Killing the Dream: James Earl Ray and the Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Summary: Case Closed Book II
Review: After more than 30 years the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and possible conspiracy still weigh heavily on our collective national consciousness. Enter journalist Gerald Posner and his book, Killing the Dream: James Earl Ray and the Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. published by Random House. Posner, author of the controversial best seller Case Closed which found Lee Harvey Oswald to be the lone assassin of JFK, sets out to close the book on the King case as well. Readers familiar with Case Closed will recognize the layout, style, and conclusions in Posner's new book, although he does leave the door to conspiracy open this time around. Another similarity is Posner's ability to gain access to information. In Case Closed, he was able to study of the files of Edward Wagmann, an attorney for Clay Shaw. This time around, Posner and his wife were the first researchers to examine the archives of George McMillan, who gained the trust of the Ray family during research for his book, The Making of an Assassin. ...

So does the book "close the case" on the assassination of Martin Luther King? As in Case Closed, conspiracy theorists should find plenty of material in the book that can be disputed. One such issue is Ray's purchase of expensive camera equipment, which Posner contends that he planned to use in a porn venture. His source for the porn statement is Ray's brother, Jerry, who is hardly a Gibraltar of truth.

Aside from a few issues that may never be resolved, Posner has done an admirable job of showing motive, means, and opportunity for James Earl Ray to kill Dr. King. He has demonstrated again his ability to find new information and gain access to sources that others can not. This book will probably not do much to help Posner vacate the title of "The man conspiracy buffs love to hate". It will, if readers keep an open mind, answer the question, "Who killed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.?"

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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.

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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.

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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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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.

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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.

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Summary: Definitive Study of the Martin Luther King Jr Assassination
Review: Oliver Stone, meet your nemesis, Gerald Posner.

As the director of "JFK" may well know, Posner has made his reputation debunking fashionable conspiracy theories. His previous book "Case Closed" proved definitively that, Stone's fanciful drivel aside, lone lunatic Lee Harvey Oswald killed John F. Kennedy, aided only by chance and a U.S. Marine's sharpshooting skill.

Not one to shy from controversy, Posner now turns his attention to another 60s hero laid low tragically young by another assassin's bullet. Conspiracy theories about MLK's death have long been fashionable among the African American community; of late even King's family have bought into the notion that James Earl Ray was innocent. Posner once again sifts through the facts and speculation and concludes that Ray was the lone assassin.

In reviewing the case, Posner brings to light a surprisingly complete picture of the assassin's life. Ray grew up in a dirt poor family of criminals and cut his teeth on petty crimes before settling into his life's calling as a robber. His increasing tendency toward violence and continued brushed with the law finally resulted in a long prison sentence. Ray escaped prison and set his sights on one more criminal goal, one guaranteed to make him a hero amongst the underworld--the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Posner takes the reader through the events of that terrible day in 1968, weaving a masterful tragedy made more tragic by those unwilling to lay the blame for this hideous crime where it belongs: squarely on the shoulders of James Earl Ray.

Posner delivers yet again, and in so doing shines the light of truth on an incident almost submerged in the murk of paranoia and denial. I only hope that Coretta Scott King and the rest of her family take time to read this book. While nothing can dim their sorrow, they could at least gain some measure of comfort in knowing that King's murderer was brought to justice.

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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: More Political Propaganda
Review: This book, like Posner's book on The Kennedy Assassination, is one that claims (but fails to) solve the case. Posner's ego aside, this book also mimics the book He did on the Kennedy Assassination because this book, like the Kennedy one, is a book that is long on speculation, long on twisting things to suit his own opinion, but short on facts and short on truths.
This does not serve the readers of his books well, at all.
Then again, Posner cares so little about history that he doesnt even care enough to study the facts of history, so why should we be surprised when he cares less about his readers, and more about getting his name in the "spotlight"?
This book, like Posner's "Case closed" book, fails to close the case....in fact on its absurdity alone, it strengthens the notion that we the people have not been told the truth about the political assassinations that have killed our most talented leaders.
This book, true to Posner's writing style, is all one sided.
It does not consider other possibilities. It just tries to debunk alternative theories, but fails miserably, thus actually giving credence to the alternative theories.
Is this surprising? No. After all does anyone truly believe that this guy, this ONE man has actually solved two of the most mysterious murder cases in U.S. History, while thousands of others have failed? Posner wants us to believe that he has solved the cases that NOBODY else has been able to solve for decades. That alone should make him suspect.
Posner's books are propaganda for the government's "version" of these events (I.E. The version they WANT us to believe). The fact that one of the people who helped Posner to publish his books was once married to the Secretary of James Angleton, the CIA Counterintelligence chief (I.E. Disinformation Chief) should be a signal for people to not be suckered in by this man's books. But, by all means, enjoy them.




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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.