End of Days - by James L Swanson (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

In End of Days, James L. Swanson, the New York Times bestselling author of Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer, brings to life the minute-by-minute details of the JFK assassination--from the Kennedys' arrival in Texas through the shooting in Dealey Plaza and the shocking aftermath that continues to reverberate in our national consciousness fifty years later.

The assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, has been the subject of enduring debate, speculation, and numerous conspiracy theories, but Swanson's absorbing and complete account follows the event hour-by-hour, from the moment Lee Harvey Oswald conceived of the crime three days before its execution, to his own murder two days later at a Dallas Police precinct at the hands of Jack Ruby, a two-bit nightclub owner.

Based on sweeping research never before collected so powerfully in a single volume, and illustrated with photographs, End of Days distills Kennedy's assassination into a pulse-pounding thriller that is sure to become the definitive popular account of this historic crime for years to come.

From the Back Cover

New York Times bestselling author James Swanson reveals Lee Harvey Oswald's bizarre history of violence and follows John and Jacqueline Kennedy's wildly successful swing through Texas and their fateful Dallas motorcade ride. In the most riveting account ever written about the assassin's shots, Swanson takes us to the sixth-floor Texas Book Depository window to look through Oswald's rifle sights. Swanson also re-creates the last hours of the doomed assassin and the days of national mourning for the president that followed, culminating in a funeral that united the country in a tearful farewell to the fallen commander in chief.

In End of Days, Swanson combines extensive research with unparalleled storytelling to turn the events of one of the darkest days of the twentieth century into a pulse-pounding thriller that will remain the definitive popular account of the assassination for years to come.

Review Quotes

"A master of the form, James Swanson has brought his formidable storytelling skills to bear on another tragic turning point in American history. His treatment of Dallas 1963 is grand narrative at its finest." -- JON MEACHAM - Pulitzer Prize-winning author of American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House and Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power

"HISTORY AS TRUE-CRIME STORY. As he did in his bestselling Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer, Swanson combines stellar research with a brisk, transporting narrative." -- Washingtonian Magazine

End of Days is a fresh, modern contribution to the literature about one of the most heartbreaking crimes in history." -- Washington Post

"End of Days reads like a thriller while providing meticulous detail--the true-crime counterpart to Don DeLillo's masterful, speculative novelization, Libra." -- Omnivoracious

"Absorbing and fast-paced." -- Lisa Ko, author of The Leavers

"Skillful... Authoritative... Swanson's narrative gifts inject fresh suspense into the story of JFK's slaying." -- National Review

"With a gift for storytelling, an ability to juxtapose events in the lives of killer and victim and an eye for the revelatory detail, Swanson offers a gripping account... the energy and devotion he brings to this endeavor rekindles the emotions of a half-century ago..." -- Richmond Times-Dispatch

"A crisp, readable recital of the events surrounding the run-up to Nov. 22 and the aftermath." -- Dallas Morning News

"Swanson makes history read like a crime thriller, vividly re-creating the details surrounding the shooting through the perspectives of the killer, the victim, and those closest to them." -- Parade Magazine