Case Closed: Lee Harvey Oswald and the Assassination of JFK

by Gerald Posner

Book Overview

The assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, continues to inspire interest ranging from well-meaning speculation to bizarre conspiracy theories and controversial filmmaking. But in this landmark book,reissued with a new afterword for the 40th anniversary of the assassination, Gerald Posner examines all of the available evidence and reaches the only possible conclusion: Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. There was no second gunman on the...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0679418253
• ISBN13: 9780679418252
• Release Date: August 1993
• Publisher: Random House (NY)
• Length: 607 Pages
• Weight: 2.37 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.9" x 6.5" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

For anyone more interested in truth than sensationalism...

...this should be a must read. Very detailed, well written. Question: How many people can conspire to keep a secret on such a tremendous scale for decades, especially people in government (notorious leakers in general)? As much as apparently many people would like to believe there must have been some grand conspiracy that brought down a very popular President who was larger than life, the evidence (which, as Posner's book details, is quite overwhelming) proves that the Warren Commission's conclusion was absolutely correct: that a "sole nut" brought down President Kennedy. No grand conspiracy, just a horribly sad tragedy.

Thorough and well researched

Gerald Posner's book, Case Closed is a real eye opener. If, like many people, you base all of your opinions on the JFK assasination on the Oliver Stone film, then you need to read this book. Posner's book, incredibly well researched and annotated, demonstrates beyond a shadow of a doubt that Stone's film, while remarkably entertaining, plays fast and loose with many of the facts surrounding this historical event. As Posner details, most of the so-called "evidence" of a conspiracy presented in the film does not stand up to close examination. Some of it is no more than wild speculation, much of it flat out untrue, but has through years of retelling entered the public consciousness as if it were fact. For instance, the alleged eyewitnesses featured in the movie have largely been discredited over the years, many changing their stories several times, others having been shown not to have even been in Dealey Plaza on 11/22/63. Posner also takes on the so-called scientific evidence of the conspiracy buffs, dismantling their arguments piece by piece in convincing fashion. The important thing to realize about this book is how thoroughly and meticulously researched it is. There is no conjecture - merely cold hard facts, presented as found. As convinced as I was before I read this book that there was a conspiracy to kill JFK, I am just as convinced now that there was not.

Most Compelling Single Argument...

...I've seen in print to capture the logical progression of what likely happened. Naturally, ANYTHING is possible. We can never know with absolute clarity everything about the JFK assassination. Over the years, I've found myself intrigued by the various alternative ideas of what happened, and even now I find it difficult to consider the various sinister associations of the principles in the case and arrive at a "2 independent lone killers" hypothesis. However, we are left at this point 45 years later having no real choice but to make do with the most plausible and demonstrable alternatives among the world of competing theories. I think this is it, or at least as close to it as we're ever going to get. Mind you, I TOO believe that Mr. Posner sometimes gets too far afield in some of his speculations. He sometimes shows his lawyer training by appearing to present more of a slightly stretched legal brief than an objective evaluation of the facts. Nevertheless, on balance, he's hit a home run. Much of the technical scientific data appears so sensible as to be beyond dispute. His strongest argument against an involved conspiracy in my opinion has to do with the nature of SEQUENCE OF EVENTS. For example (one of many): How does Oswald (as a logical result of a conspiracy) end up working at the Depository well in ADVANCE of the decision of JFK to drive by that particular building, in that particular city? I think most conspiracy theories over the years have tied themselves in knots trying to deal with straightforward questions like that. In the process, they have tended to become more and more convoluted, and less and less plausible. Mr. Posner brings a lot of this back to earth, and this really is pretty near to "closed" in my opinion.

Great intro to JFK assassination

My search for JFK assassination material began when I booked a trip to Dallas for a football game. I really didn't have any preconceived notions on whether the assassination was a conspiracy or not. I simply wanted to educate myself on what I would be looking at when I visited the Dallas School Book Depository. After reviewing most of the well known theories on wikipedia.com, I decided to purchase a book that went into depth on why Oswald acted along. "Case Closed" does a good job giving the reader an insight on what Lee Harvey Oswald was all about. It also goes in depth on the background of Jack Ruby. Most impressively, Posner does a fantastic job citing where and how his information was obtained. When I finally got the the sixth floor of the Depository, I quickly came to the conclusion that the shot from the window was not a difficult shot to make (esp in 3 attempts). I also made a point to go down to the grassy knoll. I couldn't help but think to myself, "the grassy knoll sure is close to location where the president was shot. If the shots came from there how could not everyone notice?" What sealed the deal for me was watching the assassination on youtube.com. One can clearly see that when the second shot is fired, both the President and Governor react as if they have been hit at the same time. You have to ask yourself, if it wasn't a "single bullet" that hit them both, what is the probability that a conspirator(s) could make it appear as if it were a single shot? In my opinion, if Jack Ruby hadn't shot Oswald, there would be no conspiracies.

The Most Objective Kennedy Assassination Book Available

Gerald Posner has written what I believe is the most objective fact-driven Kennedy assassination book available. Let's face it, there are as many Kennedy assassination books as there are varieties of insects! Each book takes a different view of the Kennedy assassination based on the author's preconceived bias. These conspiracy writers very rarely deal with the evidence or facts of the case, but instead spout their pet theories based on speculation, half-truths, and a lot of imagination. Posner's book is different. He does not offer a new conspiracy theory; rather, he strenghtens the Warren Commission's finding that Lee Oswald shot President Kennedy with his cheap mail-order rifle from the Texas Bookstore Depository, acting alone. Incredible as it may seem, Posner presents the evidence to back up his conclusion most adequately. Posner's position will not sit well with conspiracy theorists, who believe that a grand conspiracy of some sort had to be in existance for someone (perhaps Oswald, more likely many others) to have pulled off the crime of the century - the murder of a president. Thus, you will find much criticism of Posner's book from the conspiracy club. I invite the perceptive reader to evaluate Posner's book on the evidence presented, the strength of that evidence, and the conclusion(s) Posner draws which implicates Oswald working alone. I believe that if the reader approaches Posner's book with an open mind, free of bias, the evidence presented will strongly influence the reader to consider that Oswald in fact did the crime alone. I was once in the conspiracy club myself, that is until I shed my emotional bias in the case and looked at it through the strength of the evidence alone. Posner's book helped me to do that. Posner is a lawyer and presents the available evidence in a straight-forward logical sequence, as a lawyer would do. He then refutes the popular conspiracy theories based on their contradictions to the available evidence. Posner is most pursuasive in his writing, and his common-sense, evidence-driven approach to his conclusion will strongly influence the reader. I realize that this topic is a most controversial one. Passions are high on both sides of the issue ("Lone Nut" versus Conspiracy), and each side generally has contempt for the other. This aside, I strongly recommend this book for its ability to cut a path through the passion, to focus on the evidence and not pet theories, and to avoid speculations that lead in a hundred different directions. Having read this book and many many others on the assassination, I have come to the conclusion that Oswald did shoot Kennedy alone, without a conspiracy of other shooters. But like Posner, I'd invite the readers to investigate the evidence for themselves, and then come up with their own conclusions. Posner is very credible and convincing in his conclusion. If you are new to the assassination controversy, this is a good starting point because it t