Legacy of Secrecy - by Lamar Waldron & Thom Hartmann (Paperback)

About the Book

The rifle fire in Dallas that killed John F. Kennedy didn't just start a frantic effort to find his assassins. It also launched a flurry of covert actions by officials like Robert F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Richard Helms to hide U.S. plans to invade Cuba with the secret help of Cuba's Army Commander, Juan Almeida. Cover-ups by top U.S. officials prevented a major international catastrophe but also prevented a full investigation of JFK's assassination, spawning a tragic legacy of secrecy.
Extensively documented and based on exclusive interviews and newly declassified files from the National Archives, this update and expanded edition of "Legacy of Secrecy" details:
The full story behind Mafia godfather Carlos Marcello's confession to JFK's murder, with new details appearing for the first time in this updated edition
Each step taken by mob bosses Carlos Marcello, Santo Trafficante, and Johnny Roselli to hide the results that followed
The secret attempts of Robert F. Kennedy and his aides to expose his brother's killers, continuing his war against the Mafia by focusing increased attention on the Mafia bosses behind JFK's assassination until RFK's own murder
"Legacy of Secrecy" also includes new evidence about the assassination of Martin Luther King, exposing connections between James Earl Ray and Marcello, who "brokered" the hit for a Georgia white supremacist. Additionally, this trade paperback edition features fresh information about Robert Kennedy's murder, revealing the criminal ties of Sirhan and his two mob attorneys. The long shadow of secrecy surrounding both JFK's murder and the coup plan ultimately set the stage for the Watergate break-in. It drove Richard Nixon from office, triggered the murders of five Congressional witnesses, and continues to impact U.S.-Cuba relations today.

Book Synopsis

This painstakingly researched follow up to Ultimate Sacrifice draws on "explosive new material" from the National Archives to piece together the puzzle of JFK's assassination (Vanity Fair).

"A riveting take on the assassination itself and the devastating results of government secrets." --Publishers Weekly

John F. Kennedy's assassination launched a frantic search to find his killers. It also launched a flurry of covert actions by Lyndon Johnson, Robert F. Kennedy, and other top officials to hide the fact that in November 1963, the United States was on the brink of invading Cuba as part of a JFK-authorized coup. The coup plan's exposure could have led to a nuclear confrontation with Russia, but the cover-up prevented a full investigation into Kennedy's assassination, a legacy of secrecy that would impact American politics and foreign policy for the next forty-five years. It also allowed two men who confessed their roles in JFK's murder to be involved in the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King in 1968. Exclusive interviews and newly declassified files from the National Archives document in chilling detail how three mob bosses were able to prevent the truth from coming to light until now.

This trade paperback edition is updated with dramatic new revelations, has three new chapters, an expanded photo-document section, and updated text throughout, including the completed story of how three powerful Mafia bosses used John and Robert Kennedy's top-secret plan of staging a coup against Fidel Castro to murder JFK.

Review Quotes

"Explosive new material, based mainly on government documents from the National Archives." --Vanity Fair

"Waldron and Hartmann offer convincing evidence . . . A riveting take on the assassination itself and the devastating results of government secrets, this account proves the continuing relevancy and importance of seeking the truth behind one of the US's most personal tragedies." --Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"I believe Waldron's heavy-to-lift book is actually all but the last word on these troubling assassinations which have been so wildly speculated about since 1963 . . . Lamar Waldron, indefatigable public servant and author deserves his own Pulitzer Prize for his great work." --Liz Smith, New York Post

"They've done a service by digging up the deepest, darkest, most disturbing archival evidence to support their Mob hit theory." --Ron Rosenbaum

"Staggering!" --Mark Crispin Miller

"Exhaustively researched" --New York Observer

"[Legacy of Secrecy contains] over 800 pages of intricately documented data. Their findings add pieces to one of our most perplexing puzzles, and suggest where the key missing pieces may be found." --Ronald Goldfarb, Daily Beast

About the Author

In the past two years, Lamar Waldron's groundbreaking research has been featured by hundreds of newspapers and radio stations. His book Ultimate Sacrifice has been the subject of its own special on the Discovery Channel, produced by NBC (Conspiracy Files: JFK Assassination), which is regularly aired on both the Discovery and Discovery-Times Channels. A new special about Ultimate Sacrifice airs on German Public Television in October 2007. He has also been featured on Geraldo Rivera and Fox News. His work has been acclaimed by publications ranging from the San Francisco Chronicle to Publishers Weekly in the US, and by foreign publications like the Sunday London Telegraph and Germany's Der Spiegel.

Waldron's work was praised by Ronald Goldfarb, a top Mafia prosecutor for Robert Kennedy in 1963, marking the first time in over twenty years a book about JFK's assassination has been recommended by someone who worked closely with John or Robert Kennedy. Waldron's research has also been endorsed by veteran FBI agent William Turner and noted Kennedy biographer John H. Davis. Waldron's discoveries have also been featured on the History Channel and in Vanity Fair. He received undergraduate and graduate degrees from Georgia State University, and worked in the criminal justice field for seven years before beginning his writing career.

THOM HARTMANN (co-author)

Thom Hartmann is a best-selling author and national radio host for Air America. Heard by millions of radio listeners daily, Hartmann is the author of 17 books, including The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight, which helped to inspire Leonardo DiCaprio's recent documentary The 11th Hour, which features Hartmann. His other books include: We the People; Unequal Protection; What Would Jefferson Do, and Screwed: The Undeclared War Against the Middle Class-And What We Can Do About It. Hartmann was prominently featured in countless media outlets, including NPR and BBC radio, CNN television, the front page of The Wall Street Journal, and Time Magazine.