Deep Politics and the Death of JFK

by Peter Dale Scott

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Peter Dale Scott's meticulously documented investigation uncovers the secrets surrounding John F. Kennedy's assassination. Offering a wholly new perspective-that JFK's death was not just an isolated case, but rather a symptom of hidden processes-Scott examines the deep politics of early 1960s American international and domestic policies.Scott offers a disturbing analysis of the events surrounding Kennedy's death, and of the "structural defects" within the American government that allowed show more such a crime to occur and to go unpunished. In nuanced readings of both previously examined and newly available materials, he finds ample reason to doubt the prevailing interpretations of the assassination. He questions the lone assassin theory and the investigations undertaken by the House Committee on Assassinations, and unearths new connections between Oswald, Ruby, and corporate and law enforcement forces.Revisiting the controversy popularized in Oliver Stone's movie JFK, Scott probes the link between Kennedy's assassination and the escalation of the U.S. commitment in Vietnam that followed two days later. He contends that Kennedy's plans to withdraw troops from Vietnam-offensive to a powerful anti-Kennedy military and political coalition-were secretly annulled when Johnson came to power. The split between JFK and his Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the collaboration between Army Intelligence and the Dallas Police in 1963, are two of the several missing pieces Scott adds to the puzzle of who killed Kennedy and why.Scott presses for a new investigation of the Kennedy assassination, not as an external conspiracy but as a power shift within the subterranean world of American politics. Deep Politics and the Death of JFK shatters our notions of one of the central events of the twentieth century. show less

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2 reviews
Imagine a skyscraper with thick black smoke billowing out of every window. That means there must be a fire raging inside, right? That's exactly what is presented here, so much circumstantial evidence of pre- and post-assassination shenanigans going on at the very highest levels that the very idea that Lee Harvey Oswald and Jack Ruby were loners acting on their own initiative is ludicrous. Unfortunately, the waters were so muddied by both the FBI's and CIA's innumerable ploys and counter-ploys that we'll never be able to single out which anti-Kennedy faction was really responsible and who actually was pulling the trigger. If this was Game of Thrones Hoover would be both Varys and Littlefinger.

I do like the author's approach to "Deep show more Politics", the idea that you have to consider not only the actions of Local Politicians and Local Law-enforcement but also Organized Crime when attempting to figure out what's going on. No one will ever admit it, but that seems to be a perfectly logical explanation for just how the big bad world actually works. show less
Great information, just so damn academic it's difficult to get through

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ThingScore 90
"may well be the most thoughtful and serious-minded of the 2,500 titles on the subject published over the years."
Toronto Star
Nov 20, 1993
added by davidgn
"the most challenging book of the year."
San Francisco Chronicle
Nov 18, 1993
added by davidgn
"Staggeringly well-researched and intelligent overview not only of the JFK assassination but also of the forces undermining American democracy -- of which the assassination, Scott says, is symptomatic....A kind of Rosetta stone for cracking open the deepest darkness in American politics. Will test the most well-informed."
Kirkus Reviews
Aug 15, 1993
added by davidgn

Author Information

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31+ Works 1,043 Members
Peter Dale Scott, a former Canadian diplomat and professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley, is a leading political analyst and poet.

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Classifications

Genres
Nonfiction, History, General Nonfiction, Politics and Government
DDC/MDS
364.1Society, government, & cultureSocial problems and social servicesCrimeCriminal offenses
LCC
E842.9 .S35History of the United StatesUnited StatesLater twentieth century, 1961-2000Kennedy's administration, 1961-November 22, 1963Assassination, funeral, memorial services, etc.
BISAC

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138
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Reviews
2
Rating
(4.18)
Languages
English
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Paper, Ebook
ISBNs
4