''Killing Kennedy: The End of Camelot'' is a 2012 non-fiction book by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard about the

assassination Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...

of the 35th

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

. It is a follow-up to O'Reilly's 2011 book '' Killing Lincoln''. ''Killing Kennedy'' was released on October 2, 2012 through

Henry Holt and Company Henry Holt and Company is an American book-publishing company based in New York City. One of the oldest publishers in the United States, it was founded in 1866 by Henry Holt and Frederick Leypoldt. Currently, the company publishes in the fields ...

Synopsis

In ''Killing Kennedy'' the authors narrate the events leading up to the

of President Kennedy as well as the event's aftermath. O'Reilly and Dugard also focus on the element of the growing

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

, Kennedy's attempt to deal with the rise of

Communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

, and the potential threat from organized crime.

Reception

Critical response to ''Killing Kennedy'' was mixed, with ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''writing that the book was at times disappointing but that it "picks up strength as it heads for its date with destiny". The book has been criticized for a "lack of citation and occasional 'literary liberties'". For example, in the prologue, the authors write, "Kennedy is the youngest president ever elected. Eisenhower is the oldest." While Kennedy was the youngest president ever elected at the time of his inauguration and remains so today,

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

was not the oldest ever elected even in 1961 at the time of Kennedy's inauguration.

William Henry Harrison William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773April 4, 1841) was an American military officer and politician who served as the ninth president of the United States. Harrison died just 31 days after his inauguration in 1841, and had the shortest pres ...

was the oldest president ever elected as of 1961. However, in 1961 at the end of his term Eisenhower was the oldest president to date, as Harrison died one month into his term at the age of 68 years 54 days. Eisenhower was 70 years 98 days old on the day of Kennedy's inauguration. O'Reilly has stated that he and Dugard wrote the book to be "fun" and "to get people engaged with their country". The book sold 118,000 copies in its first week. Another passage where O'Reilly claims he was present outside the Florida home of alleged conspirator

George de Mohrenschildt George Sergius de Mohrenschildt ( ru , Георгий Сергеевич де Мореншильд; April 17, 1911 – March 29, 1977) was an American petroleum geologist, professor, and known CIA informant. De Mohrenschildt is best known for havi ...

when he committed suicide has been shown by several sources to be false, as he was known not to be in the state at the time. In response, the publisher Henry Holt and Company issued a statement: "This one passage is immaterial to the story being told by this terrific book and we have no plans to look into this matter."

Adaptation

After the success of '' Killing Lincoln'',

National Geographic Channel National Geographic (formerly National Geographic Channel; abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo or Nat Geo TV) is an American pay television television network, network and flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel owned by the National Geograp ...

announced it would produce a film adaptation of ''Killing Kennedy''. In May 2013, it was announced that

Rob Lowe Robert Hepler Lowe (born March 17, 1964) is an American actor, filmmaker, and podcast host. He made his acting debut at the age of 15 with ABC's short-lived sitcom ''A New Kind of Family'' (1979–1980). Following numerous television roles in ...

was to play

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Ginnifer Goodwin Jennifer Michelle "Ginnifer" Goodwin (born May 22, 1978) is an American actress. She is known for her starring role as Margene Heffman in the HBO drama series ''Big Love'' (2006–2011) and Snow White / Mary Margaret Blanchard in the ABC fan ...

would play

First Lady First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state fo ...

Jacqueline Kennedy Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American socialite, writer, photographer, and book editor who served as first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A po ...

, and

Michelle Trachtenberg Michelle Trachtenberg (; born October 11, 1985) is an American actress and model. Trachtenberg began her career at age three, appearing in a number of commercials, films, and television series as a child. Her starring role on the Nickelodeon tel ...

would portray

Lee Harvey Oswald Lee Harvey Oswald (October 18, 1939 – November 24, 1963) was a U.S. Marine veteran who assassinated John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, on November 22, 1963. Oswald was placed in juvenile detention at the age of 12 fo ...

's wife

Marina Oswald Marina Nikolayevna Oswald Porter ( Prusakova; russian: Марина Николаевна Прусакова; born July 17, 1941) is the Russian-American widow of Lee Harvey Oswald, the assassin of US President John F. Kennedy. Early life Port ...

. The television film premiered on November 10, 2013. On its original airing, it drew in 3,354,000 viewers, averaging a 1.1 rating with adults in the 25-54 demographic. The viewership broke the record previously held by '' Killing Lincoln'' which averaged 3,351,000 viewers.

References

External links

Official book website
{{Assassination of John F. Kennedy 2012 non-fiction books Non-fiction books about the assassination of John F. Kennedy Cultural depictions of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Henry Holt and Company books Books by Bill O'Reilly (political commentator) Books by Martin Dugard (author) Non-fiction books adapted into films