Oliver Stone calls "JFK & The Unspeakable" "the best account I have read"

[Myra Bronstein]

Myra,

I don't know of a book in which the impact of Patrick's death on the Jack/Jackie relationship is directly evaluated in terms of a spiritual reawakening with dramatic political consequences. But there are ample references in mainstream JFK bios that discuss public evidence of a subsequent deepening of the marriage; Richard Reeves' book comes immediately to mind.

This "theory" is based upon observations; the increasing closeness of the First Couple, their PDA, etc.

Also, the timing is interesting insofar as JFK's efforts to step back from the brink and otherwise reject the Cold War paradigm seem to have been stepped up -- and we're on weak ground here due to the largely still-suppressed documentary record -- after Patrick's passing.

As for the Chicago plot: Douglass accepts this deep political operation on its most superficial level, when in fact there are additional, fascinating, and compelling evaluations of what was going on with Vallee and the alleged hit team.

My own take: Chicago was designed to resemble the Dallas situation in order to quash rumors of an assassination conspiracy with the general outlines of what actually took place.

Think about it: A lone nut patsy with a military background and Leftist tendencies/Communist sympathies who will fire at JFK from an office building in a major downtown area as a pro hit team does the real wet work ... The system was awash in rumors concerning this scenario.

Then "the" plot is foiled in Chicago, the hit team is "on the run," the "patsy" is off the board, and everyone can relax.

Note how JFK, just before he was murdered, spoke of a problem that the Secret Service had "taken care of."

The Chicago/Dallas mirror image also conforms to the multiple uses of doppelgangers throughout the JFK drama.

Can I prove any of this? No.

Do I indict Douglass for not thinking of and exploring it? No.

But I respectfully award a demerit to him for failing to apply deep political analysis to what is clearly a deep political construct.

Hope this helps.

Thanks Charlie. I guess it's too much to hope for that any one book can be definitive in a case of this scope. Do you at least think JFK&U is one of the better books on the subject?

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Note how JFK, just before he was murdered, spoke of a problem that the Secret Service had "taken care of."
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Really? Can you help me find more information about this? Do you recall a source?