"The President Has Been Shot!": The Assassination of John F. Kennedy

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"The President Has Been Shot!": The Assassination of John F. Kennedy

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Overview

This YALSA-ALA Excellence in Young Adult Nonfiction Award Finalist is a breathtaking and dramatic account of JFK's assassination by NY Times bestselling author of CHASING LINCOLN'S KILLER.

In his award-winning young-adult book on the Kennedy assassination, James Swanson will transport readers back to one of the most shocking, sad, and terrifying events in American history. As he did in his bestselling Scholastic YA book, CHASING LINCOLN'S KILLER, Swanson deploys his signature "you are there" style — a riveting, ticking-clock pace, with an unprecedented eye for dramatic details and impeccable historical accuracy. Here is the story of the JFK assassination as it has never been told before.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781467648943
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	06/28/2014
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 7.40(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

James L. Swanson is the award-winning author of the bestseller Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer. His other books include Chasing Lincoln's Killer, an adaptation of Manhunt for young adults, and his follow-up, "The President Has Been Shot!: The Assassination of John F. Kennedy", which was a finalist for the YALSA-ALA Excellence in Young Adult Nonfiction award. He has held a number of government and think-tank posts in Washington, D.C.

Read an Excerpt

From THE LOST KINGDOMThe bear-wolf stood on its hind legs, looked up at us, and slammed both of its front paws against the ship's hull with its full weight. The de Terzi jolted, and I felt the reverberation through my boots."We don't have two minutes!" my father shouted. "That thing is strong enough to crack the hull!"The bear-wolf heaved itself against the ship a second time, and I heard the sound of wood splintering. "I'm working as fast as I can!" Mr. Faries shouted. "Someone take the helm!" Mr. Kinnersley raced to the controls. "I'll do it!" "Wait for my mark!" Mr. Faries said. The ship thundered with a third blow from the bear-wolf. The animal roared, and something in it sounded triumphant. Almost as if it had realized it was breaking through. "Mr. Faries?" my father said. "Now!" Mr. Faries said, letting a rope lose in his harness. I shouted in alarm as he plummeted toward the deck, but he pulled the rope tight just as he was about to hit and stopped his fall. Mr. Kinnersley threw a lever, and the de Terzi eased upward out of the bear-wolf's reach. We all looked over the edge, watching the animal grow smaller as our ship moved slowly down the river, and I began to feel safe enough to relax a little. But the bear-wolf pursued us, never taking its eyes from us as it stalked down the riverbank, parallel with the ship.

From the B&N Reads Blog

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Editorial Reviews

11/18/2013
Will Patton turns in a winning performance in this audio edition of Swanson's YA history of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The author presents a thorough and gripping account of the assassination of the 35th president of the United States, covering everything from Kennedy's early years and the Cuban Missile Crisis to a detailed account of the terrible events that took place in Dallas on Friday, November 22, 1963. Patton's reading is clean, well paced, and demands listener attention from the very beginning. The narrator's voice has an edge to it—one that hints at the tragedy that is soon to befall Kennedy—and Patton wisely refrains from doing an impression of JFK when reading lines from the president's famous speeches. This audiobook will serve young listeners as an excellent introduction to one of the saddest chapters in American history. A Scholastic hardcover. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly - Audio

★ 09/02/2013
Swanson brings the same immediacy and thrillerlike tension he achieved in Chasing Lincoln’s Killer to this harrowing account of the Kennedy assassination (an adult version, End of Days, will be published later this year). As the subtitle suggests, Swanson concentrates on the buildup to and aftermath of the Dallas shooting on November 22, 1963. After a quick overview of Kennedy’s ascent to and first years in office (including the Bay of Pigs and the Space Race), he shifts between Kennedy and Lee Harvey Oswald in the days before and after the assassination. Swanson doesn’t avoid the horrific details of the shooting, and he’s open about the failings of well-meaning officials and staffers in the wake of the shooting. There’s no danger of uncovering any sympathy for Oswald, painted by Swanson as “a complaining, self-pitying, attention-seeking, temperamental, impoverished idealogue.” The book’s meticulous design incorporates numerous diagrams and b&w period photographs, and extensive source notes back up Swanson’s work. Even the simple decision to title the book’s chapters by date emphasizes how, in the span of just a few days, America changed irrevocably. Ages 12–up. Agent: Richard Abate, 3 Arts Entertainment. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

"The sense of urgency that surrounded the assassination and manhunt is effectively captured by the author, and actor Will Patton interprets the text well, using differing tones and accents not just for quotes, but also for Swanson's descriptions of Booth's thoughts and actions and those of the men who searched for and found him. Sure to hold student interest." —SLJ, starred review"Will Patton commands the text with a hint of immediacy tempered by the somberness of the moment.... Patton is consistent with his delivery, though with much-appreciated intensity as the hunt closes in on Booth. Patton's character voices are distinctive." —AudioFile

YALSA-ALA Excellence in Young Adult Nonfiction Award Finalist

From the Publisher

12/01/2013
Gr 7 Up—Marking the 50th anniversary of President Kennedy's assassination in November 1963, Swanson's compelling book (Scholastic, 2013) combines riveting narration by Will Patton with excerpts from Kennedy's speeches. Listeners learn about the president's early life, family background, his heroic service during World War II, and his time in the House and the Senate. After narrowly defeating Richard Nixon in 1960, JFK moved into the Oval Office and was tested by the Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis. By fall of 1963, Kennedy had finally hit his stride and grown into the office. Ready to start campaigning for his 1964 re-election, Kennedy planned his fateful trip to Dallas. Swanson and Patton keep listeners on the edge of their seats with minute-by-minute details about the motorcade's route through Dallas and Lee Harvey Oswald's perch atop the Texas Schoolbook Depository. Though most listeners will already know the sad outcome, it's almost impossible to stop listening to Patton lay it out. A masterfully told piece of history.—Bernie Morrissey, The Harker School, San Jose, CA

School Library Journal - Audio

Riveting. Young adult listeners will learn a lot from Swanson’s overview of John F. Kennedy’s early years, election, and administration—as well as from his minute-by-minute account of Kennedy’s assassination in Dallas in November 1963. Will Patton is purposeful and precise as he narrates. With the you-are-there style, listeners ride in Kennedy’s limousine, look down from the Texas School Book Depository, move through the halls of the Dallas police station, fly with the shocked and grief-stricken entourage in Air Force One, and walk with the funeral cortege. With brisk and urgent pacing, Patton voices each factual nugget and lets it hang momentarily before pressing on to the next. Other features include audio excerpts from Kennedy’s inaugural speech and a list of landmarks listeners may want to visit. A.R. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine

OCTOBER 2013 - AudioFile

2013-09-01
Readers coming cold to this book about the assassination of John F. Kennedy will learn a great deal about the crime but much less about the man who died. Swanson devotes a scant 20 pages to the issues that dominated Kennedy's presidency before describing "the Kennedy mystique." In his telling, John F. and Jacqueline Kennedy come through as very human figures (albeit ones without weaknesses), who cast a bright light on national, global and political landscapes. His telling is almost hagiographic. The assassination and its aftermath occupy the heart of the book, the writing often straining to pull at heartstrings. This is particularly evident when describing Jackie Kennedy's actions before and during the funeral. Of course she was bereft--but strong enough to plan the entire observance down to the eternal flame on the grave. As for Lee Harvey Oswald, Swanson asks many gratuitous questions about what made him kill before admitting that neither he nor others know. Why ask? In the epilogue, Swanson waxes purple, stating that "Oswald struck from the shadows. Then he robbed us of the rest of the story." Well, what about Jack Ruby? Although the narrative verges on mythmaking, the many, many photographs and diagrams give the volume some value. Readers wishing for a more restrained, neutral, journalistic treatment should stick with Wilborn Hampton's Kennedy Assassinated: The World Mourns (1997). (source notes, further reading, bibliography) (Nonfiction. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews