Legacy of Secrecy: The Long Shadow of the JFK Assassination Book

We will likely never know all the details re the assassination of JFK. But as more information comes to light, it is increasingly clear that the official version of events provided in the Warren Commission's report does not add up. Legacy of Secrecy helps to shed light on why this is so, detailing the little-known interaction of the CIA and the mob in efforts to kill Cuba's Castro in the early 1960s. The book's authors contend that the mob took advantage of this interaction and assassinated JFK, knowing that the government would decide against revealing its close ties to the mob (and the possible involvement of a handful of CIA officials in the assassination). Hence the coverup and the story that Oswald acted alone. The authors also argue that some of the same people responsible for the death of JFK had a hand in the deaths of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy. This is the legacy alluded to in the title. Although the book relies on a trove of recently released documents to make a somewhat persuasive case, ultimately there is no smoking gun. The mob doesn't keep records after all (though at least two of the mob bosses accused of orchestrating the hit later confessed to their involvement). Instead, much of the evidence, though compelling, is circumstantial at best. But the book clearly notes the dangers that can result when the government--and we the people--fail to fully investigate what happened on November 22, 1963. With the 50th anniversary of JFK's death approaching, this book highlights the clear need for the government to release its many remaining records related to the assassination.