Killing Kennedy 3

            I have finished Killing Kennedy and can say that I have learned a lot. Kennedy’s life was definitely an interesting and important one and I now know why he is talked about so often. I was completely satisfied with the read. Kennedy’s life has that plot structure that went up and down a lot but in the end it just sky rocketed down, because Lee Harvey Oswald assassinated him. His presidency was full of different issues like the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, and the Bay of Pigs (an attempt to assassinate Castro in Cuba. You can read more about it on this website http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK/JFK-in-History/The-Bay-of-Pigs.aspx I found it interesting).  All of this happened while he had major back issues, took care of his kids, and kept an active social life. You can tell that Kennedy truly made a difference in the world and was important it many people. O’Reilly even writes, Jackie Kennedy, JFK’s wife, “received more than eight hundred thousand letters of condolence” (O’Reilly 292). With a fact like this it is easy to see the Kennedy was loved.

           A surprising thing about the book is how O’Reilly talks about Lee Harvey Oswald for a bit of the book, usually at the end of each chapter. The way he describes him it just seemed as though he was a smart man who was just depressed. O’Reilly writes, “He now deals in the absolutes: either live happily ever after – or murder the president” (O’Reilly 250). This quote talks about how Oswald’s wife left him so he felt as though he was worthless. He believed the only way to get known was to kill the President. He even claims that he doesn’t really have anything against Kennedy. Just that killing him will make his name known.

            I thought this book was great. Besides the fact that there is a grammar error on page 243, where “the” is repeated twice, this book is very well written. I feel everyone should know the life of JFK.