The Official Warren Commission Report on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy,

Doubleday & Company, 1964. Total of xxxii + xxiv + 888 + 32pp. Originally published in 1964, United States Government Printing Office.



J. G. BALLARD says "I bought a copy of the Warren Report, and read it often, because in its way it's remarkable----if it were a novel you'd say it was a masterpiece.... It's an amazing book----absolutely amazing stuff!" [1]

So, what is this book?

PRESIDENT LYNDON B. JOHNSON, by Executive Order No. 11130 dated November 29, 1963, created this Commission to investigate the assassination on November 22, 1963, of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States. The President directed the Commission to evaluate all the facts and circumstances surrounding the assassination and the subsequent killing of the alleged assassin and to report its findings and conclusion to him. ('Foreword', ix)

This is the report to the President, submitted on Sep 24, 1964.



CONTENTS

An Analysis and Commentary by Louis NIZER

Letter of Transmittal
Foreword
Chapter I. Summary and Conclusions
Chapter II. The Assassination
Planning the Texas Trip
Advance Preparations for the Dallas Trip
Dallas Before the Visit
Visits to Other Texas Cities
Arrival at Love Field
Organization of the Motorcade
The Drive Through Dallas
The Assassination
Parkland Memorial Hospital
The End of the Trip
Chapter III. The Shots from the Texas School Book Depository
The Witnesses
The Presidential Automobile
Expert Examination of Rifle, Cartridge Cases, and Bullet Fragments
The Bullet Wounds
The Trajectory
Number of Shots
Conclusion
Chapter IV. The Assassin
Ownership and Possession of Assassination Weapon
The Rifle in the Building
Oswald at Window
The Killing of Patrolman J. D. Tippit
Oswald's Arrest
Statements of Oswald During Detention
Prior Attempt To Kill
Oswald's Rifle Capability
Conclusion
Chapter V. Detention and Death of Oswald
Treatment of Oswald in Custody
Activity of Newsmen
The Abortive Transfer
Possible Assistance to Jack Ruby in Entering the Basement
Adequacy of Security Precautions
News Coverage and Police Policy
Responsibility of News Media
Chapter VI. Investigation of Possible Conspiracy
Circumstances Surrounding the Assassination
Background of Lee Harvey Oswald
Possible Conspiracy Involving Jack Ruby
Conclusion
Chapter VII. Lee Harvey Oswald: Background and Possible Motives
The Early Years
New York City
Return to New Orleans and Joining the Marine Corps
Interest in Marxism
Defection to the Soviet Union
Return to the United States
Personal Relations
Employment
Attack on General Walker
Political Activities
Interest in Cuba
Possible Influence of Anti-Kennedy Sentiment in Dallas
Relationship With Wife
The Unanswered Questions
Conclusion
Chapter VIII. The Protection of the President
The Nature of the Protective Assignment
Evaluation of Presidential Protection at the Time of the Assassination of President Kennedy
Recommendations
Conclusion
Appendix I. Executive Order No. 11130
Appendix II. White House Release
Appendix III. Senate Joint Resolution
Appendix IV. Biographical Information and Acknowledgements
Appendix V. List of Witnesses
Appendix VI. Commission Procedures for the Taking of Testimony
Appendix VII. A Brief History of Presidential Protection
Appendix VIII. Medical Reports from Doctors at Parkland Memorial Hospital, Dallas, Tex
Appendix IX. Autopsy Report and Supplemental Report
Appendix X. Expert Testimony
Appendix XI. Reports Relating to the Interrogation of Lee Harvey Oswald at the Dallas Police Department
Appendix XII. Speculations and Rimors
Appendix XIII. Biography of Lee Harvey Oswald
Appendix XIV. Analysis of Lee Harvey Oswald's Finances from June 13, 1962, through November 22, 1963
Appendix XV. Transactions between Lee Harvey Oswald and Marina Oswald, and the U. S. Department of State and the Immigration and Naturalization Service of the U. S. Department of Justice
Appendix XVI. A Biography of Jack Ruby
Appendix XVII. Polygraph Examination of Jack Ruby
Appendix XVIII. Footnotes
Index

A Historical Afterword by Bruce CATTON


The report on "the windshield damage to the Continental in which Kennedy was shot" is one of Ballard's favorite. [2]

"The windshield was extracted from the automobile and was examined during a Commission hearing. (See Commission Exhibit No. 350, p. 78.) According to Robert A. Fraizier, FBI firearms expert, the fact that cracks were present on the outer layer of glass showed that the glass had been struck from the inside. He testified that the windshield

could not have been struck on the outside surface because of the manner in which the glass broke and further because of the lead residue on the inside surface. The cracks appear in the outer layer of the glass because the glass is bent outward at the time of impact which stretches the outer layer of the glass to the point where these small radial or wagonspoke, wagon wheel spoke-type cracks appear on the outer surface.
Although there is some uncertainty whether..." (Chap. III, p. 77)

If it were a novel...?



'List of Witnesses' contains 552 names, from Don R. Ables to Abraham Zapruder (famous for his film), including Lyndon B. Johnson, Jacqueline Kennedy, and Edgar J. Hoover.


Notes:
  1. Interview by A. Juno and Vale, RE/Search, No. 8/9, 1984, p. 10.
    Ballard loves "these strange photographs, very obsessive, which in a way are reminiscent of very hardcore porn----of the type where no bodies appear" or "an obsessive concentration on little details" of the book.

    This "obsessive concentration on little details" is supported by 25400 pages reports by FBI and 4600 pages reports by the Secret Service.

  2. ibid, p. 10.


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