"The President Has Been Shot!"

whopper12 - Have you witnessed JFK's assassination or even seen the video on YouTube? Well what if you could see it happen in your mind from just reading a book? The book I read was The President Has Been Shot by James L. Swanson published in 2013, with the genre being nonfiction. I have not always been a big fan of non-fiction, but after reading this book it has shown me as a reader that non-fiction can be just as interesting as fiction. I give this book 5 stars for detailed information and the quality of the details. While reading the book I never felt that there was a part that did not have much detail. The author had to have spent a lot of time finding little but specific facts. The book is mainly about John F Kennedy's assassination, but also his early life of how he became President and the aftermath and chaos from the presidents death. A very interesting feature about the book is that it explains what Lee Harvey Oswald,(JKF's assassin) did to prepare the assassination attempt. The book has exact details because in just one example states,"The third bullet sliced through John Kennedy's thatch of thick reddish-brown hair. It cut a neat hole through his scalp and perforated his skull. The velocity, the pressure, and the physics of death did the rest. The right rear side of the president's skull blew out -exploded really-tearing open his scalp, and spewing skull fragments, blood, and brains several feet into the air where it hung for a few seconds, suspended in a pink cloud."(Swanson 113.) All though this is a disturbing example there is very extreme details which make the book very accurate and more interesting to read because at times like this you feel like you did or are witnessing JFK's assassination. Another example in the book states,"She pressed her cheek against his still warm face. She kissed his body. Then she removed her wedding ring and slipped it onto one of his fingers." This information and the details given are so precise because the author of the book knows every single small fact about the assassination and the aftermath. Some of the information doesn't even matter but it shows how absolutely nothing was left out of the book. The type of reader who would like this book is someone who is interested in American history or if they would like to learn about JFK.

Starred review from September 2, 2013
Swanson brings the same immediacy and thrillerlike tension he achieved in Chasing Lincoln’s Killer to this harrowing account of the Kennedy assassination (an adult version, End of Days, will be published later this year). As the subtitle suggests, Swanson concentrates on the buildup to and aftermath of the Dallas shooting on November 22, 1963. After a quick overview of Kennedy’s ascent to and first years in office (including the Bay of Pigs and the Space Race), he shifts between Kennedy and Lee Harvey Oswald in the days before and after the assassination. Swanson doesn’t avoid the horrific details of the shooting, and he’s open about the failings of well-meaning officials and staffers in the wake of the shooting. There’s no danger of uncovering any sympathy for Oswald, painted by Swanson as “a complaining, self-pitying, attention-seeking, temperamental, impoverished idealogue.” The book’s meticulous design incorporates numerous diagrams and b&w period photographs, and extensive source notes back up Swanson’s work. Even the simple decision to title the book’s chapters by date emphasizes how, in the span of just a few days, America changed irrevocably. Ages 12–up. Agent: Richard Abate, 3 Arts Entertainment.

September 1, 2013
Readers coming cold to this book about the assassination of John F. Kennedy will learn a great deal about the crime but much less about the man who died. Swanson devotes a scant 20 pages to the issues that dominated Kennedy's presidency before describing "the Kennedy mystique." In his telling, John F. and Jacqueline Kennedy come through as very human figures (albeit ones without weaknesses), who cast a bright light on national, global and political landscapes. His telling is almost hagiographic. The assassination and its aftermath occupy the heart of the book, the writing often straining to pull at heartstrings. This is particularly evident when describing Jackie Kennedy's actions before and during the funeral. Of course she was bereft--but strong enough to plan the entire observance down to the eternal flame on the grave. As for Lee Harvey Oswald, Swanson asks many gratuitous questions about what made him kill before admitting that neither he nor others know. Why ask? In the epilogue, Swanson waxes purple, stating that "Oswald struck from the shadows. Then he robbed us of the rest of the story." Well, what about Jack Ruby? Although the narrative verges on mythmaking, the many, many photographs and diagrams give the volume some value. Readers wishing for a more restrained, neutral, journalistic treatment should stick with Wilborn Hampton's Kennedy Assassinated: The World Mourns (1997). (source notes, further reading, bibliography) (Nonfiction. 10-14)

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September 1, 2013

Gr 6 Up-Swanson's title reads like a thriller, with intense pacing and an engaging narrative. The event is not depicted as dry, textbook history, but rather as a horrifying and shocking crime. Full- and double-page photographs of President Kennedy and Lee Harvey Oswald, and stills from the famous Zapruder film-which captured the assassination in real time-breathe emotion into the work. Kennedy's and Oswald's backgrounds are illuminated as the narrative descends toward their tragic connection. A well-illustrated map of Dealey Plaza detailing the President's route clarifies the position of relevant buildings and features at the time of the assassination. This book is graphic with respect to both images and verbage. Swanson provides a compelling case for Oswald as a lone gunman, arguing against the various and popular conspiracy theories. A diagram of the infamous "magic bullet" illustrates how a single bullet could cause multiple wounds for both JFK and Governor Connally. Despite the great number of books on Kennedy's assassination, this volume stands out for its gripping storytelling style and photographic documentation.-Jeffrey Meyer, Mount Pleasant Public Library, IA

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2013
Grades 6-10 Historian Swanson, who focused on Abraham Lincoln in Chasing Lincoln's Killer (2009) and Bloody Times: The Funeral of Abraham Lincoln and the Manhunt for Jefferson Davis (2011), introduces the man who became the youngest president in American history. The narrative text highlights John F. Kennedy's naval career, abbreviated presidential term, and his courtship and family life with Jacqueline Bouvier. Swanson balances this coverage of the former president with a profile of Lee Harvey Oswald as well as a dramatic account of Kennedy's assassination on November 22, 1963. Swanson makes clear that he agrees with the Warren Commission that Oswald was the lone gunman, and he spells out his disdain for conspiracy theories. Pair this title with O'Reilly's Kennedy's Last Days: The Shocking Assassination That Changed America (2012), which posits that there was a mysterious figure who some thought was Oswald's CIA handler. Archival photographs, explicit diagrams of the assassination scene, source notes, and a bibliography that includes conspiracy-focused literature add further value to this strong addition to Kennedy titles.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)