Jack Ruby: The Many Faces of Oswald's Assassin by Danny Fingeroth

 

Earlier this year, I listened to and reviewed an audiobook about Lee Harvey Oswald and his wife, Marina, titled, The Oswalds by Paul R. Gregory. Essentially, I wanted to learn more about the life of Lee Harvey Oswald and his role in the assassin of President John F. Kennedy.

After listening to The Oswalds by Paul R. Gregory, I wanted to learn more about life and times of Jack Ruby. Jack Ruby fatally shot Lee Harvey Oswald approximately 48 hours after Oswald's arrest for shooting President John F. Kennedy on live television. This happened while Lee Harvey Oswald was being transferred from the Dallas City Jail to the County Jail!

This has always brought up loads of questions for me. Like how did Jack Ruby gain access to a restricted area with a loaded gun when he wasn't a police officer or a reporter? Decades ago, I'd heard wild tales that Jack Ruby had been paid by the mob to act as a hitman to kill Lee Harvey Oswald to keep Oswald from testifying in court.

So, when I came across the audio version of Jack Ruby: The Many Faces of Oswald's Assassin by Danny Fingeroth, I figured why not listen to it and hopefully, learn more about Jack Ruby and perhaps his true motives for shooting Lee Harvey Oswald.

First off, Jack Ruby: The Many Faces of Oswald's Assassin is narrated by author, Danny Fingeroth. I've heard several authors narrate their own books before with success. However, I think Danny Fingeroth was a distraction. I wished someone else had narrated his book instead.

Although parts of Jack Ruby: The Many Faces of Oswald's Assassin by Danny Fingeroth were fascinating, I felt some parts of this book were lackluster. Additionally, I felt like Jack Ruby: The Many Faces of Oswald's Assassin was too long and could have been condensed for a more pleasurable read. There was just too much detail in sections for my liking.

Below is the publisher's summary for Jack Ruby: The Many Faces of Oswald's Assassin by Danny Fingeroth from the Goodreads website:

Jack Ruby changed history with one bold, violent killing accused presidential assassin Lee Harvey Oswald on live TV two days after the November 22, 1963, murder of President John F. Kennedy. But who was Jack Ruby—and how did he come to be in that spot on that day?

As we approach the sixtieth anniversaries of the murders of Kennedy and Oswald, Jack Ruby’s motives are as maddeningly ambiguous today as they were the day that he pulled the trigger.

The fascinating yet frustrating thing about Ruby is that there is evidence to paint him as at least two different people. Much of his life story points to him as bumbling, vain, violent, and neurotic; a product of the grinding poverty of Chicago’s Jewish ghetto; a man barely able to make a living or sustain a relationship with anyone besides his dogs.

By the same token, evidence exists of Jack Ruby as cagey and competent, perhaps not a mastermind, but a useful pawn of the Mob and of both the police and the FBI; someone capable of running numerous legal, illegal, and semi-legal enterprises, including smuggling arms and vehicles to both sides in the Cuban revolution; someone capable of acting as middleman in bribery schemes to have imprisoned Mob figures set free.

Cultural historian Danny Fingeroth's research includes a new, in-depth interview with Rabbi Hillel Silverman, the legendary Dallas clergyman who visited Ruby regularly in prison and who was witness to Ruby’s descent into madness. Fingeroth also conducted interviews with Ruby family members and associates. The book’s findings will catapult you into a trip through a house of historical mirrors.

At its end, perhaps Jack Ruby’s assault on history will begin to make sense. And perhaps we will understand how Oswald’s assassin led us to the world we live in today.

I am giving Jack Ruby: The Many Faces of Oswald's Assassin by Danny Fingeroth a rating of 2 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

The Oswalds: An Untold Account of Marina and Lee by Paul R. Gregory

 

I listened to the unabridged audio version of The Oswalds: An Untold Account of Marina and Lee by Paul R. Gregory and narrated by Traber Burns. 

Listening for The Oswalds: An Untold Account of Marina and Lee by Paul R. Gregory is 8 hours, 11 minutes.

I wasn't a huge fan of the way in which Traber Burns narrated, The Oswalds: An Untold Account of Marina and Lee by Paul R. Gregory. I wish another narrator had been chosen for this book.

As far as The Oswalds: An Untold Account of Marina and Lee by Paul R. Gregory goes, I would highly recommend this book for those who enjoy learning about American history. More specifically, this book delves deeply into the lives of Lee Harvey Oswald and his Soviet wife, Marina, in quite some detail. 

Paul R. Gregory, the author of The Oswalds: An Untold Account of Marina and Lee knew Lee Harvey Oswald and his wife personally, so Mr. Gregory was able to give thoughtful insight into their personal lives leading up to the assassination and aftermath.

Additionally, other details surrounding the assassination of JFK and the manhunt for JFK's killer were discussed in this book in some detail. I gained more knowledge about this subject that I didn't know about it before.

Below is the publisher's summary for The Oswalds: An Untold Account of Marina and Lee by Paul R. Gregory I discovered on Amazon's website:

This “lucid, insightful” memoir by a man who knew Lee Harvey Oswald and his wife offers “an informative view of a killer’s marriage and lethal motivations” (Kirkus Reviews).

Merely two hours after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, television cameras captured police escorting a suspect into Dallas police headquarters. Meanwhile at the University of Oklahoma, watching the coverage in the student center, Paul Gregory scanned the figure in dark trousers and a white V-neck tee shirt and saw the bruised and battered face of Lee Harvey Oswald. Shocked, Gregory said, “I know that man.” In fact, he knew Oswald and his Soviet wife, Marina, better than almost anyone in America.

Identified by the FBI as a “known associate of LHO,” Gregory soon faced interrogations by the Secret Service. Later he would testify before the Warren Commission. Here, in The Oswalds, he offers the intimate details of his time spent with Lee and Marina in their run-down duplex in Fort Worth, and candidly assesses the murder that marked a turning point in our history. His riveting recollection includes memories both casual and deadly serious, such as the dinner at his parents’ house introducing Marina to the “Dallas Russians,” a front-yard incident of spousal abuse, and a further rift in the marriage when he revealed to Marina that Oswald was not the dashing, radical intellectual whose Historic Diary would be a publishing sensation. Gregory also gives a fascinating account of his father’s role as an eyewitness to history, serving as Marina’s translator and confidant in the first four days after the assassination.

“A definitive personality sketch of Oswald . . . Gregory’s book will stand the test of time.” —Mark Kramer, Director of Cold War Studies, Harvard University

I am giving The Oswalds: An Untold Account of Marina and Lee by Paul R. Gregory a rating of 4 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

The Dali Legacy by Christopher Heath Brown & Jean-Pierre Isbouts

 

I’m a longtime fan of Salvador Dali’s artwork. I have even visited the Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida back in 2008 with my husband before the museum moved to its current location. 

Since I’m a Dali fan, I’ve decided to listen to the unabridged audio version of The Dali Legacy by Christopher Heath Brown & Jean-Pierre Isbouts and narrated by Charlie Thurston. 

Listening time for The Dali Legacy by Christopher Heath Brown & Jean-Pierre Isbouts is 6 hours, 28 minutes.

I truly enjoyed listening to this work of nonfiction. I learned a lot of things I never knew about Salvador Dali's life before reading this book uncluding a lot of history about Spain, the Surrealist movement itself, other artists of the time, Dali's thoughts on various current events, and what had the most impact/influence on his artwork. I also enjoyed the detailed deep dive into some of Dali's most famous works and what the symbology in these works meant.

If you're at all curious about Salvador Dali, other artists during the day, art in general, and history, then this book is most definitely for you. If you enjoy audiobooks, then you'll also enjoy Charlie Thurston's narration of The Dali Legacy.

Below is the publisher's summary for The Dali Legacy by Christopher Heath Brown & Jean-Pierre Isbouts from Chirp's website:

In turns beloved and reviled, twentieth century art, painter, filmmaker, and designer Salvador Dali set Europe and the United States ablaze with his uncompromising genius, sexual sadism, and flirtations with megalomania. His shocking behavior and work frequently alienated critics; his views were so outrageous, even prominent Surrealists tried to ostracize him. Still, every morning he experienced “an exquisite joy-the joy of being Salvador Dali,” and, through a remarkable talent that invited bewilderment, anger, and adoration, rose to unprecedented levels of fame-forever shifting the landscape of the art world and the nature of celebrity itself. In this stunning volume, noted art historians Jean-Pierre Isbouts and Christopher Heath Brown discuss the historical, social, and political conditions that shaped Dali’s work, identify the impact of Modern as well as Old Master art, and present an unflinching view of the master’s personal relationships and motivations. With their deeply compelling narrative, Isbouts and Brown uncover how Dali’s visual wit and enduring cult of personality still impacts fashion, literature, and art, from Andy Warhol to Lady Gaga, and seeks to answer why, in an age of shock and awe, Dali’s art still manages to distress, perplex, and entertain.

I am giving The Dali Legacy by Christopher Heath Brown & Jean-Pierre Isbouts a rating of 5 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!

18 Tiny Deaths: The Untold Story of Frances Glessner Lee and the Invention of Modern Forensics by Bruce Goldfarb

 

I truly enjoy reading nonfiction books on a wide array of topics. I especially enjoy topics on forensic science and true crime in general. So, I took a chance on listening to the unabridged audio version of 18 Tiny Deaths: The Untold Story of Frances Glessner Lee and the Invention of Modern Forensics by Bruce Goldfarb and narrated by Nan McNamara. 

What a delightful book! 18 Tiny Deaths: The Untold Story of Frances Glessner Lee and the Invention of Modern Forensics by Bruce Goldfarb not only covers modern forensics, it also encompasses the interesting life of Frances Glessner Lee and her major contribution to modern day forensics. Frankly, I'd never even heard of Frances Glessner Lee before discovering Bruce Goldfarb's book!

I really enjoyed listening to 18 Tiny Deaths: The Untold Story of Frances Glessner Lee and the Invention of Modern Forensics by Bruce Goldfarb. It's packed with a lot of information from start to finish and well narrated by Nan McNamara. If you're fascinated by science, history, biography, and nonfiction in general, then this book may be right up your alley.

Below is the publisher's summary for 18 Tiny Deaths: The Untold Story of Frances Glessner Lee and the Invention of Modern Forensics by Bruce Goldfarb from Chirp's website:

The story of a woman whose ambition and accomplishments far exceeded the expectations of her time, 18 Tiny Deaths follows the transformation of a young, wealthy socialite into the mother of modern forensics… Frances Glessner Lee, born a socialite to a wealthy and influential Chicago family in the 1870s, was never meant to have a career, let alone one steeped in death and depravity. Yet she developed a fascination with the investigation of violent crimes, and made it her life’s work. Best known for creating the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death, a series of dollhouses that appear charming until you notice the macabre little details: an overturned chair, or a blood-spattered comforter. And then, of course, there are the bodies splayed out on the floor, draped over chairs clothed in garments that Lee lovingly knit with sewing pins. 18 Tiny Deaths, by official biographer Bruce Goldfarb, delves into Lee’s journey from grandmother without a college degree to leading the scientific investigation of unexpected death out of the dark confines of centuries-old techniques and into the light of the modern day. Lee developed a system that used the Nutshells dioramas to train law enforcement officers to investigate violent crimes, and her methods are still used today. 18 Tiny Deaths transports the reader back in time and tells the story of how one woman, who should never have even been allowed into the classrooms she ended up teaching in, changed the face of science forever.

I am giving 18 Tiny Deaths: The Untold Story of Frances Glessner Lee and the Invention of Modern Forensics by Bruce Goldfarb a rating of 3 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

Jackie as Editor: The Literary Life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis by Greg Lawrence

I've always admired Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis for her sense of style and also as our nation's First Lady. 

I came across Jackie as Editor: The Literary Life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis by Greg Lawrence several years ago online. I was intrigued by the summary for this nonfiction book about Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis's life as editor as I didn't know that much about this particular aspect of her life. 

Since I already love reading and books (especially books that also talk about books) and have always been fascinated by the iconic life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, I figured why not buy and read this book to learn more about Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and her life as editor? I purchased Jackie as Editor: The Literary Life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis by Greg Lawrence prior to May 2014 where it has sat in my 'tbr' pile until now. 

I decided Jackie as Editor: The Literary Life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis would make a great, early read for Women's History Month and I wasn't wrong!!

I actually liked Jackie as Editor: The Literary Life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis by Greg Lawrence a lot more than I thought I would! Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis worked the last 19 years of her life as an editor. She started out at Viking and then ended up at Doubleday for the majority of her editing career.

I thought that Greg Lawrence gave a thorough and comprehensive account of Jackie's life as an editor. He not only writes a bit about Jackie's personal life, but he also discusses her love of reading and books, and most importantly Jackie's role as editor in great detail. Jackie was very passionate about the books she edited and very involved in working closely with the authors that she did over the years as editor for both publishing houses. As readers, we are given in depth insight to the books themselves that Jackie helped edit, how she came across the books she edited, and what it was like having Jackie as editor from the authors themselves.

From reading Jackie as Editor: The Literary Life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, it sounds like Jackie was a warm and unpretentious person in real life. It sounds like she also had a wonderful sense of humor.

I also definitely had the sense from reading this book that Jackie became an editor to have an avocation other than simply being a socialite/former first lady after the deaths of both of her husbands. She obviously didn't need a career to pay the bills as she had plenty of money. I get the sense that she became an editor due to her passion and love for reading and books. Jackie was smart, educated, sophisticated, savvy, and well connected... All stellar qualities that I'm sure helped her succeed as an editor.

Jackie as Editor: The Literary Life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis by Greg Lawrence is a really great read and gives readers a unique insight into the publishing world and a snapshot into one area of Jackie's life.

P. S. As an additional side note, there is a section at the end of Jackie as Editor: The Literary Life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis titled, Books Published By Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, which lists all the book titles Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis helped to edit during her career as an editor. The list is a long one. Many of the books sound like phenomenal ones to read. Perhaps one day, I can set a goal for myself to read all of the books listed in this section! In the meantime, I'll simply be contented to read the many unread books in my personal collection.

The following is a summary for Jackie as Editor: The Literary Life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis by Greg Lawrence from Amazon:

History remembers Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis as the consummate first lady, the nation’s tragic widow, the millionaire’s wife, and, of course, the quintessential embodiment of elegance. Her biographers, however, skip over an equally important stage in her life: her nearly twenty year long career as a book editor. Jackie as Editor is the first book to focus exclusively on this remarkable woman’s editorial career.

At the age of forty-six, one of the most famous women in the world went to work for the first time in twenty-two years. Greg Lawrence, who had three of his books edited by Jackie, draws from interviews with more than 125 of her former collaborators and acquaintances in the publishing world to examine one of the twentieth century's most enduring subjects of fascination through a new angle: her previously untouted skill in the career she chose. Over the last third of her life, Jackie would master a new industry, weather a very public professional scandal, and shepherd more than a hundred books through the increasingly corporate halls of Viking and Doubleday, publishing authors as diverse as Diana Vreeland, Louis Auchincloss, George Plimpton, Bill Moyers, Dorothy West, Naguib Mahfouz, and even Michael Jackson. Jackie as Editor gives intimate new insights into the life of a complex and enigmatic woman who found fulfillment through her creative career during book publishing’s legendary Golden Age, and, away from the public eye, quietly defined life on her own terms.

I'm giving Jackie as Editor: The Literary Life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis by Greg Lawrence a rating of 4 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!