Utterly convincing
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I read this book with an open mind. I found the case presented by the author to be incredibly thorough and absolutely convincing. For me, case closed.
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Case Still Open
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The beauty of a book like Case Closed is that it claims to have all of the answers. If the reader is willing to blindly accept everything the author states as fact, they may be left feeling as if they know the answer to the great American murder mystery. There's no doubt that Posner is a strong, if simplistic, writer and as a former lawyer he knows how to present a case. And he most certainly has his lawyer hat on when he presents what basically amounts to a prosecutors brief. He cherry-picks the evidence, choosing only the witness testimonies and statements that support his arguments whilst ignoring and misrepresenting those that do not. Worst of all, when there is no evidence to support one of his claims, he says there is anyway!
Case Closed is rife with factual errors. In fact there are probably more inaccuracies in this book than in any of the hundreds of pro-conspiracy books that Posner spends half of his time criticising. For example:
p255: Posner claims that railroad workers on the overpass could not have seen puffs of smoke from rifle fire on the knoll "since modern ammunition is smokeless, it seldom creates even a wisp of smoke." This is provably false. Even a government investigation of the assassination refuted this. (see HSCA report p606)
p13n: Posner cites the reports of two Soviet psychiatrists claiming that they support the notion that Oswald was mentally unsound. They do not. (see Warren Commission hearings vol. 18 p464-73)
p257: Posner claims that eyewitness Ed Hoffman could not have seen a gunman behind the picket fence atop the grassy knoll because his view was blocked by "four large railway freight cars." All known films and photos show this to be false.
p329: According to Posner the exact moment Governor Connally was hit can be pin-pointed at frame 224 of the Zapruder film because "the right front of the Governor's suit lapel flips up from his chest." He neglects to mention that the bullet hole in Connally's jacket was several inches down from the lapel in the jacket body beneath the right nipple area.
And so on.
This is not to say that Case Closed is entirely without merit. Regardless of whether or not you agree with the author's conclusions, it is a very enjoyable read. Even though I know it is woefully biased and inaccurate I was gripped by Posner's biography of Oswald. And he does debunk a few of the sillier theories on the assassination (such as the bizarre body alteration theory put forth in David Lifton's book "Best Evidence"). Still, it's probably best to treat this book as what it is; a work of fiction.
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You cannot be serious!
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Posner was clever in writing this book. At the time, the majority of written and public opinion was firmly in the conspiracy camp so it was sensible to take a different tact. Sadly, many people have read this nonsense and many will believe the ludricous conclusion that Oswald killed JFK.
It would take me days to list all of the details Posner chose to ignore. But here's some simple questions....
Posner paints a picture of Oswald as the lone nut attention seeking man (with astounding shooting abilities)yet never wonders why Oswald didn't confess and take the 'glory'? And why would someone with supposed marxist tendencies want to kill the most left wing President in history??
Oh, and you people who continue to believe Oswald did it, have you ever wondered why JFK's brain and the autopsy slides disappeared? No? What about the list of people who conveniently died? Lee Bowers, David Ferrer, Jack Ruby, and of course Oswald himself.
What's startling about the JFK assassination is that the theoretical physics, the ignoring of key witnesses, and the fanciful computer graphics, are used not by the conspiracy believers but by those following the Warren Commission!
Had it gone to Court, Oswald would have opened the biggest can of worms in history. He would have been forced to name his contacts, talk of his history with the Agencies, what the note said that he left for Agent James Hosty (who destroyed it), what he knew of the plot to kill Kennedy.... and then the Defence would have called all those witnesses starting with Jean Hill, Sam Holland, and Lee Bowers, who would have testified to shots from the picket fence. Oswald had to die. Just imagine what would have occured had he lived....
I tip my hat to Posner for marketing reasons. I shake my head at those who believe his version without reading - with an inquisitive mind - the books that leave you in no doubt that Oswald was indeed a patsy.
Back and to the left, back and to the left, back and to the left.
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closed indeed
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I was always sympathetic with the view that JFK was murdered as part of a conspiracy. However this excellent work has totally convinced me that Lee Oswald was the lone assasin. The simple science of the so called magic bullet is overwhelming, and since this book was published forensics have proved Oswald earlier used his gun to attempt an earlier assasination. The logistics of no "deep throat" ever emerging to support a conspiracy to this date is overwhelming, given the at least hundreds of people who would have needed to be privvy to the events. JFK remains a brilliant movie, but only as entertainment and not reality. A pity more did not go into conspiracy relating to Martin Luther King or even Bobby Kennedy.
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Well researched in fact !
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Having spent more than 25 years as a serious researcher on this subject and some three hundred books down the line, I found this (actually very well researched) book to be quite compelling. The problem with the pro conspiracy stance is that it takes multiple detailed criticisms that in turn add up to seemingly serious questions, but does not address the high level broader issues with the available evidence. Posters' book is a fine introduction to the lone gunman stance and a strong foil to the pro conspiracy books that outnumber it and other similar books by about 20 to one. Unfortunately very few people have read the full facts on this case - you would need years to do so, so we rely heavily on authors to be fair and sensible - Posner comes reasonably close to being sensible - though clearly he has to make a passionate stance to make his book stand out.
For those who doubt the Oswald did it stance, read this book - at least it will make you think. Consider one key point of the case - the single bullet theory. Now look at a picture of Kennedy and Connally in the limousine - there are some in this book and ask your self how could a bullet traveling from behind and downwards go through Governor Connally entering just to the left of his right arm pit and travel downwards and across at approx 13 degrees to his mid line - without going through JFK first. No matter how much you want to believe that two people or more shot Kennedy and Connally, it's almost impossible that it happened any other way than the official report states. As one reviewer says here , "Get over it". Oswald did it - boring though that may be and this book goes a long way to proving it. Silly comments like if Oswald had done it he would have been proclaiming his success are plain conjecture. Consider also this simple point - 98% of the witnesses who had an opinion on the direction of where the shots came from said they all came from the same direction. If you prove one shot came from above and behind - which has been proven beyond any doubt then you have a highly compelling case against shots coming from anywhere other than the book depository. Take the positive reviews here as a more accurate representation of this book. Buy it.
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