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Summary: The People's Report on the Assassinations of the 1960s
Review: When a concerned citizen reviews the publications of official government investigations of the major assassinations of the 1960s, they are faced with a maze of truths, half-truths, and conclusions, both reasonable and indefensible. The single consistent theme that emerges is that when Power Lies, it does so with Authority. It also does so with the full cooperation of the Media, whose livelihood depends on ready access to power.The best we can probably hope for now is the simple release of information without comment, where (most of) the documents are made available to the public, and it is left up to them to make sense out of it. This is a job that will go on for many, many years, but Probe got a running start at it. Probe Magazine was the publication of CTKA (Citizens for Truth in the Kennedy Assassinations). The group was formed in the wake of the release of Oliver Stone's movie, by a group of men and women, mostly critics from years before, but some new to the issue. I was fortunate enough to be there for some of the early meetings of this group of motivated individuals, but was little more than a fellow consumer when it came to their publication. But what a publication it was. Accomplished professionals, and individuals with highly developed and specialized knowledge of the case came together to produce articles of breathtaking depth and analysis on a bimonthly basis. Not only did they delve deeper into the JFK case, they also expanded their focus to include the other assassinations of the 1960s and events peripheral to them - the understanding of which helps to put these cases in their proper historical perspective. From one issue to the next, the material just continued to improve. Then, when Lisa Pease joined the effort, her intellectual strength, and energy of commitment helped to spark the project into heights likely not imagined during the organization's humble beginnings. Then, perhaps most amazing to me, they just sustained that greatness until they could go no longer, and stopped publication. As a result, Probe became a small monthly with wide influence, and deservedly so. I read every issue cover to cover, and saved every last one of them, but I still bought this book, not only for its new material, but perhaps more importantly, for the index that serves to convert this amazing project from great history paper to definitive reference - The People's Report on the Assassinations of the 1960s. This is a report that is rational and honest, and not written for political expediency or to cover anyone's behind, which makes it the best reference on the topic available. Probe was the product of maximum effort by a few individuals over a relatively short period that produced a result of historical proportions. If you missed it the first time, you definitely do not want to miss it this time. If you were a Probe reader the first time around, this book still demands a prominent place on your bookshelf.
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Summary: THE FATEFUL 4 OF THE 60's
Review: While being alive for all 4 of these tragic events that shaped and defined the 60's, I only vaguely remember the last one (RFK). Sadly, this is the one I know least about. This book is an excellent collect of articles on all 4 of the assassinations (JFK, Malcolm X, MLK, and RFK) taken from the defunct Probe magazine (and it's still active website). Having been curious about this subject for years, I couldn't wait for this book to be published. Once it arrived, I started it immediately. Starting with JFK (which takes up half of the book), I was hooked. I had to pull out my DVD of Oliver Stone's JFK about a 100 pages into it. Then my set of The Men Who Killed Kennedy DVDs showed up in the mail. I was into assassination sensory overload. I was glad that this book was able to fill in the gaps of my knowledge about these events while also answering some nagging questions (as well as raising some others). Definitely for the casual reader and the hardcore conspiracy researcher. Never stop questioning anything.
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