---
product_id: 1705148
title: "JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters"
price: "$60.88"
currency: USD
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 13
url: https://www.desertcart.ec/products/1705148-jfk-and-the-unspeakable-why-he-died-and-why-it
store_origin: EC
region: Ecuador
---

# JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters

**Price:** $60.88
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters
- **How much does it cost?** $60.88 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.ec](https://www.desertcart.ec/products/1705148-jfk-and-the-unspeakable-why-he-died-and-why-it)

## Best For

- Customers looking for quality international products

## Why This Product

- Free international shipping included
- Worldwide delivery with tracking
- 15-day hassle-free returns

## Description

The acclaimed book Oliver Stone called “the best account I have read of this tragedy and its significance,” JFK and the Unspeakable details not just how the conspiracy to assassinate President John F. Kennedy was carried out, but WHY it was done…and why it still matters today. At the height of the Cold War, JFK risked committing the greatest crime in human history: starting a nuclear war. Horrified by the specter of nuclear annihilation, Kennedy gradually turned away from his long-held Cold Warrior beliefs and toward a policy of lasting peace. But to the military and intelligence agencies in the United States, who were committed to winning the Cold War at any cost, Kennedy’s change of heart was a direct threat to their power and influence. Once these dark “Unspeakable” forces recognized that Kennedy’s interests were in direct opposition to their own, they tagged him as a dangerous traitor, plotted his assassination, and orchestrated the subsequent cover-up. Douglass takes readers into the Oval Office during the tense days of the Cuban Missile Crisis, along on the strange journey of Lee Harvey Oswald and his shadowy handlers, and to the winding road in Dallas where an ambush awaited the President’s motorcade. As Douglass convincingly documents, at every step along the way these forces of the Unspeakable were present, moving people like pawns on a chessboard to promote a dangerous and deadly agenda. JFK and the Unspeakable shot up to the top of the bestseller charts when Oliver Stone first brought it to the world’s attention on Bill Maher’s show. Since then, it has been lauded by Mark Lane (author of Rush to Judgment , who calls it “an exciting work with the drama of a first-rate thriller”), John Perkins (author of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man , who proclaims it is “arguably the most important book yet written about an American president), and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who calls it “a very well-documented and convincing portrait…I urge all Americans to read this book and come to their own conclusions.”

Review: Longer than I wished - This is a deeply disturbing book made all the more so because the reader hopes in vain that it is untrue. Over the years I had developed a hopeful scepticism that the JFK assassination conspiracy theories were all just unsupportable theories. This incredibly well researched book dashes all that hopeful scepticism. The book is a combination of first hand interviews and research into recently released documents, as well as the categorisation of the number of mysterious deaths of individuals whose eye-witness accounts defied the distorted wisdom of the local Police, FBI, CIA, Secret Service and the Warren Commission. I read the book from cover to cover only putting it down to sleep and eat over a three day period. It draws a web of conspiracy, it is superbly crafted and reads in reality just like a Frederick Forsythe novel but with an unhappy ending. In addition to eye witnesses mysteriously dying or being declared insane, relevant documents and photographs known to have existed have been disappeared, mislaid or destroyed and Douglass meticulously documents dozens upon dozens of these cases. There is no doubt in the writer's mind that the CIA engineered the assassination acting upon the orders of who knows who at the top of the tree, and then there is no doubt that the FBI covered it up and the local police colluded, however unwillingly, on the basis that if the CIA and their helpful Mafia could kill a President they surely wouldn't hesitate to shoot the odd dissenting policeman. We have all read the stories of the grassy knoll, the Texas Book Depository , the sounds of shots coming from the grassy knoll, the running gunmen, the subsequent cover-up, allusions to Oswald's CIA connections, Ruby's connection to Oswald the CIA and the Mafia. All of this is covered in detail with no stone unturned and in that sense the book is like all the others only more thorough and convincing. What this study does that others only allude to is explain `why', rather than `how' or `what'. The central thesis is that Kennedy experienced a moment of redemption at the time of the Cuban missile crisis and in stepping back from the brink together with his brother Robert determined upon a course of ending the Cold War by entering into a condition of trust with Kruschev and through him ultimately entering upon a process of dialogue with Castro. He began to see the enemy as his own Military Industrial complex and his out of control Intelligence Services, rather than the Soviet Union. The CIA disenchantment with Kennedy had begun with his anger at being backed into a corner over the Bay of Pigs fiasco and his refusal to escalate the invasion by the addition of US Forces. So we have Kennedy entering a secret pact 18 months later with Kruschev, who apparently backed down over the Cuban missiles but only after a Kennedy secret guarantee. This was added to by his agreement to the neutralisation of Laos, his secret directive to withdraw US Forces from Vietnam by end of 1965, his support of Indonesia, the US signing of the first Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a myriad of other matters which angered others in Government. So the `Why' scene was set. But it had the even more sinister undertone of ensuring that everything about the assassination was designed to point to the Soviets and/or Cuba. The author admits that neither man was a saint and that both gave the sixth commandment a very good rattling on many occasions. Even so it now occurs to me that we have probably all been the target of a concerted CIA campaign of disinformation since the mid 60s. Lurid biographies, many unsourced, have blackened the Kennedy name and loosened the Kennedy hold on their natural constituency. If the CIA can assassinate two very obvious public figures in the Kennedys, and cover their tracks, then a subsequent process of character assassination would be a pushover. This book at least for me restores my faith in Camelot even if only to a small degree. The Kennedy and the author's worst howlers are in the Kennedy dealing with Indonesia. He applauds the Kennedy backing of Indonesia's claim to West Papua in 1962, a decision based on total ignorance. Look what the Papuans have had to deal with since, ethnic cleansing, relocation and exploitation and a degraded people with a hopeless future. The Kennedy naïveté was also evident in his dealings with Diem and Kennedy's disastrous appointment of the treacherous Henry Cabot Lodge as Ambassador against his brother's advice. The Buddhist crisis was in many ways a beat up with hostile Press collusion. The author would be well advised to read Mark Moyar's superb 2007 treatise on Vietnam at that period "Triumph Forsaken" before openly accepting that there was a Buddhist crisis. As subsequently proved to be the case, Moyar avers that only one man could lead Vietnam through the maelstrom and that was Diem. One gets some comfort throughout the book from the gentle nudgings of Pope John XXIII, Thomas Merton and the peacenik Christians who we all disparage but nevertheless need. The USA needed Camelot as the 1960s developed apace and Kennedy offered a fleeting vision of the possibilities of peace. What actually followed and continues to follow is disillusionment and cynicism. This is a good book. Read it. And if you have doubts about the author's take on the CIA watch again "The Good Shepherd" with Matt Damon, Alec Baldwin and Robert de Niro.
Review: An EXTRAORDINARY Story - Douglass writes like a POET !!!!! - This review is based on the new paperback edition of the book. Out of all the hundreds of books written about the Kennedy assassination, none is more easily readable than "JFK and the Unspeakable". I would go so far as to say that if you are new to this topic, than perhaps you need read only this extremely well written tome about what is probably the greatest tragedy of the last half century. I say that because so many things would have been so different had he lived. I did not say better, or worse. I said different. The Douglass book in a poetical way is the only book to have latched on to this discerning difference between the "Unspeakable" and all the others. In a nutshell, the author uses the late Catholic writer Thomas Merton as a metaphor for the life of JFK. Merton lived from 1915 until five years after JFK's death. Writer of 70 books, Merton's most famous book was "The Seven Storey Mountain", something you should take a look at in its own right. Merton is well known for being a pacifist, and for spirituality, and social justice. It is for his pacifism that Merton serves as a metaphor in the "Unspeakable". Douglass uses the term unspeakable in the sense of a crime so monumental, a tragedy so pervasive, and evil so extraordinary, that it is unspeakable. It is the Douglass thesis that JFK was moving from "cold warrior" to a rapprochement with Khrushchev and the Soviet Union. Please read JFK's speech in June 1963 at the American University which is part of the appendix to the book. The speech is revolutionary in its intent, and absolutely frightening and threatening to JFK's fellow cold warriors for what it was seeking to achieve. According to Douglass, JFK came to the conclusion that nuclear war is UNTHINKABLE, because all civilization would be lost. One hundred million Americans dead in the first 60 minutes, the living will envy the dead was JFK's term. At the same time as JFK was transitioning to dialogue with Khrushchev, the machinery of government meaning the military, intelligence complex was moving towards war with the Soviets. It is now difficult to believe from more than a half century forward that there was a time when very smart, patriotic, powerful Americans who truly loved their country and would willingly die for it also believed that we could survive a nuclear war, destroy all of the former Soviet Union and move on. Among these individuals were the members of the Joint Chiefs, and the entire upper echelon of the CIA, various military intelligence organizations, and hundreds of anti-communist individuals in all walks of government. It is the author's point of view all these factions came together in 1963 to provide an atmosphere, and ultimately the consolidation of an assassination plan that would remove JFK as head of the government, and allow once again a government to form that would: 1) Invade Cuba and remove it from the Soviet sphere of influence, and 2) Move on to general nuclear war with the USSR itself. The thesis is frightening and perhaps unbelievable to American citizens living today in today's environment. Back then, it is not so unbelievable. Since the publication of the book, evidence has been brought forward that the military had proposed to JFK that America launch a first strike against the USSR in late 1963. He rejected it out of hand. After that date, the military believed that the Soviets would have built up enough nuclear weapons to make a US first strike no longer feasible. I believe you will love this book. It is indeed a page turner. It is riveting in both the nature of its content, and the dramatic way in which the story unfolds. The book is separated into six distinct, long chapters. They are laid out as follows: 1) A Cold Warrior Turns (meaning JFK) 2) Kennedy, Castro, and the CIA 3) JFK and Vietnam (JFK was willing to withdraw within months) 4) Marked Out for Assassination (Chicago, Tampa, then Dallas) 5) Saigon and Chicago (Diem assassinated, as the Chicago plot unfolds) 6) Washington and Dallas (The final ride) The chapter titles lay out the thesis of the book. Notice there is no mention of organized crime in the chapter headings. There is no major discussion of the medical evidence, and no major discussion of the so called ensuing cover-up after the assassination. The main thrust of the book as viewed through the chapter headings is that JFK lost his passion as a cold warrior, did not handle himself correctly with Castro, Viet Nam, Russia, our intelligence agencies, our military, and he was marked for death in Chicago, Tampa, Dallas, and the plotters caught up with him in Dallas. In conclusion, I believe you will love this book also. It simply reads like poetry; it is so well written. It adds tremendous new light on the assassination of a pivotal leader in the 20th century. Although he only served 1,000 days, everything changed upon his death. Whether it was the framing of Camelot, or the loss of faith in our leaders which led to further entanglements in Viet Nam, Watergate, the deaths of RFK and Martin Luther King, Jr, the intent of the book is extraordinary. My SUBJECTIVE Thoughts: Although I loved the book, I believe the conclusions are wrong. There is so much new information since the releases of the Assassination Records Review Board from 1992 until 1998. Over 60,000 documents compiling some 4 million pages have been released. I for one believe it is now fairly clear that organized crime had a very big role to play in JFK's death, and RFK's death as well. Although there are thousands of facts, and events that comprise the historical record, I would ask you to focus on just a handful. * The whole matter of the assassination could have been put to bed forever, had an autopsy been allowed on the body of Governor John Connolly when he died in 1993. Had the bullet fragments from the assassination been removed from his body, and weighed, it would have demonstrated conclusively that the number of bullets fired during the shooting, exceeded the number in Warren investigation Report. The autopsy never took place. * The government has never released any information whatsoever about the previous plots to kill JFK that took place in Chicago, and Tampa Florida just prior to the successful attempt in Dallas. * I have asked several former professional military snipers about the line of fire in Dallas. Every one of them has said that they would have never taken a going away shot. All would have fired as the motorcade moved towards the Texas Book Depository. The Warren Commission stipulates that Oswald took the most difficult shot with a weapon that had a 90% failure rate in the field. * Why would anyone buy weapons to kill a President (leaving a beautiful paper trial) through the United States Post Office, when anyone in Texas at that time could buy any weapon over the counter with NO paper trail? * So many of the physical witnesses at the assassination site privately stated that the shots came from the "grassy knoll" area. These included Dave Powers, and Kenneth O'Donnell whose loyalty to JFK is unquestioned. * The Magic Bullet Theory - Ask anyone in any homicide unit or crime scene unit in any police department in any city in America, and not one of them will ever say that it is possible for the so-called "Magic Bullet" to do all the damage the Warren Commission says it did, and to remain basically pristine. It is not possible under any set of conditions. Even a bullet traveling through a balloon filled with water will be deformed. In addition to this book, the best recent books written on the assassination are Larry Hancock's "Someone Would Have Talked", and Lamar Waldron's "Legacy of Secrecy", and "Ultimate Sacrifice". Please read JFK and the Unspeakable first, and be prepared to be mesmerized by a truly gifted writer, telling a story that must be told. It has been 50 years. We are all entitled to closure, and thank you for reading this review. Richard C. Stoyeck

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #31,459 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #75 in US Presidents #96 in Murder & Mayhem True Accounts #97 in History & Theory of Politics |
| Customer Reviews | 4.7 out of 5 stars 3,135 Reviews |

## Images

![JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81RApICh+tL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Longer than I wished
*by P***S on March 18, 2011*

This is a deeply disturbing book made all the more so because the reader hopes in vain that it is untrue. Over the years I had developed a hopeful scepticism that the JFK assassination conspiracy theories were all just unsupportable theories. This incredibly well researched book dashes all that hopeful scepticism. The book is a combination of first hand interviews and research into recently released documents, as well as the categorisation of the number of mysterious deaths of individuals whose eye-witness accounts defied the distorted wisdom of the local Police, FBI, CIA, Secret Service and the Warren Commission. I read the book from cover to cover only putting it down to sleep and eat over a three day period. It draws a web of conspiracy, it is superbly crafted and reads in reality just like a Frederick Forsythe novel but with an unhappy ending. In addition to eye witnesses mysteriously dying or being declared insane, relevant documents and photographs known to have existed have been disappeared, mislaid or destroyed and Douglass meticulously documents dozens upon dozens of these cases. There is no doubt in the writer's mind that the CIA engineered the assassination acting upon the orders of who knows who at the top of the tree, and then there is no doubt that the FBI covered it up and the local police colluded, however unwillingly, on the basis that if the CIA and their helpful Mafia could kill a President they surely wouldn't hesitate to shoot the odd dissenting policeman. We have all read the stories of the grassy knoll, the Texas Book Depository , the sounds of shots coming from the grassy knoll, the running gunmen, the subsequent cover-up, allusions to Oswald's CIA connections, Ruby's connection to Oswald the CIA and the Mafia. All of this is covered in detail with no stone unturned and in that sense the book is like all the others only more thorough and convincing. What this study does that others only allude to is explain `why', rather than `how' or `what'. The central thesis is that Kennedy experienced a moment of redemption at the time of the Cuban missile crisis and in stepping back from the brink together with his brother Robert determined upon a course of ending the Cold War by entering into a condition of trust with Kruschev and through him ultimately entering upon a process of dialogue with Castro. He began to see the enemy as his own Military Industrial complex and his out of control Intelligence Services, rather than the Soviet Union. The CIA disenchantment with Kennedy had begun with his anger at being backed into a corner over the Bay of Pigs fiasco and his refusal to escalate the invasion by the addition of US Forces. So we have Kennedy entering a secret pact 18 months later with Kruschev, who apparently backed down over the Cuban missiles but only after a Kennedy secret guarantee. This was added to by his agreement to the neutralisation of Laos, his secret directive to withdraw US Forces from Vietnam by end of 1965, his support of Indonesia, the US signing of the first Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a myriad of other matters which angered others in Government. So the `Why' scene was set. But it had the even more sinister undertone of ensuring that everything about the assassination was designed to point to the Soviets and/or Cuba. The author admits that neither man was a saint and that both gave the sixth commandment a very good rattling on many occasions. Even so it now occurs to me that we have probably all been the target of a concerted CIA campaign of disinformation since the mid 60s. Lurid biographies, many unsourced, have blackened the Kennedy name and loosened the Kennedy hold on their natural constituency. If the CIA can assassinate two very obvious public figures in the Kennedys, and cover their tracks, then a subsequent process of character assassination would be a pushover. This book at least for me restores my faith in Camelot even if only to a small degree. The Kennedy and the author's worst howlers are in the Kennedy dealing with Indonesia. He applauds the Kennedy backing of Indonesia's claim to West Papua in 1962, a decision based on total ignorance. Look what the Papuans have had to deal with since, ethnic cleansing, relocation and exploitation and a degraded people with a hopeless future. The Kennedy naïveté was also evident in his dealings with Diem and Kennedy's disastrous appointment of the treacherous Henry Cabot Lodge as Ambassador against his brother's advice. The Buddhist crisis was in many ways a beat up with hostile Press collusion. The author would be well advised to read Mark Moyar's superb 2007 treatise on Vietnam at that period "Triumph Forsaken" before openly accepting that there was a Buddhist crisis. As subsequently proved to be the case, Moyar avers that only one man could lead Vietnam through the maelstrom and that was Diem. One gets some comfort throughout the book from the gentle nudgings of Pope John XXIII, Thomas Merton and the peacenik Christians who we all disparage but nevertheless need. The USA needed Camelot as the 1960s developed apace and Kennedy offered a fleeting vision of the possibilities of peace. What actually followed and continues to follow is disillusionment and cynicism. This is a good book. Read it. And if you have doubts about the author's take on the CIA watch again "The Good Shepherd" with Matt Damon, Alec Baldwin and Robert de Niro.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ An EXTRAORDINARY Story - Douglass writes like a POET !!!!!
*by R***T on October 26, 2010*

This review is based on the new paperback edition of the book. Out of all the hundreds of books written about the Kennedy assassination, none is more easily readable than "JFK and the Unspeakable". I would go so far as to say that if you are new to this topic, than perhaps you need read only this extremely well written tome about what is probably the greatest tragedy of the last half century. I say that because so many things would have been so different had he lived. I did not say better, or worse. I said different. The Douglass book in a poetical way is the only book to have latched on to this discerning difference between the "Unspeakable" and all the others. In a nutshell, the author uses the late Catholic writer Thomas Merton as a metaphor for the life of JFK. Merton lived from 1915 until five years after JFK's death. Writer of 70 books, Merton's most famous book was "The Seven Storey Mountain", something you should take a look at in its own right. Merton is well known for being a pacifist, and for spirituality, and social justice. It is for his pacifism that Merton serves as a metaphor in the "Unspeakable". Douglass uses the term unspeakable in the sense of a crime so monumental, a tragedy so pervasive, and evil so extraordinary, that it is unspeakable. It is the Douglass thesis that JFK was moving from "cold warrior" to a rapprochement with Khrushchev and the Soviet Union. Please read JFK's speech in June 1963 at the American University which is part of the appendix to the book. The speech is revolutionary in its intent, and absolutely frightening and threatening to JFK's fellow cold warriors for what it was seeking to achieve. According to Douglass, JFK came to the conclusion that nuclear war is UNTHINKABLE, because all civilization would be lost. One hundred million Americans dead in the first 60 minutes, the living will envy the dead was JFK's term. At the same time as JFK was transitioning to dialogue with Khrushchev, the machinery of government meaning the military, intelligence complex was moving towards war with the Soviets. It is now difficult to believe from more than a half century forward that there was a time when very smart, patriotic, powerful Americans who truly loved their country and would willingly die for it also believed that we could survive a nuclear war, destroy all of the former Soviet Union and move on. Among these individuals were the members of the Joint Chiefs, and the entire upper echelon of the CIA, various military intelligence organizations, and hundreds of anti-communist individuals in all walks of government. It is the author's point of view all these factions came together in 1963 to provide an atmosphere, and ultimately the consolidation of an assassination plan that would remove JFK as head of the government, and allow once again a government to form that would: 1) Invade Cuba and remove it from the Soviet sphere of influence, and 2) Move on to general nuclear war with the USSR itself. The thesis is frightening and perhaps unbelievable to American citizens living today in today's environment. Back then, it is not so unbelievable. Since the publication of the book, evidence has been brought forward that the military had proposed to JFK that America launch a first strike against the USSR in late 1963. He rejected it out of hand. After that date, the military believed that the Soviets would have built up enough nuclear weapons to make a US first strike no longer feasible. I believe you will love this book. It is indeed a page turner. It is riveting in both the nature of its content, and the dramatic way in which the story unfolds. The book is separated into six distinct, long chapters. They are laid out as follows: 1) A Cold Warrior Turns (meaning JFK) 2) Kennedy, Castro, and the CIA 3) JFK and Vietnam (JFK was willing to withdraw within months) 4) Marked Out for Assassination (Chicago, Tampa, then Dallas) 5) Saigon and Chicago (Diem assassinated, as the Chicago plot unfolds) 6) Washington and Dallas (The final ride) The chapter titles lay out the thesis of the book. Notice there is no mention of organized crime in the chapter headings. There is no major discussion of the medical evidence, and no major discussion of the so called ensuing cover-up after the assassination. The main thrust of the book as viewed through the chapter headings is that JFK lost his passion as a cold warrior, did not handle himself correctly with Castro, Viet Nam, Russia, our intelligence agencies, our military, and he was marked for death in Chicago, Tampa, Dallas, and the plotters caught up with him in Dallas. In conclusion, I believe you will love this book also. It simply reads like poetry; it is so well written. It adds tremendous new light on the assassination of a pivotal leader in the 20th century. Although he only served 1,000 days, everything changed upon his death. Whether it was the framing of Camelot, or the loss of faith in our leaders which led to further entanglements in Viet Nam, Watergate, the deaths of RFK and Martin Luther King, Jr, the intent of the book is extraordinary. My SUBJECTIVE Thoughts: Although I loved the book, I believe the conclusions are wrong. There is so much new information since the releases of the Assassination Records Review Board from 1992 until 1998. Over 60,000 documents compiling some 4 million pages have been released. I for one believe it is now fairly clear that organized crime had a very big role to play in JFK's death, and RFK's death as well. Although there are thousands of facts, and events that comprise the historical record, I would ask you to focus on just a handful. * The whole matter of the assassination could have been put to bed forever, had an autopsy been allowed on the body of Governor John Connolly when he died in 1993. Had the bullet fragments from the assassination been removed from his body, and weighed, it would have demonstrated conclusively that the number of bullets fired during the shooting, exceeded the number in Warren investigation Report. The autopsy never took place. * The government has never released any information whatsoever about the previous plots to kill JFK that took place in Chicago, and Tampa Florida just prior to the successful attempt in Dallas. * I have asked several former professional military snipers about the line of fire in Dallas. Every one of them has said that they would have never taken a going away shot. All would have fired as the motorcade moved towards the Texas Book Depository. The Warren Commission stipulates that Oswald took the most difficult shot with a weapon that had a 90% failure rate in the field. * Why would anyone buy weapons to kill a President (leaving a beautiful paper trial) through the United States Post Office, when anyone in Texas at that time could buy any weapon over the counter with NO paper trail? * So many of the physical witnesses at the assassination site privately stated that the shots came from the "grassy knoll" area. These included Dave Powers, and Kenneth O'Donnell whose loyalty to JFK is unquestioned. * The Magic Bullet Theory - Ask anyone in any homicide unit or crime scene unit in any police department in any city in America, and not one of them will ever say that it is possible for the so-called "Magic Bullet" to do all the damage the Warren Commission says it did, and to remain basically pristine. It is not possible under any set of conditions. Even a bullet traveling through a balloon filled with water will be deformed. In addition to this book, the best recent books written on the assassination are Larry Hancock's "Someone Would Have Talked", and Lamar Waldron's "Legacy of Secrecy", and "Ultimate Sacrifice". Please read JFK and the Unspeakable first, and be prepared to be mesmerized by a truly gifted writer, telling a story that must be told. It has been 50 years. We are all entitled to closure, and thank you for reading this review. Richard C. Stoyeck

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Best Book on JFK and his Assassination...Ever
*by P***L on September 30, 2009*

(Possible Spoiler Alert for 2nd Part) In more than 37 years spent as a researcher into the JFK assassination, and having read more than four dozen books, this is the first time I have ever written a review. The reasons mainly boil down to one: with each book I always found some manner of untied up loose string, or defect that rendered my judgment tentative. I simply didn't feel it worth the time, or energy to invest in writing something I didn't accept completely. I confess I was also very skeptical of Douglass' book to start. I worried he'd go over the same well-trod ground as others, merely regurgitate many of the same issue with no new insights, while repeating most of the mistakes. I am happy to report I was wrong on all counts. When I finished Douglass' book I had the sense (that I had received from few others) that this 46 year mystery and all the attendant, ambiguating "Operation Mockingbird" tricks, pseudo-evidence and propaganda that engulfed it,were finally finally unravelled. And not only unravelled, but the new story woven into a credible and coherent narrative. More importantly, using a key criterion (how much it dovetailed with the other most serious books I have read), I score it a '10'. Here, I want to digress and say the best accompanying book one can have to read along with this book is Military Science Professor John Newman's: 'Oswald and CIA'. Important because while Douglass makes the coherent anecdotal case for Lee Harvey Oswald being an intelligence operative, Newman proves it using his insights, and vast troves of FOIA -released documents. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that one cannot fully appreciate Douglass' achievement here, without first reading Newman's book. Okay, why have I never done a review of Newman's? Probably because, while worthwhile, I beheld one or more reviews that already said pretty much what I would have. There was nothing new to add. In reading the book, I strongly advise people not to immediately skip to the end and Douglass' assassination scenario. I believe it is much more important to first: read his Introduction (and the basis for the definition of the "unspeakable" predicated on Thomas Merton's insights) then the Chronology of Events: 1961-63 and then the first three chapters: 1) A Cold Warrior Turns, 2) Kennedy, Castro and the CIA, and 3) JFK and Vietnam. These comprise 134 pages, but every page is essential to the overall picture Douglass is portraying. The reason for the first two is to get into the context in which the author is placing his book. Without the context, it will be difficult to appreciate what he puts forth as relevant. People will become too impatient for the "meat" and neglect the "veggies". The first three chapters proper lay the moral perspective for how and in what deep ways JFK altered his stance from being a cold-warrior ab initio. What threads and dynamics turned him? These are critical to grasp, if one is to understand who had the means, motive and opportunity to kill him. In (2) the most important aspect that Douglass brings to light is the now well-documented rapprochement which JFK initiated with Castro via the latter's aide-de-camp, Rene Vallejo. Peter Kornbluh, of the National Archives, has done yeoman work in making the series of events known, via a book as well as NA documents - and terrific articles in The Baltimore Sun wherein I first became aware of it. It is essential more people know about it to understand how it may well have been the key and final "nail" in JFK's coffin, after his withdrawal of air cover for the Playa de Cochinos debacle (finally fessed up and owned by the CIA itself in its secret report on the events, made public some ten years ago), his reluctance to use aggressive force (invasion, bombing) during the October, 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis (I lived in Miami at the time), and his NSAM-263 to remove all personnel from VietNam by 1965. Another reason the Cuban-CIA link is so meaningful to me is personal. Many of the same CIA-trained elements that were causing problems for Kennedy ca. 1961-63 (via Operation Mongoose, etc.) re-emerged years later in the right-extremist group "Alpha 66" - which also was responsible for the worst act of terrorism in the hemisphere before 9/11. That, of course, was the bombing of the Cubana Airlines Flight 455 over BARBADOS on Oct. 6, 1976 - resulting in the deaths of all 73 on board. I saw the plane explode then break up in the sea while swimming at Paradise Beach, Barbados, with my nieces- visiting in Barbados at the time from Trinidad. To this day, they still have terrible nightmares driven by those grotesque images - and they are now all grown women. My wife, who worked at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital as a radiographer at the time, was there when the hundreds of body parts were brought in. Anyway, there is still an immediacy there, and the pain and horror from that bright, clear skies day remains with me, and why I still have trouble understanding why people (trapped in denial and the "unspeakable") are more attuned to blaming the "left" for assorted horrors than the extremists of the Right. (Just look at the recent faux outrage that erupted when the Right's terrorists were being noted by the Justice Dept. for extensive scrutiny. Weeks after the Dept. relented an abortion provider was murdered- then people were shot at- 1 killed- in the Holocaust museum by another loonie) But I digress. Once the potential reader has covered the chapters above, it is okay to plow full steam ahead with the rest. You will be especially impressed with how the various narratives, interviews are intertwined and integrated to make the connections that need to be made. Among these, the interviews with Thomas Arthur Vallee's sister is critical - along with other documents Douglass has - to show how an early assassination attempt was originally scheduled for Nov. 2, 1963 in Chicago - the same day the Diems were to be offed in Vietnam. As fortune transpired, an operative named "Lee" phoned in to Chicago FBI HQ and gave the heads up, whereby the hit was thwarted. Also thwarted, was the effort to trot out the first patsy or scapegoat, who was to be Thomas Arthur Vallee, another former Marine like Oswald. In any case, it all became academic as plans to go to the football game at Soldier Field were cancelled. Douglass makes the excellent case that it was none other than Lee Oswald who alerted the feds in Chi-town, but in so doing he placed himself in the cross-hairs, as the next patsy- but now in Big D. One omission I am having trouble processing is that there was no mention by Douglass of the next attempt on JFK's life in Miami, on Nov. 18. I lived in Miami and to all intents, the motorcade went off uneventfully. However, years later undercover FBI tape recordings (of a Joseph Milteer) were released of the plan to shoot Kennedy from a tall office bldg. Some of these recordings were presented in the A&E Special: 'The Men Who Killed Kennedy' - but I have not seen or heard of this program since last shown in 2002. The other most critical interview is that with Sgt. Robert Vinson, who on Nov. 22 was tring to get home to Colorado Springs. He took a bus to Andrews AFB in Washington, DC, and got on a C-54 (the first available flight to "the vicinity" of COS is what he wanted, and was informed it was about to depart for Lowry AFB near Denver. What Vinson recalled most about this particular flight, is that it had no crew chief or manifest. (Usually the crew chief always asked him to sign a manifest). The flight itself didn't land at Lowry, but in Dallas, as Vinson made out the skyline. Vinson noted a lot of dust blew up as the craft landed near the Trinity River. Two men boarded, just after 3:30 p.m. central time, one a "Latino", 6' or 6'1" weighing 180-190 lbs. and wearing a mustache, the other 5'7" to 5'9" and Caucasian, 150-160 lbs. Only later, when press photos materialized and circulated in newspapers, did Vinson realize the latter guy was the spitting image of Lee Harvey Oswald. I don't wish to give any more of the Vinson narrative away here -especially as it connects to other critical segments, but suffice it to say many researchers (including me) had always suspected an Oswald double may have been employed to paint the necessary patsy. The process itself is known in CIA lingo as "sheep dipping". While the patsy was being marched through Dallas Police HQ, one of the actual mechanics - an Oswald lookalike, was making his getaway from the airfield near the Trinity River. Needless to say, when the authorities found Vinson had been on this flight (by mistake), they put the guy through the wringer. Including making him work as a covert operative to keep him under close scrutiny, and on a short leash in case he might have tempted to blab. Now, some aspects of the latter part of the book, nailing down the time frames and personnel for the assassination, that I found credible and compelling: 1) No where is any mention made of "James Files" or the Files claimed-evidence that he was the Grassy Knoll shooter. It is clear from this that Douglass is either leery of the evidence put forth, or of the credibility of Files. This discloses a caution that is redeeming, especially for many new readers to the literature- who might at first balk at "Oswald doubles" and earlier patsies set up for earlier assassination attempts. 2) There is no attention whatever to the claimed "Murchison Party" - ostensibly held the night before to "sign all parties onto the deed". The Murchison party, at the home of oil tycoon Clint Murchison, has figured prominently in the online research community and also certain books (e.g. 'Killing the Truth', By H.L. Livingstone) 3) There is no attempt to pinpoint the number or timing of the shots, or diagnose the magic bullet and its "evidence" or the autopsy photos, or the x-ray images. Again, this is heartening and discloses that Douglass is only content to deal with he believes is most credible and which backs up other facets of his presentation, and propositions. 4) The personal notes and effects that showed Lee "loved and respected JFK", totally dovetail with interviews Marina Oswald gave for the 30th anniversary, which I still have on tape. In one particularly intense altercation with Tom Brokaw, she makes clear that the Warrenites twisted her arm (and testimony) in not so subtle ways, threatening deportation if she refused to play ball. In toto, when read right through, this book is absolutely terrifying. It reveals the unspeakable still in our midst, especially amongst those who would still defend the Warren Commission's version of history, despite the fact it is now essentially consigned to the dustbin. Douglass - as well as Newman, cited earlier- give numerous examples of outright fraudulent or manipulated evidence. In short, this is the best book I have ever read on this topic. For the first time it powerfully shows the moral force and character in Kennedy, even - following the past ten years or more- numerous cowards have sought to make their names and profits off the stories circulating about a dead man, who can no longer defend himself. None of this is "Kennedy worship" it is important to grasp, since as author Michael Parenti (The Dirty Truth) has noted, the error of all who claim it is that they typically conflate the low political value of the victim with the high political value of the assassination". Thereby effectively deflating the widely held perception amongst media mavens that people so worshipped JFK and "Camelot" it was unfathomable he could be offed by a lone loser....WRONG. What we, including Douglass, want - is for the nation to finally face this tragic event without pretense for the first time. NO denials, no subterfuge, no deflections. We do so not to try and "run from reality" but to face it. As Michael Parenti notes (op. cit. p. 186), we are citizens who are effectively: "raising grave questions about the nature of state power in what is supposed to be a democracy." It is more than past time those questions got answered, and Douglass' book is an excellent start.

## Frequently Bought Together

- JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters
- The Devil's Chessboard: Allen Dulles, the CIA, and the Rise of America's Secret Government
- Mary's Mosaic: The CIA Conspiracy to Murder John F. Kennedy, Mary Pinchot Meyer, and Their Vision for World Peace: Third Edition

---

## Why Shop on Desertcart?

- 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016
- 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories
- 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price
- 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members)
- 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection
- ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews

**Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.ec/products/1705148-jfk-and-the-unspeakable-why-he-died-and-why-it](https://www.desertcart.ec/products/1705148-jfk-and-the-unspeakable-why-he-died-and-why-it)

---

*Product available on Desertcart Ecuador*
*Store origin: EC*
*Last updated: 2026-08-08*