Rating: 
Summary: Nailing Ray as MLK's killer
Review: I'm not sure where Gerald Posner was for the last 36 years, but this country certainly could have used his cool logic and investigator's sharp nose for truth.
In "Killing The Dream," Posner traces the life of James Earl Ray, the man who shot Martin Luther King, Jr. at Memphis's Lorraine Motel in April 1968. A small-time criminal and drifter, Ray nevertheless harbored a need for accomplishment. But without education, limited intellectual gifts and with a stultifying background in poverty, he never stood a chance. His one shot at money and fame as to bring down someone big, and in 1968, that someone was Martin Luther King, Jr. By the time I finished "Killing the Dream," any doubt I harbored that Ray killed King had been shredded by Posner's meticulous investigation.
Ray's post-assassination fantasies about being part of a shadowy conspiracy -- painstakingly chronicled by Posner -- threw the public, and even the King family tragically off track for nearly four decades. If there is any consolation it is that with "Killing the Dream," Posner has left a neatly gift-wrapped narrative for future generations to follow, giving them insight into the mind of the killer and that of a society that still cannot believe that small men can annihilate greatness.
Rating: 
Summary: Wrong, Wrong, A Thousand Times Wrong!
Review: The huge problem with this book is not the evidence it includes (namely over examining James Earl Ray's life instead of other more important information), but the overwhelming amount of evidence it omits, or does not manage to disprove. Consider the facts:
- Gerald Posner never even met or interviewed the alleged assassin James Earl Ray, as opposed to those who have talked extensively with him and decided he was not the killer (INCLUDING King's family)
- Over a dozen witnesses have testified that a bar owner named Loyd Jowers was involved in the murder, including Jowers HIMSELF!
- Two black firemen near the murder scene were told not to report to work on April 4th without a valid reason. Another black employee was physically removed from his post.
- Members of the military have anonymously revealed the military's involvement in the murder, including people who photographed the whole incident extensively from afar.
- Two separate ballistic tests have neither proved that Ray was the killer or that the supposed murder weapon was the gun involved. If anything, they back Ray's claims.
- Countless people have identified the mysterious figure known as Raul as being involved in the crime.
- The bushes from which many believe the shots came from were conveniently cut down and removed days after the assassination.
- King's room was changed from one on a secluded floor to one exposed on a balcony
...And so many other factors that I do not even have enough space to write them in this review. Add to this the fact that Posner has written another book on Kennedy's assassination in which he also supports the government's position, and it is clear that the author has simply written to protect the establishment.
It is also worth noting that King's genuine beliefs and life message have been lost since his death. The media today likes to paint the picture that he was simply a civil rights leader who protested against segregation and discrimination. In truth, King was so much more than this, especially towards the end of his life. He protested against the treatment of the lower class in general, about the morals of American and Western society, and most importantly, against American imperialism in the Vietnam war. Those involved in King's murder decided that the only way to stop a movement that was threatening to change the structure of their society was to shoot its greatest and most important leader dead. Simple.
Rating:
Summary: Silences the conspiracy theorists!
Review: This excellent book quickly and effortlessly silences the conspiracy theorists who believe that James Earl Ray was not involved in the King assassination. While conceding that Ray may have been motivated by outstanding bountys on King's head, the author does a great job of proving, without a doubt, that James Earl Ray and Ray alone fired the shots that killed Martin Luther King, Jr. This excellent book is recommended for all people open-minded enough to accept the truth about this political murder.
Rating: 
Summary: Another Posner Masterpiece
Review: All of Posner's books have one thing in common - they are painstakenly researched and presented to the reader in a no-nonsence, matter-of-fact manner. This one is no different. Like "Case Closed" (about Lee Harvey Oswald), Killing the Dream spends nearly the first third of the book introducing the reader to James Earl Ray. This lets the reader in on the motives and the history of this loser. The evidence is laid out to the reader piece after piece and totally anialates the conspiracy theory wackos and exposes them as greedy, manipulate panick mongors who think that the government is a killing machine. I have to go now, my CIA handlers are going to train me in torture techniques.
Rating: 
Summary: Not quite killer, not quite dreamy
Review: Gerald Posner has created a rather odd genre - debunking conspiracy theories by telling assassins' stories. His first, better book, CASE CLOSED, was a welcomed counter to the volumes of loony JFK conspiracy books. KILLING THE DREAM takes on the more contemporary theories about Martin Luther King's killing. As strange and implausible theories begin to shape the way history is recorded about this incident, a book like this is also needed. But it could be done better.CASE CLOSED was at its best when it methodically debunked various JFK theories, and some common elements shared by various JFK theories. There aren't as many theories about the killing of King, so Posner can't use the same technique. Moreover, in the King case, most of the conspiracy theories originate from the assassin himself, James Earl Ray. More than he did with Oswald, Posner here is really debunking Ray more than he is commonly believed plot scenarios. The weak halves of both of Posners books are the first halves, where the author basically sketches the life stories of two losers, Oswald and Ray. Their lives really are not terribly interesting. Posner's purpose in doing this has to do with his making the case that these lone gunmen were not patsies in the plots of larger forces. Point well taken, but there's a greater need to do this with Oswald, whose life has been the subject of so many bizarre rumors. Ray is much less of a mystery because he lived. Consequently, he sowed the seeds of paranoia for most of the rest of his life in jail. The seeds took root relatively recently as he and his lawyers drew new attention to his revised conspiracy theories in the wake of Oliver Stone's JFK. Sadly, the King family seemed to buy into what Ray was saying, thus giving him a sheen of credibility. When Posner gets around to the debunking part of his book, he wisely focuses on the theories that took hold in the 1990's as a result of the renewed interest. This probably should have been the singular focus of Posner's book. I listened to this book in an abridged form in its audiocassette version, so perhaps something important is missing. It was certainly enjoyable and made my long drive more interesting. But KILLING THE DREAM doesn't live up to its potential.
Rating:
Summary: A great read and the conspiracy you never heard of
Review: Hurrah, Gerald Posner did it again! Did a great service to this country by exposing the conspiracy theories for what they are: great webs of unfalsifiable humbug spun out of anecdotal evidence and the minor glitches that are attendant to even well-done criminal investigations. I came into the book believing that there might well have been a conspiracy in the killing of Dr. King. I came away believing that the only conspiracy was an after-the-fact conspiracy among the Rays to assist James Earl's getaway. As a criminal attorney, I was fascinated by Posner's superdetailed description of Ray's life. In place of the impossibly malleable "pansy" of conspiracy theories, Posner presents someone who couldn't be more common; someone whose morality and attention span lag far behind their ambition. Ray was not a genius, but he was also not the hillbilly moron he has usually been described as, who would have pushed his lawbreaking talents to the limit with a liquor store stickup. Ray was an extremely mobile criminal, moving from place to place in the country and into Canada with ease as advantage dictated. His takes were not spectacular but they were significant. At the same time, he was not totally unsocialized. He fancied himself "going straight", and the Ray family kept in close contact with one another, and indeed, fed the both the legitimate and illegitimate ambitions of each other. Most of all, Posner exposes Ray as a master liar, who carefully gaged every response in light of what he thought the questioner knew about him. After the assasination, Ray would promptly work details of each new conspiracy theory into his story of what he was doing the evening of the crime. I have met quite a few Rays in my practice, for it is quite common for a criminal suspect to tell his lawyer: "I've been framed by a conspiracy, now go out and find a conspiracy for me." Ray was just a harder working in this regard than most. Cannot be recommended too highly.
Rating:
Summary: read Case Closed too
Review: Gerald Posner, with this book and with the excellent Case Closed : Lee Harvey Oswald and the Assassination of JFK, is doing the country an enormous service. He has effectively answered every asinine conspiracy theory surrounding the JFK and MLK assassinations. No honest person could read these two books without coming to the conclusion that the overwhelming preponderance of the evidence indicates that Oswald and Ray were lone whackos and not members of some enormous political conspiracy. GRADE: B
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