This book has certainly sparked my interest on the topic as this is written from one perspective. Was slow only at times, literally minute by minute, but overall enjoyable.

Very interesting and compelling account of the story we all know too well.

I enjoy reading a book about the Kennedy assassination every year or so, to learn something new. Last year, it was the double biography, The Oswalds. This year, End of Days.

This was a good overview with the goal of evoking the emotions of those few days. It also shows the sad way the lives of Kennedy and Oswald intersected on Nov. 22.

You get a real sense of the murder and of those involved, almost minute by minute. How Kennedy was almost fatalistic about dying, with all the tragedy his family had already endured. And how Oswald was delusional, certain he was destined to do something big in his life.

The writer doesn't buy the conspiracies (and neither do I, anymore), so if that's what you're looking for, pass this one up. But if you want to see it play out as it actually happened, you'll find some insight here.

And please don't bother arguing with me about conspiracy - I know the theories, I've read the books, and I left that all behind.

I grew up hearing in reference to JFK that everyone who was alive then remembers exactly where they were when he was shot, but not much beyond that. It seemed like in history classes in school, anything post-WWII was always rushed through in a couple of weeks at the end of the year. So this was an interesting read about a relatively recent time in history that I know little about. It could have done with a few less "it was the last time NAME did THING", as that kind of ruined the suspense the book otherwise seemed like it was trying to build throughout but it was straightforward and a relatively quick read.

A good read. Swanson is an engaging writer. He falls into the trap of glorifying the Kennedys a bit while acknowledging that the Kennedy administration wasn't Camelot, despite what Jackie would have us think. A good overview of the events surrounding the assassination, and what brought both Jack Kennedy and Lee Oswald to Dallas that November day.

When I heard James Swanson was writing a book about the Kennedy assassination, I was excited. I had read Manhunt (Swanson's book on Abraham Lincoln's assassination) and got totally sucked in to his minute-by-minute "you are there" writing style. Everyone knows how the Kennedy and Lincoln assassinations end - but Swanson is a master at injecting tension into the stories that we already know.

If only I hadn't read Manhunt first.

End of Days feels rushed, and in fact it likely was, being released just barely in time for the 50th anniversary of the Kennedy assassination (along with a host of other books about the topic). In truth the book skips around a bit too much and could've benefited from some more editing. This is most evident in the beginning and end of the book. The middle, depicting the killing, feels like it was written first and had the most care and attention given to it.

That said, I learned a lot that I didn't know about the assassination. I also liked that Swanson didn't go into detail on any of the conspiracy theories, but makes the - very logical! - point that what these theories fail to account for is the interference of pure chance. Every anomaly is accounted for in these theories, and wrapped up in a nice, tight bow. I loved that.

Worth a read? Yes, especially if you want to know more about the assassination without feeling like you're reading a research paper.

This book was great! A good timeline and more into depth about Harvey Lee Oswald then I was expecting, but it gave good into into where his mind was that day - Also, if you are on kindle - half the book is bibliography, so yes the book is long, but most of it is the authors notes and bibliography.

You can purchase the book here -

https://amzn.to/3DTqsCf