A few thoughts on Bugliosi's book

As mentioned before, it is quite lengthy.  At the moment, I have only read a small part of it.  This is after two days of solid reading.

After this much, it may be useful to take a break and reflect upon what I've read so far.

The book seeks to "reclaim history".  Does it succeed in that?  In order to answer that question, one has to consider why there is a controversy at all.  In my opinion, it comes down to Jack Ruby's murder of Oswald while Oswald was in custody of the police.  If this hadn't happened, it would have been an open-and-shut case.  Thus, the book covers an enormous amount of material that doesn't bear on what is really eating most people.

However, in all of his great attention to detail, you can see why Ruby was able to accomplish what he did.

To me, the whole book should have been about Ruby and Oswald.  It appears to me that the two men were a study in contrasts.  Oswald was introverted.  Ruby was extroverted.  Oswald didn't trust nor like authority.  Ruby liked the cops and knew many of them.  Oswald surrounded himself in books.  Ruby was quite different, and probably didn't read much more than newspapers.  Oswald could explicate upon abstract theories like Marxism and Leninism.  Ruby was not such a man.  Therefore, the question must be asked--- could two men such as his have collaborated on the assassination of a President?  It is inconceivable that such a possibility could exist.  Ruby admired the President.  He loved the President.  Why would he kill Kennedy?

A motive was said to be hard to pin down for Oswald as well.  To me, it is rather plain.  Oswald wanted to make a name for himself.  This was his one big chance and he took it.  Otherwise, if he had not, he would have remained an obscure figure and nobody would have ever known he existed.  Down in his heart, he must have felt his failure and acted accordingly.  It wasn't the first time that Oswald behaved in a self-destructive way.  When he couldn't expatriate himself to the Soviet Union, he attempted suicide.  The Soviets, having rejected him at first, subsequently granted him his wish.  Oswald had a history that indicated trouble ahead.  His stint with the Marines included an event that got him into trouble.  I don't recall it at the present, perhaps it will be included in the book.

Perhaps this will come out.  The book is quite long and I have only just begun reading it.

It is too early to pass judgment on the book.  But if there is a weakness, it is its length.  People would prefer to get to the point.