Rating: 
Summary: Getting to the Core of the Real Lee Oswald
Review: Ever since the Warren Commission published its findings in 1964 on the murder of President Kennedy, the true essence of Lee Harvey Oswald and his motivation in carrying out the "murder of the century" have remained opaque. The Warren Commission drew a picture of a "frustrated loser", who probably due to feelings of jealousy and inadequacy, decided to kill the "young, handsome, rich, popular President". This seemed unsatisfactory to many people, providing a fertile ground for the spawning of the myriads of conspiracy theories that have flourished since then.
Fortunately, the fall of the Communist regime in the Soviet Union, which occurred while many of the people who knew Oswald during his sojourn there were still alive, shed much new light on Oswald. Norman Mailer took advantage of this to get much new information on Oswald's stay there which played a crucial in the development of his distorted personality. This work, in addition to new interviews conducted by Mailer with people in the US who had contact with him led Mailer, who originally believed that JFK's murder was probably part of a conspiracy, finally to come to the conclusion that Oswald was not just some ultimately unexplicable "nut" or "patsy", but that Oswald viewed himself as an international revolutionary, a potentially major figure in history (which he did indeed become for the wrong reasons), similar to the "international terrorists" plaguing the world today. Oswald had much in common with the murderers who perpetrated the atrocities of 9/11, i.e.
rage against humanity, ideological fanaticism (whether "religious" or "secular"), sexual frustration, etc. This helps to clear up the problem that was raised after the assassination in which people who knew Oswald said he "liked" the President. Terrorists do not kill people because they "dislike" them, but rather view murder as a "revolutionary act" directed to achieving a higher goal.
One important facet of the book is that Mailer quotes extensively from interviews of witnesses conductedy by the Warren Commission. Mailer points out that the memories of the witnesses were freshest at the time, and that memory tends to get fogged or distorted with the passage of time, particularly in this case where they are constantly being bombarded over the years by critical interviewers with an agenda.
This book is a major contribution to the historical record, and I am saying this as someone who is no particular fan of Mailer and his world view (as great a writer as he may be). I give him credit for being intellectually honest enough to change his views, although it should be pointed out that he doesn't reject the possibilty of a conspiracy (particularly in the case of Jack Ruby although he does admit that Ruby could not have started out that Sunday morning intending to kill Oswald), but he admits that there is no real evidence of one.
One significant weakness of the book is its lack of an index, but it is still a "must" book for those who want to understand this historical tragedy.
Rating:
Summary: A fascinating and exhaustive study.
Review: If you are,like me,intrigued with every aspect of the Kennedy assassination,this book will add a mass of information on one of the lesser known aspects.The facts of Oswald's life raise more questions than answers,and little is straight forward.Mr.Mailer,however,has produced a plausible,scholarly though entertaining biography of a man who will forever stand at the centre of the 20th century's greatest mystery.Exhaustive but essential stuff,infused with Norman Mailer's unique voice.
Rating: 
Summary: Among Norman's Very Best!
Review: Let's face it! There's been tons of (often far out) research in to LH Oswald that it's tough to decide which books on the subject are worth looking into. The number of theories/ideas/plots etc. could fill a library (and probably do). So it's a real treat to read a highly researched, authoritative, and slightly imaginative book that goes beyond the standard "Loser", "Stooge" or worse hypothesis, and goes into about every aspect of this 23 year old assassin's life, especially his problematic,very strange, time in the USSR.Remember, after some time in the Marines, he defected to Minsk at the age of 21. So what happened there? This book makes a valiant attempt to find out, and probably comes as close to the truth as we'll ever get! So put this at the top of the list in the top shelf in the library of JFK Assassination Books!
Rating:
Summary: Revealing Information
Review: Like most folks who read this book, I've read countless books on the JFK assassination. I have not read one like this though; it's in-depth, detailed study of Lee Harvey Oswald is unmatched anywhere. During the course of my own study and conclusions on the killing of our president, I am appalled by the number of people who believe Oswald was some poor innocent bystander who was framed. Mailer's analysis reveals Oswald for what he was: a legendary liar, thief, scum and murderer.
Rating:
Summary: Lee Harvey, We Hardly Knew Thee
Review: Mailer exorcises Lee Harvey Oswald's ghost in this in-depth journey through the adult life of a man whose very name haunts our memories with confusion and dismay. Oswald, heretofore a seemingly uninteresting fool, is shown to be familiar in many respects and even forgivable in his distorted perception of the world. Along the way, Mailer fills us in on rationally consistent explanations of many interesting facts which have been construed variously by numerous conspiracy theorists. Curiously, Oswald seems more of a tragic character than an evil conspirator. Ironically, what he destroyed seems to be the starry-eyed American dream that was no more real to begin with than his prey's burnished public image. Blending background from his preceding novel about the CIA, Harlot's Ghost, Mailer spins out a chronology of facts, quotes, and opinions in a gripping, sultry tale which pulls the reader easily through hundreds of pages. The author's comprehension of this vast topic is incredible. To share in such wealth of knowledge is truly a privilege, clarifying this monstrous mystery in uncountable ways.
Rating:
Summary: Lee Harvey, We Hardly Knew Thee
Review: Mailer exorcises Lee Harvey Oswald's ghost in this in-depth journey through the adult life of a man whose very name haunts our memories with confusion and dismay. Oswald, heretofore a seemingly uninteresting fool, is shown to be familiar in many respects and even forgivable in his distorted perception of the world. Along the way, Mailer fills us in on rationally consistent explanations of many interesting facts which have been construed variously by numerous conspiracy theorists. Curiously, Oswald seems more of a tragic character than an evil conspirator. Ironically, what he destroyed seems to be the starry-eyed American dream that was no more real to begin with than his prey's burnished public image. Blending background from his preceding novel about the CIA, Harlot's Ghost, Mailer spins out a chronology of facts, quotes, and opinions in a gripping, sultry tale which pulls the reader easily through hundreds of pages. The author's comprehension of this vast topic is incredible. To share in such wealth of knowledge is truly a privilege, clarifying this monstrous mystery in uncountable ways.
Rating: 
Summary: Informative, but sub-par
Review: Mailer is a skilled writer and thanks to him being allowed access to thousands of KGB surveillance files compiled on Lee Oswald he is able to paint an almost human picture of Oswald's time in Russia and one almost forgets the crime he is accused of commiting. I do believe though that the charting of Oswald's life when he returns to the USA is perhaps tainted by the opinions of people who did not have any respect for him prior to his infamousy and this may be why the book cannot be wholly trusted as a truthful study. Furthermore, he relies too heavily on the work of Pricilla Johnson, the biographer who had met Oswald in Moscow and became a so-called confidante to Marina Oswald after the assasination, a friendship she exploited to write a best selling story of Marina's time with Oswald. Clearly, Marina does not know what she believes as over the years her account of life with Oswald has changed as often of as the weather. Mailer himself does try to keep away from the controversy surrounding Oswald's possible guilt and gives little away as to what his own opinion is in this matter. For this reason he does redeem the book coming across as a genuine story teller in this regard. In Mailer's own words the subject remains as great a mystery as it was all those years ago. Worth buying to read about Oswald's time in Russia.
Rating:
Summary: An interesting take on LHO
Review: Mailer is always entertaining -- no matter whether you agree or disagree with him. Oswald's Tale presents a new take on Lee Harvey Oswald. Here is the approach: What if Lee Harvey Oswald was not some incomprehensible (no-talent) societal outcast, but rather, a somewhat talented loser who had great skill in jerking around bureaucratic systems? As evidence of this thesis -- LHO was able to defect to the USSR and then get back to the U.S. Not really an easy task. Could such a man successfully kill a president and NOT be part of a larger conspiracy? Perhaps... And what about those conspiracy theories? Mailer gives a few plausible insights into why some the of the evidence of conspiracy may be happenstance and wishful thinking. It is completely unfulfiling and base to think that our president was killed by some dispossessed nobody. From this springs our need to find a dark conspiracy. Perhaps LHO was of large enough stature (be it negative) to be considered man enough to have done it alone. Perhaps... Entertaining and worth reading. Mailer does not answer the questions, he just asks them. And quite well. The profile of Marina Oswald is to die for. You read about her and wonder what it would be like to actually be the world's most notorious bystander.
Rating: 
Summary: Some insight but disappointing
Review: The insight Mailer offered of Oswald was at times suberb, especially his time in Russia. But all to often he raised points about Oswald's life that needed more depth. To me his conclusion offered me little, but rather left me wondering more about not only Oswald but the secrecy surrounding the assassination. My final comment is that it was all together to dry for my tastes, as I was expecting more from such an accomplished writer.
Rating:
Summary: Lee Harvey Oswald's Sole Guilt -- Point-By-Point
Review: This 791-page book by Norman Mailer delves deep into the life of a very unique and very strange young man named Lee Harvey Oswald, who was born in New Orleans on October 18, 1939, and who was murdered on Live nationwide TV on November 24, 1963, two days after Oswald himself (IMO) had gunned down President John F. Kennedy from his sniper's perch high above Elm Street in Dallas, Texas, as the President passed by below.
While some talk of conspiracy seeps into this volume, I totally disagree with the assertion that anyone other than Oswald was involved in President Kennedy's killing. There is a veritable mountain of "Oswald is Guilty" evidence. For I ask -- HOW could ALL of the following evidence against Oswald have been either fabricated, planted, distorted, or in some manner faked?
The evidence against Oswald includes........................
1.) Oswald owned the rifle found on the 6th Floor of the Texas School Book Depository Building (TSBD) on November 22, 1963.
2.) Oswald also owned the handgun that was shown to have been used in the killing of Dallas policeman J.D. Tippit, who was murdered just 45 minutes after JFK was killed.
3.) Wesley Frazier observed Oswald carrying a package to work on the morning of the assassination. Oswald's claim that the package contained "curtain rods" cannot be supported at all.
4.) Oswald was seen working on the sixth floor that morning (as late as approximately 11:55 AM, or about half-an-hour before JFK was murdered). Co-workers sent an elevator back up to Oswald on the 6th Floor shortly before the assassination.
5.) Oswald's palmprint was found on his Mannlicher-Carcano rifle. .... But, of course, this print is really just a "bonus" for the DPD in linking LHO to the weapon. For even without it, it's glaringly obvious that the weapon was Oswald's. The alias "Alek J. Hidell" was proven to be Oswald himself; and the order form from Klein's Sporting Goods to purchase the mail-order rifle was positively proven to have been in Oswald's handwriting. Obviously, just LHO's owning the rifle doesn't prove he pulled the trigger. But doesn't just plain ordinary garden-variety logic dictate (with a pretty good percentage of probability) that it was the owner of said weapon, a Mr. Lee H. Oswald, that fired the shots on 11/22? The alternative is to believe that Oswald, for some unknown reason, handed over his Carcano to someone else for the purpose of using it, which is not a logical conclusion, IMO.
6.) Not ONE SPECK of any bullets, bullet fragments, or bullet shells other than those fired from Oswald's rifle were discovered anywhere in Dealey Plaza, the limousine, the TSBD, Parkland Hospital, or in the victims. If there had been (as some claim) up to 3 assassins and up to 6 shots fired in Dealey Plaza on November 22nd, HOW could every single scrap of ballistics evidence be completely eradicated from the 2 (or more) non-Oswald weapons almost immediately after the event? Couldn't have been accomplished by even Kreskin!! .... ALL ballistic evidence was traced back to the weapon owned by Lee Oswald. The probability of this occurring *if* there were multiple guns firing at the motorcade is probably so low to be considered virtually impossible.
7.) The overwhelming majority of witnesses heard exactly THREE shots fired in Dealey Plaza. Plus: the overwhelming majority of witnesses also heard shots being fired ONLY from behind the President's car, from the direction of the TSBD.
8.) Oswald left behind, presumably for wife Marina, his wedding ring and just about every dime he had to his name ($170), on the morning of 11/22/63. Logic dictates that he felt he may not return.
9.) Oswald, in flight, shot and killed Police Officer J.D. Tippit (multiple witnesses confirm it was Oswald, with very few variations of description). Are we to accept the minority of people who state: "It was a larger man" or "There were two people", rather than believe the majority of people who claim, uncategorically, that OSWALD SHOT TIPPIT?
10.) Why does Oswald kill Officer Tippit *if* he's innocent of another crime just minutes earlier in Dealey Plaza? Answer: He would have no such reason to do so. If the Tippit shooting isn't one of the biggest reasons to shout from the rooftops "Oswald did it!!", then I don't know what would be.
11.) Oswald, just days after acquiring his Carcano rifle, attempts to murder retired General Edwin Walker in Dallas, in April 1963. Marina Oswald testified that "Lee told me...he just shot Walker". The Walker bullet is proven to have come from the Oswald rifle. ..... The Walker murder attempt is another key piece of circumstantial evidence in the JFK crime, IMO. For it displays in Oswald a definite tendency toward violent action on his part during the months leading up to November 22nd. To me, it's not a wild stretch of the imagination to think that if this guy is willing to bump off Walker, then he might just set his sights a little higher when the perfect opportunity presents itself seven months later.
12.) It was proven that three shots could be fired in the allotted timeframe from the Oswald rifle. The probability that Oswald had, in fact, approximately 8 seconds to accomplish the shooting further increases the likelihood that Lee could have performed the deed. If you believe the first (missed) shot hit a tree branch and ricocheted to strike James Tague by the Triple Underpass at approximately Frame #160 of the Zapruder film (as I, of course, do), then the total time between shots #1 and #3 increases to more than eight seconds, much more than the minimum required of 2.3 seconds (times two) to get off the three shots.
13.) The Zapruder film shows that the "Single-Bullet Theory" (SBT) is more-than-likely the correct scenario of events that day. Kennedy and Connally are reacting to their initial wounds at virtually an identical time, at Z-Frame 224. Based on the available evidence, the SBT (judging by the reactions of the two victims in the limo) most certainly cannot be said to be false. And recent tests performed by an Australian team of researchers further advances the likelihood that the SBT was a doable shooting scenario.
14.) It was proven that Oswald could have trekked, in 90 seconds, the distance across the sixth floor of the TSBD and descended the four stories in time to have been seen by Marrion Baker and Roy Truly on the building's second floor.
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Any conspiracy theorist could no doubt compile his or her own "CT List", claiming that their list "proves conspiracy". However, I'll still contend that hard, physical evidence (such as bullets, rifles, fingerprints, and authenticated autopsy photographs and X-rays), which the "Lone Assassin" side possesses in this case, will "trump" any and all conspiracy notions -- notions which are all based on pretty much nothing but pure guesswork and conjecture, lacking any true solid, physical evidence to back them up.
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