“Killing Kennedy: The end of Camelot” by Bill O’Reilly & Martin Dugard

“Killing Kennedy: The end of Camelot” by Bill O’Reilly & Martin Dugard

“Killing Kennedy” is a well-researched account of the events that lead up to the 1963 assassination of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy and the political turmoil of the times.

O’Reilly describes the assassination in gripping detail. This event happened 20 years before I was born, but the way O’Reilly drew me in made it feel like something I had lived through. The listener also gets enough of Kennedy’s personal life to put his assassination into context. O’Reilly goes to great lengths to show the side of Kennedy not seen by the public.

I’ve never been particularly interested in JFK and probably wouldn’t have dedicated the time to sit down and read a book about him, but I’m glad I checked this out. After listening to this, I would consider this work to be a good JFK or Cold War “starter book”. I learned a lot about what went on behind the closed doors of the Kennedy administration. His presidency, and particularly his character as a man, is a complicated legacy. As always, it’s the little pieces of history such as Jackie noticing the wet footprints on the concrete decking of the White House pool from one of her husband’s mistresses that never seem to make their way into the textbooks that have always drawn me in.

O’Reilly and Dugard take an objective look at the assassination and present evidence without steering the listener to any particular conclusion. While O’Reilly is solidly conservative and has been known to be rather bellicose with his political opponents over the years on Fox News, I didn’t detect any partisan bias in his writing.

If you’re hoping to hear about some of the more radical conspiracy theorists about who killed JFK, this isn’t the book for you. This book is based almost 100% on the Warren Commission’s report. There is no significant mention or analysis of the many other plausible theories. Personally, I believe that Oswald was indeed the lone shooter, however I think there is credible evidence to conclude that he didn’t act alone in orchestrating the assassination.

My wife and I listened to this book in the car on the way back to Ohio from a vacation in Hilton Head. I usually feel the need to take a break after listening to nonfiction audiobooks for more than a couple of hours during such trips, but O’Reilly’s “Killing” series have always been an exception. “Killing Kennedy” was no exception – it took us through the mountains of Virginia and West Virginia and really made the time fly.

I consume dozens of audiobooks per year, and I don’t hesitate to say that Bill O’Reilly is the best narrator I’ve ever listened to. His stentorian voice maintains your attention throughout the entire book and draws you into the story – and, like every good storyteller does – he leaves you on the edge of your seat wondering what’s going to happen next. I was disappointed when I listened to some of his other audiobooks when I learned that he had only recorded the foreword to these. Fortunately, he narrates all of “Killing Kennedy”.

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