My title basically says all I feel is necessary about Mr. Lifton's masterwork, and I 'practice what I preach', in that I've now got THREE versions of this book, ie the first edition hardcover, the 1988 trade paperback, and finally this 1992 Signet edition, all of which have new forewords, afterwords, etc. That should give anyone who's perusing the reviews confirmation that my title of this review is apt, at least for this reader.
And it doesn't REALLY matter what 'side' of the JFK issue you come down on, be it Lone Nutter or Conspiracy Realist (I for one refuse to use the diminutive version of "Conspiracy Theorist", so I'm giving away which side I agree with; hence, I'll leave the perjorative for those LN'ers who STILL "buy the Lie").
What I mean by the above is that even if you ARE part of the LN'er crowd, and fates help you get over that, it is my firm belief you will still enjoy this book. How can I say that? Well, as Mr. Lifton himself points out in the text, his original publisher quite rightly asked that he "tell his story", as opposed to just relaying the facts as he found them. In other words, we get the picture of his personal voyage of discovery, and as he writes with a quite enjoyable familiarity (for lack of a better word), we share his journey over the decades, triumphs as well as setbacks, and in the end it's just a great READ. Believe me, as one who has slogged through dozens of thick tomes on this subject, some dryer than sand in an oven, it is quite a joy to find a book which is actually FUN to read (an obviously very difficult task for any writer to accomplish, given the subject matter at issue).
Finally, in the infintely small chance that Mr. Lifton might actually read this review, I'd just like to ask (with a smile and most of tongue firmly in cheek):
WHERE IS THE NEXT BOOK DAVID?? I know you've been working on it feverishly (basically since 1980), and I know some of the difficulties involved which you have encountered, and which I'll keep to myself here, but c'mon man! do NOT let perfection be the enemy of production to the extent I believe you might be doing so. That said, it's your call and of COURSE we readers have no right to push you in ANY way...so of course that's EXACTLY what I'm doing NOW, pushing you to give me & other fans your second book asap :-0 yeah, yeah, we should go jump in the lake, sts, but one tends to wrinkle badly after wading in these "waiting" waters for, oh, I don't know, THIRTY YEARS?? Have mercy on us David!
(just in case it's not clear, I'm really "kidding on the square" re the above paragraph, Mr. Lifton should of course only release the follow-up to this work if and when he's ready. That's bottom-line, and all else is me just funnin')
In sum, I can't WAIT for the follow-up, even though that's just what I've been doing for many many years, which should tell folks who are considering buying this book one simple thing: GET IT. NOW. It's that great. :-)
MMK
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StiffyO'Riorda
Painstakingly detailed analysis of what happened to JFK's body
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 29, 2015