Inside the Assassination Records Review Board: The U.S. Government's Final Attempt to Reconcile the Conflicting Medical Evidence in the Assassination of JFK - Volume 5 Paperback – November 24, 2009

If you have invested any time in studying the JFK assassination, then this five-volume series is a MUSTread. Author Douglas Horne does a tremendous job of laying out the evidence of a conspiracy--particularly the medical evidence detailing the wounds to President Kennedy's body and the horribly flawed autopsy of his corpse. Much of the evidence he presents was not revealed until the late 1990s, during the search for (and often declassification of) documents, which was brought about by Congress' passage of the JFK Records Act. Mr Horne was a staff member of the Assassination Records Review Board and, as such, was instrumental in bringing to light much of this material previously hidden in government files. This series of books is by far the most cogent and best documented work regarding this evidence. It is well written and intellectually honest--Horne neither cherry-picks nor sugar-coats the material he presents. And while he delivers his own opinions and conclusions about the meaning of this evidence, he does not steer the reader in a particular direction, but allows him/her to make informed decisions.If you have not previously spent time examining JFK's murder, then this series is a good place to start since Horne takes the reader step-by-step through his own investigation, and also references numerous works by other authors. However, this series is not a "casual read." Instead, it is a detailed and well documented effort to navigate through the very complex issues surrounding this assassination, which have been made even more confusing by sophisticated and determined cover-up efforts. Mr. Horne has invested tremendous amounts of time, energy and analytical skill in researching and preparing this manuscript, and to get the most out of his work, readers will have to do the same. But it will be time and effort well spent for people who care about the history of this country and who care about what happened in Dallas in 1963--and its aftermath.

I can agree that volume V should be read first and then follow up I-IV. While this is not old news certain aspects of the volumes are more or less rehashes for persons up to speed on the documentations. I was looking for more in depth information on operation 'Mongoose' that seems to disappear into the wind of all the documents and data I have accumulated. So many questions still remain specifically JFK's decision to abort this mission and who influenced him to do so. The president had appeased the CIA and the JCOS by allowing this to move forward then abandoned it so quickly.Regardless, this is a fine in depth work that makes for some interesting reading even if you are familiar with all the evidence and have a solid mental timeline of these events. It makes some astounding comparisons now that the entire Pentagon Papers has been digitized without redaction and released to the public. Each volume of this series overlaps, and sometimes conflicts, with the Pentagon release and never the less makes it all more interesting.

Doug Horne explains the Road Had to Run Through Dealey Plaza (Chapter 15), and Why The Inconvenient President was so directed (Chapter 16).April 23, 1963, LBJ said JFK would attend a "luncheon in Dallas." The final decision was September 24, 1963.The Secret Service violated the JFK Records Act by destroying Protective Survey Reports relating to the protection of President Kennedy from this date through the balance of 1963--obliterating records of agents involved in planning and executing the trip.Dealey Plaza lay between the ceremonial dinner for Congressman Al "Wink" Thomas November 21, 1963, in Houston, and the Trade Mart speech demanded by Connally ("Lyndon's Boy John") overriding objections of advance man Jerry Bruno and Secret Service White House chief Jerry Behn.The 120-degree turn slowed the limousine; when shots were fired Greer waited for the headshot(s). Greer would coordinate hijacking the body, constraining the autopsy, badgering Perry.Pierre Salinger, With Kennedy: Dallas Morning News publisher E.M. Dealey told JFK November 1961 "We need a man on horseback to lead this country. . . .you are riding Caroline's bicycle."JFK had angered the Pentagon by not saving the Bay of Pigs invasion, not attacking the Soviet missile sites in Cuba, unilaterally halting atomic testing, withdrawing from Vietnam (NSAM 263), seeking detente with Khruschev and rapprochement with Castro.LBJ knew he would be dropped from the 1964 ticket and face prison over the Bobby Baker/Billy Sol Estes scandals.The Kennedy brothers would have allowed Hoover's forced-retirement waiver to lapse, showing him the door in humiliation and disgrace.Allen Dulles & Company weren't about to be "broken into a thousand pieces and scattered to the winds."Dulles would harrumph, "That little Kennedy. . .he thought he was a god."

These books are available on demand. If you are someone who cares (like me), these books NEED to be in your reference library.Possibly the politicians expected nothing new to come out of the JFK Records Act. Thanks to the wise decision to bring Douglas P. Horne on board, we have the words of those who were actually there. Mr. Horne meticulously documents the work he was part of and the jaw-dropping & nearly unbelieveable travesty of what was done to our president, his body & our country.If I only had the money, this set would be in the library of every U.S. school. They don't have to be ordered at the same time so why not buy book #1 and see for yourself. I'm confident you will want to own the whole set!

I purchased all 5 volumes of Horne's "Inside the ARRB" after watching a lecture by Horne on the internet.. I strongly recommend reading David Lifton's "Best Evidence" book - and keep an open mind - before tackling these volumes.I'm starting Inside the AARB Volume III tonight.So far, I've read Vol I and Vol II and they HAVE NOT been a sexy who-done-it-t speculation - there is nothing like who was the gunman on the grassy knoll and their connections to the CIA, mafia and Castro. Rather, the first 2 volumes are very careful academic comparisons of the Parkland vs. Bethesda observation of JFK's wounds, contrasting between each other the statements of the Bethesda photographers, x-ray technicians, FBI, morticians, and most importantly, the Bethesda doctors.I've read Lifton's "Best Evidence" twice. The first time I thought it was just "nutty conspiracy stuff". But the more I've read about JFK over the past 10 years, LIfton's name kept popping up - so I read his work again, kept and open mind, then purchased Horne's "Inside the AARB".There are certain facts that cannot be denied, no matter what Case Closed and Reclaiming History authors claim. Compare the "inside the AARB" words of Clint Hill's view of the back of JFK's head wound and the Parkland doctors descriptions of JFK's rear head wounds to those present at Bethesda. And follow Horne in his comparison of both the Parkland and Bethesda descriptions with actual archived x-rays, photos and sketches in "Inside the AARB".There was a lot of "hanky-panky" going on between JFK at Parkland and Bethesda and the funeral home.

Great read.

Wonderful