THE KENNEDY ASSASSINATION AT SIXTY: STILL HAZY (& CRAZY) AFTER ALL THESE YEARS

Ten years ago I wrote an essay for the London Library magazine. The starting point was relating the books in the Library’s own collection to the literature of the Kennedy Assassination, which at that point was well over 1,000 books, of which the Library had very few. But I was able to expand the remit, and attempt to show how, at three specific times, investigations into the killing of the president had prompted non-fictional reactions, and new investigation of their own, and how those had themselves influenced the fictional presentation of the assassination and its influence on us all. I also used the essay as the basis for a feature on BBC Radio 4’s Open Book, where I concentrated on highlighting the major works.

Now, ten years later, I took another look, compelled by my feeling that, after all this time, attempts to “solve” the crime were still automatically dismissed as “conspiracy theories”. This seemed important not because it isn’t obvious the Oswald as Lone Crazed Assassin theory is so totally debunked, but because today so much else is dismissed, offhandedly, as “conspiracy”. No matter how rational, even the most sombre and well-documented evidence of the abuse of power, or malfeasance by those who hold it, can be ignored and discredited,simply by burying it under a supposed crazy-quilt of outlandish fantasy. It is a tactic beloved by much of major major media and those who practice it, but they are rarely interested in giving someone space or time (or money) to point…