Praise for "The President Has Been Shot!": The Assassination of John F. Kennedy
A YALSA-ALA Excellence in Young Adult Nonfiction Award Finalist
"Archival photographs, explicit diagrams of the assassination scene, source notes, and a bibliography that includes conspiracy-focused literature add further value to this strong addition to Kennedy titles." —Booklist
"Swanson brings the same immediacy and thrillerlike tension he achieved in Chasing Lincoln's Killer to this harrowing account of the Kennedy assassination."—Publishers Weekly
Praise for Chasing Lincoln's Killer
An ALA Best Books for Young Adults
BOOKLIST Notable Children's Book
Recommended as one of the top children's books about Lincoln by American History Magazine
* "The YA version of Swanson's bestselling MANHUNT this account of Lincoln's assassination and the twelve-day search for his killer reads like a historical thriller. . . . Abundant period photographs and documents enhance the book's immediacy."—Publishers Weekly, starred review
* "Divided into fourteen chapters and an epilogue, the sentences are shorter and chapters are condensed from the original but the rich details and suspense are ever present, . . . It is a tale of intrigue and an engrossing mystery. With the approaching bicentennial of Lincoln's birth, this is a most welcome addition to all libraries."—School Library Journal, starred review
★ 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.)
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
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)
