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Book Review: “Reclaiming History” by Vincent Bugliosi
Vincent Bugliosi, the famous Los Angeles District Attorney best known for his successful prosecution of the Manson Family, was inspired to research the John F. Kennedy assassination after participating in a mock trial presented on Showtime in 1986. The “trial” featured many of the original witnesses, with noted defense attorney Gerry Spence representing Oswald. Shocked at the prevalence of conspiracy theories and the number of people who rejected the evidence of Oswald’s lone guilt, Bugliosi spent the next 20 years researching and writing “Reclaiming History.”
What he produced is the definitive summation of the subject. Divided into two major sections, the first thousand pages cover the facts of the case (“What Happened”), and the next five hundred cover the major conspiracy theories (“What Didn’t Happen”). The footnotes are so extensive as to require a separate CD-ROM included with the book; printed in its entirety, the book would have comprised thirteen normal-sized volumes. Many of the sections, indeed, could stand on their own as separate books. These include a detailed account of the “four days in November” from the day JFK was assassinated to the burial of Lee Harvey Oswald, separate biographies of Oswald and Jack Ruby, a recap of the crime’s investigation by the Dallas Police Department, a summary of the evidence against Oswald, the Zapruder…
