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Killing Kennedy: The End of Camelot by Bill O’Reilly

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Key Takeaways
  1. The similarities between Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy are eerie
  2. Kennedy had medical issues throughout his life and twice was read his last rights
  3. Lee Harvey Oswald is a communist and when Kennedy is sworn in he has defected and is in Minsk. He soon realized he wants back to America. He was a sharpshooter in the army
  4. When JFK was 26 his ship, PT 109, in the South Pacific was destroyed by the Japanese. In a leadership role but uncomfortable in this position. He finally takes charge and realizes only he can save his men. This changes his thoughts on leadership forever
  5. Bay of Pigs - April 1961. A covert invasion to try to overthrow the Cuban government. Embarrassing failure and although has backing of American people, makes two powerful enemies - Castro and the CIA director, Alan Dulles who is fired soon after
  6. JFK was very close with Frank Sinatra but after his mob ties were confirmed JFK quickly cut all ties
  7. JFK had many extramarital affairs, Marilyn Monroe being the most renowned. They began flirting right after he won the presidency and it soon turned physical. Jackie knows and is disgusted as she thinks JFK is taking advantage of an emotionally hurt woman. He soon distances himself though to avoid controversy
  8. Oswald returns from Russia in 1961 to Dallas
  9. LBJ gets tasked with traveling the world and loves being most powerful man in any room outside of America
  10. Civil Rights are full blown in this time. The president and his staff keep a close eye on MLK as they like his message about racial equality but are also worried that he is a communist sympathizer
  11. Cuban Missile Crisis - Kennedy finds out in October 1961 that Russia has installed nuclear missiles in Cuba. This is the biggest challenge he has yet to face. He takes a strong stance against them and Oswald takes great offense since he believes that the USSR has the right to protect the communist island from the U.S. This is what Khrushchev believes too and thinks JFK's use of quarantine vs blockade (act of war) is cowardly. Khrushchev tells his ship to ignore the blockade, believing JFK will back down like he did in the Bay of Pigs. JFK holds firm and Khrushchev relents a little bit. JFK promises not to invade if the missiles are removed and will allow their nuclear missiles in Turkey to remain. After 13 long days, Russia relents and disarms the missiles, ending the Cuban Missile Crisis
  12. Oswald is getting increasingly violent with his wife and starts collecting guns. He is soon fired and on April 10, 1963 he decides he needs to kill someone. He decides to target walker, an ex-military man who is starkly anti-communist. He missed completely but manages to not leave any clues
  13. After much practice and planning, Oswald feels ready to carry his plan through. At 12:30 PM on November 22, 1963 Oswald sets up at the Texas Schoolbook Depository where he worked and shot Kennedy. He let off three rounds, 1 missed completely, 1 went through his neck but would not have been fatal and the last exploded his skull. He manages to escape the building and walks away. About an hour later a cop stops to question him and Oswald kills him too. He then tries to hide in a theater but is caught and taken to jail. Jack Ruby, a man with mafia ties and who owns several strip clubs is extremely upset by the assassination and decides to take action and ends up killing Oswald himself
What I got out of it
  1. I always knew the popularity of JFK and Jackie but had no idea they were the first power couple and were revered everywhere they went. O'Reilly describes JFK's growth as a leader while President and how his assassination kicked off a series of events that rocked the 60's and 70's.