The printed word has power. Not only is the reader informed, the beliefs and ideas of the writer are affirmed. It may be possible that the most tangible result of four decades of JFK conspiracy research is the widespread appearance in print of two simple words: “alleged assassin.”

As a young student, John F. Kennedy was an avid reader, later penning several books, including the Pulitzer Prize winning Profiles in Courage. Lee Harvey Oswald also pursued a literary interest, devouring a diversity of books from public libraries. Some say he was headed for a library when stopped by Tippit. Had he lived, Oswald might well have written the definitive assassination book.

Could fiction have crafted a more preposterous rendezvous? The President who always longed to be a writer/educator slain from a building full of school books? And the undecipherable footnote: a Texas Gilligan—in truth, seasoned beyond his years—with a global purpose and the steadfast temperament to confound a generation?

There have been hundreds of books written since about the assassination and its controversies, enough titles to nearly fill the Depository’s sixth floor. The genre has inspired several large published bibliographies and specialized collectors. Despite the diversity and volume, the public appetite has shown no limit. Though it all, The Warren Report has persevered, in the words of Gerald R. Ford, “like a Gibraltar of factual literature.” It remains the starting point and most-required of all reading for any new researcher.

A golden age of determined loners and grassroots organizing. A symptom of Sixties radicalism, their efforts ironically fueled a reactionary-McCarthyism in the form of Jim Garrison. Books and Articles.

The Watergate scandal and confirmation of CIA assassination plots against Castro legitimized the critics’ suspicions, helping to establish the 1976-78 Congressional inquiry called the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA). Books and Articles.

The HSCA spearheaded legitimate scientific inquiry into the assassination, reaching a “probable conspiracy” finding. The basis of that finding, a controversial acoustical analysis, was later disproven as that field of science matured. The Committee’s medical and photographic work has persevered, resulting in new avenues of study for the critics. Books and Articles.

The Oliver Stone movie JFK demonstrated the public wasn’t through with its fascination over Kennedy assassination conspiracy allegations. Some of the critics’ more controversial claims, such as wound alteration, were challenged by other writers, only to be replaced by new charges such as Zapruder film forgery. Reflecting maturity, the modern critical community and objective independent researchers now subject such allegations to vigorous standards of proof using scientific advances. Books and Articles.



In addition, there are sections (accessible by era) for Journals, Film & Media, and Marginalia (related and off-beat items). Anthologies and Limousine (transportation) rate a page each A few seldom-seen Rarities are presented in full. A special selection looks at the assassination literature on Robert F. Kennedy.

Where presented, the bullhorn icon will display that book’s promotional abstract; plus all featured book blurbs are accessible by era. The microscope icon leads to a detailed review and sometimes the book’s contents listing.

Icons and abbreviations are defined in the Legend. Please note that the clipart used does not necessarily represent that item’s actual contents.

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