Legacy of Secrecy
Lamar Waldron & Thom Hartmann
'Compelling, often breathless reading.'
(Dallas Morning News)'Lamar Waldron … deserves his own Pulitzer Prize for his great work.'
Liz Smith (New York Post)'Waldron and Hartmann offer convincing evidence ... A riveting take on the assassination itself and the devastating results of government secrets, this account proves the continuing relevancy and importance of seeking the truth behind one of the U.S.’s most personal tragedies.'
(Publishers Weekly (starred review))A compelling narrative that unveils behind-the-scenes accounts of America’s biggest political scandals of the 20th century.
The crack of rifle fire in Dallas that killed John F. Kennedy didn’t just start a frantic effort to find his assassins. JFK’s murder also launched a flurry of covert actions by officials like attorney-general Robert F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson to hide the fact that in November 1963 the United States was on the brink of invading Cuba, as part of a JFK-authorised coup. The plan’s exposure could have cost the life of JFK’s coup leader — Cuban army commander Juan Almedia — and led to a nuclear confrontation with the Soviets, just a year after the Cuban missile crisis. But the cover-ups by these top officials also had the tragic effect of preventing a full investigation into JFK’s assassination, spawning a legacy of secrecy that would impact presidents, Congress, and US foreign policy for the next 45 years.
Legacy of Secrecy reveals for the first time the secret attempts of Robert F. Kennedy and his aides to expose his brother’s killers, using interviews with two dozen RFK associates and newly declassified files from the National Archives. Legacy shows how RFK continued his war against the Mafia by focusing increasing attention on the godfathers behind JFK’s assassination, until his own murder.
RFK’s associates continued his quest and almost exposed the truth on six different occasion. But, like a deadly, high-stakes chess game — at the height of the Cold War — each time they were blocked by three Mafia chiefs and a handful of CIA operatives.
Legacy details each step taken by mob bosses Carlos Marcello, Santo Trafficante, and Johnny Rosselli to hide their involvement in JFK’s murder, including several spectacular murders of Congressional witnesses.
'A truly remarkable book ... there is no doubting the compelling logic of its conclusions.'
(Sunday London Telegraph)'The authors point the finger at mob bosses Carlos Marcello, Santo Trafficante, and Johnny Rosselli, raising many provocative questions about November 22, 1963 ... Waldron and Hartmann blame the mob, and they have some explosive new material, based mainly on government documents from the National Archive.'
(Vanity Fair)'Astounding … thorough and meticulous in its research.'
(Mark Crispin Miller, media critic and author of Fooled Again)'"Their research is punctilious, overwhelming and persuasive," said Ronald Goldfarb, a Mafia prosecutor for former Attorney General Robert Kennedy.'
(Atlanta Journal-Constitution)'The evidence points to a conspiracy case that could go to a jury — were the parties alive.'
(Ronald Goldfarb, writing in Tina Brown's The Daily Beast)'A new, heavily researched book on John F. Kennedy's murder and its investigation … to the killing of Martin Luther King Jr.'
(Associated Press)'They’ve done a service by digging up the deepest, darkest, most disturbing archival evidence.'
(Ron Rosenbaum, author of The Shakespeare Wars) (Fox News Fox and Friends)'Government documents say a Mafia crime boss confessed — yes confessed — to ordering the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.'
(CNN American Morning)Lamar Waldron
Author photo
Ashley Zeltzer
Lamar Waldron was called 'the ultimate JFK historian and examiner' by Variety. His groundbreaking research has been featured by hundreds of newspapers and radio stations, and was the subject of the Discovery Channel documentary, Conspiracy Files: JKF Assassination.
He has been featured on CNN, the History Channel, Geraldo Rivera, and Fox News. His work has been acclaimed by authors ranging from former FBI agent William Turner to Kennedy biographer John H. Davis. He is the author, with Thom Hartmann of Ultimate Sacrifice.
Website: http://www.legacyofsecrecy.com
Thom Hartmann
Thom Hartmann is a best-selling author and national radio host for Air America. Heard by millions of radio listeners daily, Hartmann is the author of seventeen books, including The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight; We the People; What Would Jefferson Do?; and Screwed: the undeclared war against the middle class – and what we can do about it.
Buy from Readings
Extent: 864pp 12pp photo section
Size: 234mm x 153mm
ISBN (13): 9781921372704
RRP: $45.00
Pub date: March 2009
ANZ, South Africa
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