Thank you to the publisher and for NetGalley, which provided me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

I just finished JFK Assassination: Conspiracies and Coverups, by M.J. Trow. I will admit that, early on, I was very tempted to stop reading. The book did not get off to a good start, as he began with a big chapter disparaging conspiracy believers and made it clear that he included the JFK assassination in that critique. Then, came chapter 2, entitled “Camelot?” The question mark at the end of the chapter name was to indicate that he was questioning the myth of Camelot. Now, I am admirable of President Kennedy, but even I’ll admit there was a big element of myth in Camelot idea. However, the purpose of this chapter seemed to be to just attack the Kennedy family—not so much the president as much as his father. By the end of that chapter, I thought I this author is nothing more than an apologist for the Warren Commission, even though the author did say early on that he didn’t believe their story either. His denial of being an apologist did not hold any credibility in my mind on that point.

Then, I got to chapter 3, which made me glad that I hadn’t just given up on this one. Chapter 3 was when the discussion of November 22, 1963 began. Early on, the author pointed out that one of the wounds clearly came from hitting the president from the front. I immediately thought—what, doesn’t he understand that would prove a conspiracy. No lone gunman could shoot from behind and hit from the front. That’s too out there for even Elmer Fudd to pull off in a Bugs Bunny cartoon. It didn’t take long for me to realize that, even though the author goes to lengths to deny that he’s a conspiracy theorist, he definitely is one. I don’t know why he doesn’t see it, but any reader can easily pick up on it.,

This book was a good discussion of the Kennedy assassination and some of the reasons to disbelieve the Warren Commission. But, this one just didn’t advance the field of study of the assassination in any way. I don’t necessarily hold that against it. There are plenty of books that I’ve read on the Kennedy assassination that didn’t really advance the field, but were so enjoyable to read and so informative that I still gave an A or even an A+.

The book initially made a couple of references to the idea that Lyndon Johnson could have been a co-conspirator, but seemed to only do so to make light of the idea. So when it came time for the chapter in which suspects were looked at, I expected the author to again clear Johnson. I was pleasantly surprised to see that he didn’t, although his discussion of LBJ’s culpability was not as good as I was hoping for. For those who are interested in this topic, LBJ: The Mastermind of JFK’s Assassination, by Philip Nelson, remains the best book on the topic. So I would like to point out to other readers that the case against Johnson is much stronger than what you see in Trow’s book.

When it comes to a grade, I have to give this one a B. It would serve as a good introduction to the case for those who haven’t read anything on the conspiracy to kill President Kennedy. But, for those who are more familiar with the case, there are better and more enjoyable books available. Goodreads and NetGalley require grades on a 1-5 star system. In my personal conversion system, a B equates to 3 stars. (A or A+: 5 stars, B+: 4 stars, B: 3 stars, C: 2 stars, D or F: 1 star).

The positives of this book are that it is a quick read and covers a lot of material on this fascinating topic. This, however, may also be its downfall as I felt some of the conclusions were reached too quickly and with little evidence provided. There also seemed to be an assumed bias, for example, any Texan law enforcement officers wearing a Stetson appeared to be characterized as right wing, communist hating racists. While this might be the case the reader needs some evidence to back this up and not just assertions that many of them were members of the KKK.
Despite this criticism, I do think the author paints a good picture of incompetence with the various agencies handling the Presidents security, response to the Assassination and the subsequent investigation. I think the points he makes are valid regarding the cover up attempts by the Warren Commission and the rush to bury the topic in the minds of the American people. I wish, though, that he had explored more deeply the possible reasons for the cover up and the rush to normalization. That there was a conspiracy versus a lone gunman is probably widely accepted these days but the cover up does not necessarily need to be part of the same conspiracy. Nor does a government cover up necessarily suggest sinister motives. For example, I find it difficult to believe that LBJ would have been involved or had prior knowledge of a plot to assassinate JFK. Men such as him care deeply about their lasting legacy and becoming an historical Pariah we’re such a conspiracy discovered as it most likely, would be a risk too great even if he was inclined towards such a criminal act. This does not mean that he did not immediately take advantage of his unexpected rise to the highest office and change some of JFK’s policies. This he did but it means he is an opportunist not necessarily a co conspirator.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for providing access to this book.

The subject of the JFK assassination is one that will be debated until the end of time. This book, however, gives a good number of insights that have not been explored, Good read.

The assassination of John F Kennedy has been a source of fascination for decades,with all kinds of theories, some a lot stranger than others, several tv documentaries ,a handful of movies and a plethora of books on events at Dealey Plaza on the 22nd of November 1963.
M.J Trow's book on the subject separates the wheat from the chaff with a clear-headed and concise review of the assassination and its aftermath. Usually books on the assassination dive into complex theories ,plots and diversions while skimming over the very relevant basics,not least that Oswald was identified as the shooter by 1 person who claimed to see him from a distance,not cunning police work or a mass of witnesses and the gun that police retrieved from the sniper's nest was not even the same make as the one they claimed Oswald used and were presumably going to use in evidence against him.
As Trow points out there was no actual investigation,Oswald was dead before that could happen,the autopsy was flawed,such evidence as there was cleared Oswald rather than condemned him , the Warren Commission was a complete fiasco,and so it goes on......yet still Oswald ,to this day, is touted as a highly proficient "lone wolf" assassin.
Of all the Kennedy Assassination books I've read this is the most plausible,and while I doubt we'll ever know the truth there's enough in here for most to be able to choose the most likely suspect,or at least one of them.

This was a fascinating element to this book, it was a great JFK nonfiction book. It does a great job in presenting the facts and was researched well. M J Trow has a great writing style and can’t wait to read more from them.