When President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, I was a teenager. At that time, I did not pay too much attention to details. Like everyone else I was devastated when I heard the news that our President was dead. November 22, 1963 is a date that most people remember what they were doing the moment the assassination took place.

When I saw the title of this book, it was one I had to read. Yes, I lived through this time in history but wanted to know much more about what happened before, during and after November 22, 1963. Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard really opened my eyes because there were so many things happening in our country during this period of time. It was interesting to find yourself behind the scenes to see how the President handled tense situations like the Cuban Missile Crises and the Civil Rights Movement.

Just to mention a few of the small facts that really surprised me were: Lee Harvey Oswald was only 24 year’s old when he assassinated the President, Jackie Kennedy was a chain smoker, Lyndon Johnson was “out of the loop” and Bobby Kennedy was “in the loop”, John Kennedy had many affairs and Jackie knew about them but figured that was the way the Kennedy men did things, Martin Luther King also had affairs, John Kennedy had Addison’s Disease, Lee Harvey Oswald was almost caught immediately right after the fatal shot but was not detained, some people spotted Oswald in the window of the depository building but believed he was an FBI agent, and the top on Kennedy’s car was supposed to be closed because it was raining that day but eventually the sun began to shine and the President wanted the top open so the people could see him.

The chapters alternate back and forth between Kennedy and Oswald and what was happening in their lives. The tension builds until it takes the reader to that tragic day of November 22, 1963.

Killing Kennedy is very interesting and brings this period of time in history back to life. The book is not about conspiracy theories like many others. The authors tell us about this period of time and help us to understand in a much clearer way what really happened. It is very obvious that the authors did a great deal of research to write this book. I listened to the audiobook version and what really made it so good was the fact that one of the authors, Bill O’Reilly, narrated the entire story. Even if you are a believer of some of the conspiracy theories and you do not agree with Mr. O’Reilly, you will still find Killing Kennedy and interesting and fascinating read. I can’t wait to read Killing Lincoln!