Murky Waters & The Kennedys

I simply have not been able to put a blog post together this week. My brother and I have been writing each other everyday these LONG emails back and forth about my poor mother, who's having a very hard time right now. I'm hauling my way down to the Boston area Saturday morning to have a really good visit with her. And I'll return Sunday. Oh, the August traffic! Save me! Fortunately, I have an audiobook from the library that received a 2011 Audie Award. The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Bronte by Syrie James. I'll listen to that on my long drive. It should last the 5-hour drive down and the 5 back no problem.

So what's on my reading plate at the moment?
I'm delving into lots of history these days. I'm more than halfway through The War of Nerves by Ben Shephard, as I've already discussed. Yes, it's a tome, but worthwhile.


As a result of book weeding this month, I stumbled across a fascinating book that I forgot to read, Brothers: The Hidden History of The Kennedy Years by the journalist David Talbot (2007). What an unfortunate title, because it disguises the fact that this book is actually a history of Robert F. Kennedy's private search to find out who really killed his brother. Whew.

The vast majority of Americans still believe (and will probably always believe) that a conspiracy killed the President, even though all government agencies deny the claim, saying that the assassination was the work of a lone gunman. Yet, nothing that any government agency has ever said has changed the overwhelming belief in a conspiracy theory. There are many reasons for this, not alone that the autopsy was hopelessly bungled by no doubt well-meaning but hysterical hospital staff, followed by the take-over of generals and military hospital staff.

Robert, unfortunately, refused to cooperate with the Warren Commission, the original, offical investigation into the death of JFK, not only because Robert didn't trust the FBI, CIA, the Secret Service, and President Lyndon B. Johnson, but because he knew that his activities as Attorney General to choke the Mafia and organized crime, to prosecute the flagrantly corrupt Jimmy Hoffa and Union Teamsters, and to corral Cuban anti-Castro exiles had earned both him and JFK more people that wanted them dead than anyone on the face of the planet.

There is so much to be said here. And frankly, nearly fifty years later, there are very few people who care who really killed JFK. An interesting investigation into RFK's private hell.