Blood, Money, and Power

How L.B.J. Killed J.F.K

By: Barr McClellan

Narrated by: David Drummond

An insider’s look at America’s greatest unsolved mystery.

Blood, Money, & Power exposes the secret, high-level conspiracy in Texas that led to President John F. Kennedy’s death and the succession of Lyndon B. Johnson as president in 1963. Attorney Barr McClellan, a former member of L.B.J.’s legal team, uses hundreds of newly released documents, including insider interviews, court papers, and the Warren Commission, to illuminate the maneuvers, payoffs, and power plays that revolved around the assassination of Kennedy and to expose L.B.J.’s involvement in the murder plot.

In addition to revealing new information, McClellan answers common questions surrounding the assassination of our 35th president. Who had the opportunity, motive, and means to assassinate J.F.K.? Who controlled the investigation and findings of the Warren Commission? This historically significant book is proof that absolute power, money, blood, corruption, and deception were at the heart of politics in the early 1960s, and it represents the very best investigative journalism has to offer.

©2011 Barr McClellan (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

The Closest We'll Get to a Texas Insider's Version

I suspect this is a book better read than listened to. In the Audible version the choppy, repetitive, disorganized aspects are very evident. This is partly because McClellan is more concerned with emphasizing central points than with providing a smooth-flowing narrative. The choppiness may also be due to a lawyer's cautiousness. If hazarding a guess, he tells you he's offering a possible theory; if constructing a persuasive brief, he reiterates the key events and background details to refresh our memory and keep us focused.

McClellan ties his themes together with dressy literary elements (epigraphs that open and close each chapter) but these are designed to work on the printed page, not in audio, where they trip up the listener like bollards in the pavement.

The latter part of the book is pure autobiographical narrative and flows smoothly. No plausible guesswork here; it's a true recollection and the best part of the book. McClellan worked for LBJ crony Edward Aubrey Clark in the Austin law firm that bought politicians, engaged hit men, and looked to profit enormously once they had Johnson in the White House.

Decent story

It was a good recap of Johnson’s murder history. But no mention of the CIA or Mafia, which I am convinced were involved. To think Johnson’s lawyer planned and executed something this complex is hard to believe. Still a good book as far as it went, no doubt that Johnson was complicit and took a primary role in cover up!

Misses the Mark

Like most Kennedy assassination books, this one spends a lot of time developing motive. In this case, it points to Lyndon Johnson as the driving force behind the killing.

The narrative develops a somewhat plausible chain of the events, but it fails to connect all of the dots, and is more speculative fiction than evidence based. To answer the question the author poses at the end of chapter 16, no, the evidence does not reach the low “preponderance of the evidence” standard he proposes.

LBJ is a crook

I like the behind the scenes insight given by the author. Also the history of LBJ and his long time corruption as a politician

More fiction than fact

I was hoping to get an insiders take on what might have led up to the assassination of Kennedy and how LBJ was involved from this book. While Barr has some unique insights from working closely with Clark and his firm, most of the book is written as a fictional narrative describing details of things that Barr has no evidence for and no way of knowing. I preferred the parts of the book where he describes first hand accounts but there is so much speculative storytelling going on that it discredits him.