ABSTRACT

Thinking Critically About the Kennedy Assassination uses the tools of critical thinking, historical research, and philosophical inquiry to debunk the many myths and conspiracy theories surrounding JFK’s shocking and untimely death.

As we approach the 60th anniversary of the violent public assassination of President John F. Kennedy, over half of all Americans surveyed continue to believe that he was killed by a conspiracy involving multiple assassins. Through its reasoned and detailed analysis of the content and evolution of JFK conspiracy narratives, this book also serves as a comprehensive case study of paranoid reasoning and modern mythmaking. The book’s opening chapters lay out the "official" academic consensus concerning the Kennedy assassination (better known as the "Lone Gunman Theory") and discuss the origins of popular interpretations of Kennedy’s life and death, such as the nostalgic myth of "Camelot," the unsympathetic "Irish Mafia" narrative, and the many conspiracy theories critical of both. Subsequent sections scrutinize the alleged motives of leading conspiracy suspects, the ballistic, forensic, and medical evidence related to JFK’s murder, and the most popular "proofs" of an enduring government cover- up. The book concludes that no clear evidence exists to suggest that JFK was the victim of a conspiracy and ends with a discussion of the causes and consequences of paranoid thinking in contemporary public discourse.

This volume will appeal to students of history, politics, psychology, and cultural and media studies, and to a broader audience interested in American history, critical thinking, and conspiracy thinking.

chapter 1|21 pages

Introduction

Knowledge and conspiracy theories

part I|94 pages

Myth and counter-myth

chapter 2|25 pages

Three dead in Dallas

The “official story”

chapter 3|22 pages

The Kennedy mystique

From Irish Mafia to Camelot

chapter 4|45 pages

Case never closed

The evolving conspiracy narrative

part II|124 pages

Motive

chapter 5|22 pages

The anti-civil rights movement

Right-wing racists, Nixon, and the FBI

chapter 6|21 pages

“Double-cross! Double-cross!”

The mafia and Jack Ruby

chapter 7|17 pages

Spooks and nukes

The CIA and its war on Cuba

chapter 8|18 pages

Dominoes and dictators

The Pentagon and the war in Vietnam

chapter 9|21 pages

“A damned Murder, Inc.!”

LBJ and the Warren Commission

chapter 10|23 pages

“I'm just a patsy!”

Lee Harvey Oswald's life and motive

part III|87 pages

Means

chapter 11|27 pages

The shooting gallery

The motorcade and Dealey Plaza

chapter 12|21 pages

The man in the high window

The evidentiary case against Lee Harvey Oswald

chapter 13|37 pages

Going ballistic

Of missing and magic bullets

part IV|124 pages

Opportunity

chapter 14|20 pages

The secret cleaning service

Did JFK's bodyguards cover up a conspiracy?

chapter 15|33 pages

Of missing wounds and fake X-rays

Was JFK's autopsy a fraud?

chapter 16|17 pages

Crop marks on my face

Were Lee Oswald's backyard photos doctored?

chapter 17|28 pages

America's bloodiest home video

Is the Zapruder film authentic?

chapter 18|24 pages

Conclusion

Why conspiracists rewrite the past