Reclaiming History

The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy

By: Vincent Bugliosi

Narrated by: Edward Herrmann

Length: 18 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

2008 Audie Award Finalist for Achievement in Abridgement

Edgar Award Winner, Best Fact Crime, 2008

Polls reveal that 85 percent of Americans believe there was a conspiracy behind Lee Harvey Oswald. Some even believe Oswald was entirely innocent. In this encyclopedic, absorbing audiobook, Vincent Bugliosi shows how the public has come to believe such lies about the day that changed the course of history.

Bugliosi has devoted almost 20 years of his life to this project, and is determined to show that, despite the overwhelming popular perception, Oswald killed Kennedy and acted alone.

The brilliant prosecutor of Charles Manson and the man who forged an ironclad case of circumstantial guilt around O. J. Simpson in his best-selling Outrage, Bugliosi is perhaps the only man in America capable of "prosecuting" Oswald for the murder of President Kennedy. Reclaiming History is a narrative compendium of fact, ballistic evidence, reexamination of key witnesses, and common sense. Every detail and nuance is accounted for, every conspiracy theory revealed as a fraud upon the American public.

Bugliosi's irresistible logic, relentless pursuit of the truth, and command of the evidence shed fresh light on this American nightmare, providing a new understanding of what did and did not happen in Dallas on November 22, 1963. At last we know what really happened. At last it all makes sense.

©2007 Vincent Bugliosi. All rights reserved (P)2007 Simon and Schuster Inc. All rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"Vincent Bugliosi is an American master of common sense, a punishing advocate and a curmudgeonly refreshing voice of reason....With this work, Bugliosi has definitively explained the murder that recalibrated modern America. It is a book for the ages." (Los Angeles Times Book Review)

Love this book

This book is a detailed explanation of one theory of the assassination of JFK. It is a wonderful, plausible theory. Well researched and performed, this narrative will help you experience the terror and confusion of November 22, 1963.

Compelling Defense of JFK One-Shooter Theory

Vincent Bugliosi's lengthy book is a compelling defense of the one-shooter theory in re the JFK assassination. I admit I have long believed that there must have been a conspiracy in JFK's death. This book goes a long way to dispel that line of thought. While it does not answer every question, and it does ask the reader to take some facts on faith, it is overall a very well-written and researched book. It is a must-read for anyone interested in the death of JFK.

On an equal footing with Helter Skelter

Would you listen to Reclaiming History again? Why?

Yes--- This is a detailed, well researched book that puts the conspiracy industry where it belongs. Folks like Oliver Stone have allowed their fears and suspicions to take charge of their judgement and ethics.

What other book might you compare Reclaiming History to and why?

Helter Skelter. Because of the author, the style and level of detail are the same. It recalls the bad old days of the sixties. This is the single most significant event of that decade and perhaps the century. America was one country before this day and another the next. This is an important work.

Which scene was your favorite?

It's not a scene, but the behavior of Mrs. Kennedy showed us what a class lady she was. She was one of a kind and far more admirable than her husband or any one else for that matter.

Any additional comments?

Lee Harvey Oswald was a creep but did not fall far from the tree. His mother was what you'd expect this little psycho to come from. If there is a message for us to take from this episode, it's that any worthless **** can have a profound effect. Lee Harvey Oswald was certainly worthless and got "lucky".

Well done

As a witness to the events of November 22, 1963 and the conspiracy nonsense that followed, I was pleasantly surprised by Mr. Bugliosi's book. Thoughfully presenting the evidence of the real crime, Oswald's assassination of the President, a rationale person would be persuaded of Oswald's sole complicity in the foul deed. Mr. Bugliosi has utilized the Warren Commision's and the House Committee on Assasination's thorough reports to de-bunk the conspiracy arguments one by one. A must read.

I was convinced Kennedy was shot by more than 1.

I have gone as far as visiting the Dallas site of the shooting. I thought I was well informed. But a year or so ago I saw a special on one of the science chanels that stated the seat for the gov was not directly in front of Kennedy as I was lead to believe from all the conspircy theories. A simple view of the limo at Parkland would show that to be a huge error! I then had doubts about a conspircy. After this read, I am firmly convinced that Oswald was the shooter and that the Warren report was very well done.

Case closed: Oswald alone did it

I came into this book as one of those who believed a few of the elements supported by those who believed a conspiracy existed to assassainate President Kennedy, yet with an open mind.

Mr. Bugliosi, one of America's most reputable prosecutors, has written the definitive book about the events of November 22, 1963, what led up to it, and the aftermath. Edward Herrmann's narration brings the events into the present, as if they happened only recently.

Bugliosi's attention to detail and ensuring all the details were covered and described, including the Warren Commission and the two subsequent Congressional select committees, has once and for all shot down *every* theory advanced by the "conspiracy buffs", including Jim Garrison (whose book "On The Trail of the Assassains" was the basis for the Oliver Stone film "JFK"). He has, indeed, reclaimed history.

For those who still believe a conspiracy was involved, read/listen to this book. You *will* change your mind. I did. Case closed: Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, and was the sole gunman.

Reclaiming History

This is an interesting and, for the most part, a well written book. On occasion, however, the author lets himself down by allowing his obvious contempt for conspiracy theorists to shine through and sully his prose with needless sarcasm.
For me, Vincent Bugliosi does demonstrate that Lee Harvey Oswald was not part of a conspiracy to kill Kennedy. So, does that mean I now subscribe to the 'Lone Nut' theory? Well, not exactly. What if Oswald was 'the Patsy' he claimed to be? What if Oswald was an 'unwitting' actor in the drama? After all, he was perfect for the part given his life history and apparent political leanings. Who better to 'set up' as the assassin? Bugliosi himself dismisses the usual suspects in the list of conspirators ie The Mob, The CIA, The FBI, Military Industrial Complex, saying they would be way too smart to hire someone like Oswald. Maybe, however, they were smart enough to set him up.
Bugliosi ridicules the conspiracy buffs by asking how the conspirators not only succeeded in killing Kennedy, but in covering their tracks thereafter. But what if there were two conspiracies, involving two entirely different groups of conspirators? What if there were the criminal conspirators who killed Kennedy, and the establishment conspirators who thought America's image in the world would be best served by the 'Lone Nut' theory? A conspiracy suggests something rotten at the heart of a society, while a deranged individual who just got lucky on the day is a very regrettable, but very minor, blemish on the body politic.

Good solid evidence

Would you listen to Reclaiming History again? Why?

Yes, very easy to listen to and good, solid evidence given in a courtroom way.

What other book might you compare Reclaiming History to and why?

This is much like William L Shirers History of WW2

What does Edward Herrmann bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Very good actor, great voice, easy to understand, a very easy listen

Any additional comments?

Facts, just the facts mam. This is good stuff. Very clean, very consice with no "fluff" or emotion. Starts off quick, builds up and even in the last part where the author spends his time debunking the conspiracy theories, it is easy to listen to. I've read many of the books he debunks and it is a breath of fresh air to hear someone who knows the facts, and knows how to present facts in a manner to allow a person to "judge" the case solely on the evidence.

Very good book.

The times they have changed.

So the author keeps referencing common sense and how much a conspiracy is implausible based on the former as well as life experiences. His point about no evidence exists is understood but I still feel that it doesn't mean the world's second greatest cover up didn't take place. The first being how the world has been kept in the dark about aliens and zero point energy. With that cover up in mind and the technologies kept from humanity, one being, I'm almost certainly exists, the ability to phase in and out of this dimension, it's very possible to believe all conspiracy theories in regards to JFK. It's a great comprehensive look at both the death and conspiracies behind the death of JFK. A MUST READ

Totally engrossing

An incredibly well-researched book, lucidly laid out.

If you subscribe to conspiracy theories surrounding the assassination of President Kennedy, this book is not for you. However, if you want a detailed account of the movements of the various individuals involved in the shooting -- this is the definitive account, short of going through the Warren Commission Report.

I must confess that I lost interest in the last third of the book because it deals with rebutting the various conspiracy theories. This is in now way the author's fault -- conspiracy theories bore me.

I recommend pairing this book with William Manchester's Death of a President which largely deals with the assassination from the point of view of the victim and his family, friends, and aides. Vincent Bugliosi's Reclaiming History is more of a crime procedural in that it devotes a great deal of time to the event, pursuit, and apprehension of the assassin. The result of this pairing is a vivid portrait of a shocking and confounding event that has managed to leave an indelible mark on the American psyche.