Theory” missile, which occurs at Z223-Z224 on the Zapruder home movie. The extremely fast UP then DOWN movement of JBC’s right arm confirms, in my mind, the fact that his wrist has been hit by something at that precise moment. It’s obviously an involuntary arm movement.
I also get particular amusement when I read anything pertaining to the so-called “Umbrella Man” in connection with the Kennedy murder. The “Umbrella Man” was a bystander in Dealey Plaza who held an open umbrella above his head as JFK’s car passed by him on Elm Street. Some “CTers” seem to feel that this man fired a “poisoned dart” or some other type of projectile into the throat of JFK, thereby paralyzing the President just prior to the fatal head shot.
While Mr. Groden doesn’t come right out in this book and say he believes such a cockeyed theory, he does give “The Umbrella Man” a nice two-page layout in “TKOAP” (pages 188-189), and hints at the possibility that this man waving his rain-shielding device was MORE than just a man carrying an umbrella.
Re. “Umbrella Man” — Can you just hear the ‘plotters’, on 11-21-63, planning the details of the assassination which would be occurring the following day? I can. It would have made for a very amusing powwow. Here’s what such a PRE-Assassination conversation amongst the conspirators mapping out the shooting just might have sounded like……..
>>> “Let’s see, Marty — you’re our “Umbrella” dude, and you shoot first — right out in plain sight on Elm Street where many dozens of people will probably be filming you and therefore will have you on movies and still pics (but don’t worry, the post-assassination “Cover-Up Team” can explain away those pics as “fakes” like everything else we’re about to do tomorrow).
“OK, so, Marty, you’ve checked out that ‘Umbrella Dart’ thing-a-ma-bob, right? It’s working OK? It wouldn’t do to have a “misfired” poisoned dart, because you might then hit the “DCM” (“Dark-Complected Man”), who’s gonna be standing next to you and wave to JFK as a “final sign” to him of who it is that’s about to kill him, remember.
“OK, so Marty’s got the Umbrella thing down cold. He’ll fire the WARNING shot into Kennedy’s neck so that he’ll be paralyzed for a shot that comes many seconds later. There’s no real need, of course, for this dart-shot; in fact it’s pretty stupid if ya ask me — but them’s my orders from ‘upstairs’ guys, so we gotta live with it.
“OK, so then Francisco in the Dal-Tex is to fire next, after the Umbrella shot; but Francisco’s second shot into JFK’s back is ALSO a low-powered shot, like the Umbrella shot. Only’ll go into the back about two inches. Remember, guys, we don’t want to kill him yet! Not after just a mere two shots! We want him to have TWO “Warning” shots, so that Kennedy and his many Secret Service agents will have ample time to GET WISE to what is about to happen, and he’ll have time to duck away from our “Kill” shot. After all, fair is fair, right?
“Plus, we also want this “Patsy” plot of ours to be so overly-complicated and impossible to pull off in order to make as much work as possible for our “Cover-up” operatives who’ll be taking over the conspiracy case tomorrow at 12:31 PM — like having to fake AS MUCH EVIDENCE AS WE CAN POSSIBLY DREAM UP. We want these guys to have to dig out of JFK’s body AS MANY USELESS, NEEDLESS BULLETS AS POSSIBLE in order to earn their keep tomorrow!
“We COULD just use Billy Bob here (who kinda looks like Oswald) as the lone shooter from the Sniper’s-Nest window — but — Nah! Let’s go whole hog and clog the works with as many futile and needless shots as possible to give the cover-up crew a good workout tomorrow! OK? OK! Let’s do it!” < <<
Place obligatory “ROFL” icon here —->
——————-
To summarize ….. “The Killing Of A President” is definitely a ‘Must-Have’ publication for any JFK assassination buff or researcher (CTers and LNers alike) — but ONLY for the large photographic record of the tragic assassination that is documented within these 223 pages. If all of this pro-CT text that’s printed here could be eradicated, it’d be an even far better volume, IMHO.
My Amazon Review “Breakdown” for this item —-
For the photographs depicted: 5 Stars.
For the text/captions: 0 Stars (I just simply can’t embrace ANY of these conspiracy notions).
Overall rating: 2.5 Stars.
Rating: 2 / 5
The shadow Gov’t basically rules now. That’s
why we have the 90-I.Q. idiot that we have @
1600 Pennsylvania Ave.! A great book that all
Amer-I-cans should have!
Rating: 5 / 5
On September 19, 1999, I wrote a review of this book, praisingit’s script and photography. I still feel that it is well written andthe photos are great. That’s where it now ends. I have been a conspiracy buff since November 22, 1963…thoroughly convinced that LHO did not act alone. This book fueled that fire. However, I have since been enlightened and see very clearly that black is black and white is white. I am compelled to retract my previous review because, frankly, I have become a nonbeliever. ‘Nuff said.
Rating: 2 / 5