“Killing Kennedy: The End of Camelot” by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard – How the Gunfire in Dallas Changed America

Author of the widely-successfully Killing Lincoln, it seems that Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard have a sort of fascination with assassinations on presidents.

First, let me assure you that his works are not works of fiction; Bill seeks to examine and analyze the events he writes about, putting together a coherent and plausible history of what happened.

Naturally, Bill doesn't stop with the assassination itself, as he also goes beyond it, describing the kind of impact the assassination had on the American people, both in Lincoln and Kennedy’s case. As most (if not all) of you know, in 1963 John F. Kennedy was assassinated via rifle shots, in Dallas, supposedly by Lee Harvey Oswald.

I’m really not going to get into whether or not Lee was the true murderer or just a very convenient scapegoat (there are certain elements pointing in both directions), and neither does Bill ... although he has to do it to some extent, because after all, like it or not, Lee was part of the assassination’s big picture, at least that happened when he himself bit the dust, shot in public while being protected by what looked like the most disinterested and bored policeman in American history who pretty much failed at the one and only job he was given that day.

What many people did not know however, is that just a few years prior to that, Kennedy was struggling with the Cold War, and amongst his decisions many were unfavorable to other countries. Long story short, Kennedy made himself some very powerful enemies, including Fidel Castro, Nikita Khrushchev, without forgetting the director of the CIA, Allan Dulles.

As if that wasn't already enough, rumors were going around that John’s brother and Attorney General Robert Kennedy was being targeted for assassination by organized crime syndicates, and it was said that John may very well find himself in their crosshairs sometime soon. As much as I’d like to say that Bill O’Reilly is a man who goes after the truth, I may have to hold that thought, at least for now.

Perhaps it had to do with my expectations of the book; while it does an exceptional job at depicting how things were in politics and in the Kennedy’s personal lives, it doesn't shed much light on the assassination.

One would expect a man such as Bill to question every bit of evidence and information, especially when they contradict each other… and boy was there a lot of that in the Warren Commission, tasked with finding the killer(s). It seems that Bill opted for the safe way out on this one.

Don’t get me wrong though; if you are looking for a source of information as to what life for Kennedy and Americans was like right before and after John’s assassination, then you should definitely check it out.

However, if what you are looking for is a groundbreaking research paper which brings all the facts together and puts forth a believable theory as to why Kennedy was killed, then you might want to skip out on Killing Kennedy, even though it does contain a few interesting facts you may have not heard before.

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	Bill O’Reilly Personal site Bill O’Reilly is a famous American television show host, columnist, political commentator, and author. He is the host of his own show, The O’Reilly Factor on Fox News, and has penned more than ten books, including the Killing [Assassinated President] series.
	Martin Dugard  Personal site Martin Dugard was born in Maine, and is American author living his days away in the beautiful state of California. Many of his books are in-depth explorations of real concepts or events that occurred, not to mention he is the co-writer of the Killing [Insert Name Here] series.