| | |  | Threats & Solutions | Home » » JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters | | | | | | | Description: | | THE ACCLAIMED BOOK, NOW IN PAPERBACK, with a reading group guide and a new afterword by the author. At the height of the Cold War, JFK risked committing the greatest crime in human history: starting a nuclear war. Horrified by the specter of nuclear annihilation, Kennedy gradually turned away from his long-held Cold Warrior beliefs and toward a policy of lasting peace. But to the military and intelligence agencies in the United States, who were committed to winning the Cold War at any cost, Kennedy’s change of heart was a direct threat to their power and influence. Once these dark "Unspeakable" forces recognized that Kennedy’s interests were in direct opposition to their own, they tagged him as a dangerous traitor, plotted his assassination, and orchestrated the subsequent cover-up. Douglass takes readers into the Oval Office during the tense days of the Cuban Missile Crisis, along on the strange journey of Lee Harvey Oswald and his shadowy handlers, and to the winding road in Dallas where an ambush awaited the President’s motorcade. As Douglass convincingly documents, at every step along the way these forces of the Unspeakable were present, moving people like pawns on a chessboard to promote a dangerous and deadly agenda. | | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| James W. Douglass | | Paperback:
| 560 pages | | Publisher:
| Touchstone | | Publication Date:
| October 19, 2010 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 1439193886 | | Product Length:
| 8.86 inches | | Product Width:
| 6.02 inches | | Product Height:
| 1.31 inches | | Product Weight:
| 1.27 pounds | | Package Length:
| 9.06 inches | | Package Width:
| 5.98 inches | | Package Height:
| 1.5 inches | | Package Weight:
| 1.19 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
| based on 216 reviews |
| | | | Used and New: | | | |
| All | |
| $7.55 | Used
- VeryGood | | | $7.55 | Used
- Good | | | $7.55 | Used
- Acceptable | | | $7.55 | Used
- VeryGood | | | $7.81 | Used
- VeryGood | | | $7.95 | Used
- VeryGood | | | $7.99 | Used
- VeryGood | | | $7.99 | Used
- VeryGood | | | $7.99 | Used
- VeryGood | | | $7.99 | Used
- VeryGood | | | $7.99 | Used
- VeryGood | | | $7.99 | Used
- VeryGood | | | $7.99 | Used
- VeryGood | | | $7.99 | Used
- VeryGood | | | $7.99 | Used
- VeryGood | | | $7.99 | Used
- VeryGood | | | $7.99 | Used
- VeryGood | | | $7.99 | Used
- VeryGood | | | $8.45 | Used
- VeryGood | | | $8.49 | Used
- VeryGood | | | $8.49 | Used
- Acceptable | | | $8.49 | Used
- Acceptable | | | $8.49 | Used
- Acceptable | | | $8.49 | Used
- Acceptable | | | $9.38 | New | | | $9.41 | New | | | $9.60 | New | | | $9.65 | Used
- Mint | | | $9.65 | New | | | $10.10 | Used
- VeryGood | | | $10.76 | New | | | $10.77 | New | | | $10.80 | New | | | $10.80 | Used
- Mint | | | $10.85 | New | | | $10.87 | Used
- Mint | | | $10.99 This item is eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. | Used
- VeryGood | | | $11.00 | Used
- VeryGood | | | $11.12 | New | | | $11.31 | Used
- Mint | | | $11.32 This item is eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. | New | | | $11.46 | New | | | $11.49 | Used
- Mint | | | $11.58 | New | | | $11.95 | New | | | $12.00 | Used
- Mint | | | $12.09 | Used
- Mint | | | $12.26 | New | | | $12.35 | Used
- Mint | | | $12.53 | New | | | $12.81 | Used
- Mint | | | $12.81 | New | | | $13.10 | Used
- Mint | | | $13.28 | Used
- VeryGood | | | $13.29 | New | | | $13.31 | New | | | $13.57 | New | | | $13.71 | New | | | $13.80 | Used
- VeryGood | | | $13.93 | Used
- VeryGood | | | $14.13 | New | | | $14.16 | New | | | $14.17 | New | | | $14.22 | New | | | $14.45 | New | | | $14.68 | Used
- Mint | | | $14.77 | New | | | $14.99 | New | | | $15.03 | Used
- Mint | | | $15.46 | Used
- Mint | | | $15.46 | New | | | $15.55 | New | | | $15.85 | New | | | $15.95 | Used
- VeryGood | | | $16.30 | New | | | $16.35 | New | | | $16.60 | New | | | $16.99 | New | | | $16.99 | New | | | $17.82 | New | | | $18.98 | New | | | $19.10 | New | | | $19.52 | New | | | $19.88 | New | | | $20.89 | New | | | $23.26 | Used
- Mint | | | $23.35 | New | | | $24.41 | New | | | $24.41 | New | | | $24.41 | New | | | $25.00 This item is eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. | Collectible
- Mint | | | $36.70 | New | |
| New | |
| $9.38 | New | | | $9.41 | New | | | $9.60 | New | | | $9.65 | New | | | $10.76 | New | | | $10.77 | New | | | $10.80 | New | | | $10.85 | New | | | $11.12 | New | | | $11.32 This item is eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. | New | | | $11.46 | New | | | $11.58 | New | | | $11.95 | New | | | $12.26 | New | | | $12.53 | New | | | $12.81 | New | | | $13.29 | New | | | $13.31 | New | | | $13.57 | New | | | $13.71 | New | | | $14.13 | New | | | $14.16 | New | | | $14.17 | New | | | $14.22 | New | | | $14.45 | New | | | $14.77 | New | | | $14.99 | New | | | $15.46 | New | | | $15.55 | New | | | $15.85 | New | | | $16.30 | New | | | $16.35 | New | | | $16.60 | New | | | $16.99 | New | | | $16.99 | New | | | $17.82 | New | | | $18.98 | New | | | $19.10 | New | | | $19.52 | New | | | $19.88 | New | | | $20.89 | New | | | $23.35 | New | | | $24.41 | New | | | $24.41 | New | | | $24.41 | New | | | $36.70 | New | |
| Used | |
| $7.55 | Used
- VeryGood | | | $7.55 | Used
- Good | | | $7.55 | Used
- Acceptable | | | $7.55 | Used
- VeryGood | | | $7.81 | Used
- VeryGood | | | $7.95 | Used
- VeryGood | | | $7.99 | Used
- VeryGood | | | $7.99 | Used
- VeryGood | | | $7.99 | Used
- VeryGood | | | $7.99 | Used
- VeryGood | | | $7.99 | Used
- VeryGood | | | $7.99 | Used
- VeryGood | | | $7.99 | Used
- VeryGood | | | $7.99 | Used
- VeryGood | | | $7.99 | Used
- VeryGood | | | $7.99 | Used
- VeryGood | | | $7.99 | Used
- VeryGood | | | $7.99 | Used
- VeryGood | | | $8.45 | Used
- VeryGood | | | $8.49 | Used
- VeryGood | | | $8.49 | Used
- Acceptable | | | $8.49 | Used
- Acceptable | | | $8.49 | Used
- Acceptable | | | $8.49 | Used
- Acceptable | | | $9.65 | Used
- Mint | | | $10.10 | Used
- VeryGood | | | $10.80 | Used
- Mint | | | $10.87 | Used
- Mint | | | $10.99 This item is eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. | Used
- VeryGood | | | $11.00 | Used
- VeryGood | | | $11.31 | Used
- Mint | | | $11.49 | Used
- Mint | | | $12.00 | Used
- Mint | | | $12.09 | Used
- Mint | | | $12.35 | Used
- Mint | | | $12.81 | Used
- Mint | | | $13.10 | Used
- Mint | | | $13.28 | Used
- VeryGood | | | $13.80 | Used
- VeryGood | | | $13.93 | Used
- VeryGood | | | $14.68 | Used
- Mint | | | $15.03 | Used
- Mint | | | $15.46 | Used
- Mint | | | $15.95 | Used
- VeryGood | | | $23.26 | Used
- Mint | |
| Collectible | |
| $25.00 This item is eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. | Collectible
- Mint | |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
( 216 customer reviews )
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1191 of 1263 found the following review helpful:
And We Are All MortalJun 09, 2008
By Nick Anez In James W. Douglass' outstanding new book, "JFK and the Unspeakable," the author explains the title in his introduction. Coined by spiritual writer Thomas Merton, The Unspeakable refers to "an evil whose depth and deceit seemed to go beyond the capacity of words to describe." Regarding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the Unspeakable succeeded due to deniability by the nation's citizens of the horrifying truth of the event and to plausible deniability by the government agencies responsible for the murder. (Vincent Bugliosi's recent fictional paperweight is a perfect example of the plausible deniability that allows the Unspeakable to thrive.)
Many excellent books have proven that the assassination of JFK was the result of a conspiracy. Douglass verifies the certainty of the conspiracy and, as the subtitle of the book states, explains "Why He Died and Why It Matters." He scrutinizes the historical facts surrounding the assassination, from the creation of the CIA to the gradual obliteration of the freedoms upon which this nation was founded.
This book is primarily the story of John F. Kennedy who changes from a Cold Warrior to an altruistic leader willing to risk his life to ensure that the world's children will not become victims of a nuclear catastrophe. Equal time is spent on JFK's presidency as on the assassination but one of the many rewards of this book is the author's capacity to show the relationship between his policies and his death. And the book is a tragedy because it gradually becomes obvious that each step he makes toward peace steadily increases the hatred of his enemies who will eventually betray him.
It is also the story of the designated patsy, Lee Harvey Oswald. Moved around the country like a pawn by government agencies (as was the second "Oswald"), he was being set up as the scapegoat. Enter some despicable characters, including David Atlee Philips, James Hosty and, of course, Michael and Ruth Paine. Simultaneously, the Soviet Union was being set up as the evil empire behind the assassination, along with its satellite Cuba.
Douglass credibly illustrates the origin of the Crime of the Century. During President Truman's administration, the CIA was empowered to be a paramilitary organization with unlimited powers. Truman's successor, President Eisenhower, fell out of favor with the CIA when he planned a summit meeting with Soviet Premier Khrushchev. This was cancelled after a U.S. spy plane crashed in Russia. Eisenhower had reportedly ordered such flights cancelled and had his suspicions about who had ruined his peace plan. He subsequently issued his warning about the "military industrial complex" in his farewell address. But he didn't defy "this conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry." He left that task to his successor, JFK.
The Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba was planned by the CIA to regain control of the island and to re-open the casinos for organized crime. President Kennedy refused to provide air support for the Cuban brigade because he knew that he had been lied to by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and by the CIA; the invasion had been designed to fail without U.S. support but they hadn't told this to JFK who refused to fall into their trap. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, JFK once again enraged the CIA and the Joint Chiefs by resisting their tremendous pressure on him to take military action which would have led to nuclear war.
Following that crisis, JFK became intent on ending the Cold War by establishing a peaceful relationship with the Soviet Union. However, many CIA and Pentagon personnel believed that it was better to be "dead than red" and that it was preferable to destroy civilization rather than let the Communists rule. They also knew that war generated billions of dollars into the arms industry. As a result, they would repeatedly subvert the President's policies and isolate him within his own government. Enter some more despicable characters: Richard Bissell, Charles Cabell, Henry Cabot Lodge, Lyman Lemnitzer, Curtis LeMay and perhaps the most contemptible of all, Allen Dulles. Ironically, JFK learned to trust Khrushchev more than people within his own government.
At American University on June 10, 1963, JFK spoke about his desire for world peace. He communicated his resolve to form a new relationship with Khrushchev. He spoke about the necessity of a pursuit toward disarmament. He related his intentions to establish a Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. He acknowledged his country's past faults and recognized the Russian people as wanting peace as much as the American people. "And we are all mortal," he stated. Though this extremely important speech was ignored in the United States, it was disseminated throughout the Soviet Union, per order of Khrushchev, who was prepared to respond favorably to JFK's peace initiative. The speech also certified JFK's death warrant. With so many powerful enemies opposing his policies and hating him, JFK didn't have a chance as he was being maneuvered into the crossfire in Dallas.
President Kennedy was aware of the power of his enemies and he knew the dangers facing him. But he persevered and mandated that all U.S. personnel would be withdrawn from Vietnam; he was determined to never send in combat troops even if this meant defeat. He also refused to intervene militarily in Laos. He exchanged private letters with Khrushchev, which infuriated the CIA, and secretly initiated plans to attain rapproachement with Cuba, which further incensed the Agency. Cuba's Fidel Castro, whom the CIA hated as intensely as it hated Kennedy, was equally eager to begin an American-Cuba dialogue. In fact, Castro was meeting with a JFK representative when the President was murdered. JFK died a martyr and the forces of evil that killed him also killed his vision of peace.
Lyndon Johnson, the CIA's ally, assumed the presidency. He cancelled talks with Khrushchev and refused Castro's pleas to continue the dialogue. He reversed JFK's withdrawal plan from Vietnam as well as his plan to neutralize Laos. The military industrial complex took control of the country. The policy of plausible deniability led the way to assassinations of foreign leaders, the overthrowing of foreign governments and horrors committed all over the globe. If JFK had not been murdered, we would not have had the prolongation of the Cold War, the Vietnam War, Watergate, the purported War on Terror and the steady moral deterioration of America. Interestingly, one month after JFK's assassination, President Truman wrote an article for The Washington Post cautioning about the threat of the CIA taking over America.
The author meticulously examines the evidence and draws conclusions which ring with unassailable truth: (1) The CIA coordinated and implemented he assassination of President Kennedy, an act of treason which destroyed democracy in the U.S. (2) The Warren Commission was created to propagate lies to conceal the truth from the American people. (3)There has been a continued cover-up by successive administrations and their stooges in the mass media. (4)The murder of JFK is directly related to the current domination of the American people by powerful oppressors within a shadow government that will continue to insist that only sustained war can keep the country safe from its enemies, never admitting that they themselves are the supreme evil.
This is an exceptional book that will be used by future historians to determine the truth about the assassination and how it changed America. And it will also be used to honor John F. Kennedy as a courageous president who believed in doing God's work on earth. In doing so, he came into conflict with the Unspeakable and his life was extinguished.
255 of 284 found the following review helpful:
AN ENGAGING, TRAGIC BUT FINALLY HOPEFUL ENCOUNTER WITH OUR HISTORYMay 22, 2008
By N. Randall Mullins Along with over ten years of meticulous research and one hundred pages of footnotes (worth reading), this book has soul. For those tempted to despair that our national leaders are not capable of turning our nation toward peace, this book tells us how it has already happened. John F. Kennedy was taking stands for peace that risked his life as well as his presidency and it seems that the nation hardly noticed. For those who are willing to engage in hard-headed thinking and research, this book will belie the ho-hum assumption that we will never know why Kennedy was killed nor who is responsible. We can know and we need to know as citizens. If you can read only one book on the life of JFK, this is it.
417 of 476 found the following review helpful:
We are all jurorsMay 10, 2008
By David L. Neal We are all jurors in an ongoing trial to find the truth of John Kennedy's murder. Most of us have fallen asleep; some left the chamber, and others don't even care anymore. But a few, a very small few, have been paying attention for the last 45 years as arguments for the prosecution of Lee Harvey Oswald, headed up by government lawyers and their lackeys have been constantly countered by a volunteer and unpaid defense team for the truth made up of laymen, clergymen, historians, teachers, researchers, republicans, democrats, non-affiliates of all ages shapes and sizes. It has been a bewildering experience to have been patted on the head and told to go to sleep by the Warren Commission only to be rudely awakened by a garrulous DA from Louisiana, followed then by a government report which said, well, there might have been two, but go on back to sleep. Dazed and confused we began to leave the room but were called back in by Oliver Stone who told us to take a look at his evidence of Oswald's innocence. We were intrigued, but an impish Gerald Posner convinced Dick Cavett and other icons of American mainstream media that Stone's myth was just that and the case was indeed closed: Oswald did it. But Stone had garnered enough interest to cause Congress to form the ARRB- under George Bush Sr, no less. It took Bill Clinton half his presidency to get the thing going, but we watched with bated breath as the Assassinations Records Review Board began pulling from the FBI, CIA, and the rest of the alphabet bits and pieces of information that left gaping holes in the official story. Most of us didn't believe it anyway, but a few, a small few did notice that there seemed to have been two brains pulled from John Kennedy's head during the so-called autopsy. In fact so many moles began popping up it was difficult for the gatekeepers to bop them in the head fast enough. Distracted as we were by 911 and the war on terror, and the revelation that our government has the capacity to pull off an Operation Northwoods, as the ARRB found out, we continued to keep half an eyeball on the story, those of us who were paying attention. But then just as we were ready to reach a verdict of no true bill, Peter Jennings pops in to save the day for the prosecution. Disregarding all prior logic, evidence and common sense he lulled us back to comfortable numbness as he proved through computer generation, laser beams and some small degree of witch-craft that yes, indeed that was some magic bullet. Nevertheless, while almost dozing off again we heard rumblings of another defense witness about to enter the courtroom. He was David Talbot, an almost Main stream media type who was arguing that John and Robert Kennedy were possibly victims of powerful forces in our own government who wanted and needed them gone. But before he could present his full case a boisterous and bellicose advocate of Governmental Righteousness threw on to the floor, almost breaking it, an objection, claiming his stake in the case with a tome of such immense size and weight that no one, at first, dared to read it or question its obvious Buglisosian authority. When it was finally opened, the muse of Arlen Spector saundered forth speaking in only a language that he could understand. Talk shows raved about Vince's masterpiece; gatekeepers swooned, and the prosecution let out a huge and foul-smelling sigh of relief as they said, There! That ought to put this damn thing to rest finally! Everyone began to pack up and leave, most never having read briefs by Scott, Gerald McKnight, Larry Hancock, etc., defense advocates who had built their arguments on the works of Vince Salandria, Marrs, Howard Roffman, Sheim, Weisberg, etc., and the thousands of pages of released and obscure documents. But just as the courtroom almost emptied, looking like a Senate Chamber with a wobbling old man named Byrd trying to make a point, in comes a Jesuit priest. I'm no Catholic, I thought, as I was getting up to leave with the two or three other jurors who had sat through the whole case so far, trying to pay attention, but this guy seems to know his stuff. He's talking about everything we have already heard but putting it all into context. His summation is actually making sense- reason, logic, truth, honesty, footnotes, primary source interviews, follow-up questions, giving the benefit of the doubt to all sides. I sat back down. As James Douglass presented his case, scales fell from my eyes. Oswald was innocent. I look around. Is anybody there?
David Neal Kitty Hawk, NC
68 of 75 found the following review helpful:
This is the Only Book I Have Read that Could Change History...Jun 25, 2009
By Brookbird34
"Nathaniel Heidenheimer"
if enough people read it. It shows that the dichotomy between ""Conspiracy Theory"" and structural analysis which looks at institutions as the source of historical change is a false dichotomy. It is documented like no other historical work that I have ever read. It is one third who done it while never forgetting the real issue is why done it. One can understand why it had such an impact on someone as well versed in Cold War foreign policy of the period as Daniel Ellsberg. One can also understand why -- in this age of censorship-- in spite of its outstanding recommendations by the most credentialed key figures imaginable, it cannot be found in any bookstore in NYC. Meanwhile suddenly Mafia done it books are being pimped by foremer Lone Nutters in a rush to convert to the right church. Hmmmm.
This is not merely a book about Kennedy. It is the most important new turn in Cold War historiography since the publication of Gabriel Kolko's The Politics of War in 1968.
In addition, it should be mentioned that this book is nicely complemented with another recent book with incredibly importatant fresh insight into Dallas-- and in this case, its continuing implications for Watergate. Russ Baker, the author of Family Of SecretsFamily of Secrets: The Bush Dynasty, the Powerful Forces That Put It in the White House, and What Their Influence Means for America has written for NYT, WaPost, Vanity Fair, and many other reputable publications. He has also served as an editor of Columbia Journalism Review. His book has incredible new insights into the mysteries of why H.W. Bush was in Dallas on 11/22/63 and why did both he and Barbara make up false alibis to suggest otherwise? Why was H.W. Bush contacted by Oswald's #1 Dallas CIA handler George deMohrenschildt, when H.W. became CIA director in 1975? (This was less than two years before deMohrenshilds's suspicious death two days before he was scheduled to testify before the House Select Committee on Assassinations.) Were Bush's claims that he had never worked for the CIA before 1975 truthful or even truthy? The author's supply of documentation is so bountiful and well sourced, that one is led to conclude no to both of these questions. Then, wait till you get to Watergate. This is not your Woodward's version. This author has the journalistic resume, attention to detail, and caution regarding overstatement, that make his questions about the official version resonate long after one has put his book down.
40 of 43 found the following review helpful:
Highly RecommendedMay 31, 2008
By E. Snyder Jim Douglass presents a credible, coherent, and convincing narrative for the events surrounding JFK's assassination. He uses resources from U.S. and Soviet archives, first hand accounts of people now willing to talk, dogged researchers over the years challenging the Warren Commission and others. 100 pages of fine print footnotes back up 400 pages of text.
Douglass establishes a clear motive and case for CIA involvement. He also paints a complimentary picture of Kennedy's courage and conviction in bucking the power and prestige of the CIA and the Joint Chiefs.
This book implicitly raises the question of whether today's politicians are willing to risk proposing far reaching changes in war/peace policies that challenge the "unspeakable."
LATER March 3, 2009 For a more extended comment, see my review of the book in Sojourners Magazine of March 2009, pages 40-44
See all 216 customer reviews on Amazon.com
| | |
|