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New York Times Book Review Makes It Safe -- Finally
-- To End JFK Assassination Mystery

The New York Times Book Review, May 23, 1999, NONFICTION

LIVE BY THE SWORD
The Secret War Against Castro and the Death of JFK


In December 1991, Oliver Stone released his movie "JFK," about the murder of John F. Kennedy, and as a result of a public outcry, Congress passed the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992, which called for total disclosure by all Federal agencies and private individuals who might be in possession of relevant material. These three million-plus pages proved to be a treasure-trove of information for those interested in the assassination, and Gus Russo has based much of his compelling, exhaustively researched and evenhanded book, "Live by the Sword," on it.

Russo has had a longstanding interest in the assassination; he was one of the lead reporters on "Frontline"'s 1993 documentary "Who Was Lee Harvey Oswald?" and served as the chief investigative reporter for ABC's news special "Dangerous World: The Kennedy Years." After sifting through mountains of evidence and conducting interviews, Russo comes to a simple conclusion: Lee Harvey Oswald killed Kennedy.

Russo also maintains that it was Kennedy's obsession with ridding the world of Fidel Castro by any means necessary, including assassination, that resulted in his own death. Was Oswald a Cuban agent? Russo stops just short of saying this, but he does argue persuasively that the emotionally disturbed Oswald acted out of admiration for Castro and could well have been encouraged by pro-Castro agents. What is most impressive about "Live by the Sword," however, is that he is able to explain (though not condone) the activities of many of those in Government, including Lyndon B. Johnson, the C.I.A. and Robert Kennedy, all of whom fought hard to keep what Russo calls "the secret war against Castro" from the public - thereby averting possible American retaliation and, perhaps, another catastrophic world war.

CHARLES SALZBERG


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