End of Days: The Assassination of John F. Kennedy

by James L. Swanson, Richard Thomas (Read by)

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062355591
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	08/26/2014
Edition description:	Unabridged, Low Price CD
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 5.80(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

James L. Swanson (1959-2025) is the author of the New York Times bestseller Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer, which won an Edgar Award and was adapted into an acclaimed Apple TV+ series. His other books include Bloody Crimes: The Funeral of Abraham Lincoln and the Chase for Jefferson Davis. Swanson served on the advisory council of the Ford's Theatre Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Campaign and was a member of the advisory committee of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission.

Richard Thomas, in addition to his Emmy-award winning work on The Waltons, has starred in well over 40 television series and specials, among them Roots: The Next Generation, Law and Order SVU, and The Practice; he has also starred in numerous classic and contemporary plays around the country and on the London and Broadway stage, most recently in Richard Greenbergs A Naked Girl on the Appian Way.

Editorial Reviews

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

From the Publisher

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

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 reads like a thriller while providing meticulous detail—the true-crime counterpart to Don DeLillo’s masterful, speculative novelization, Libra.

Omnivoracious

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

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

Washington Post

Absorbing and fast-paced.

Lisa Ko

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

Skillful... Authoritative... Swanson’s narrative gifts inject fresh suspense into the story of JFK’s slaying.

National Review

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

Washington Post

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

Skillful... Authoritative... Swanson’s narrative gifts inject fresh suspense into the story of JFK’s slaying.

National Review

Absorbing and fast-paced.

Associated Press Staff

2013-10-03
For the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy's assassination, Swanson (Bloody Crimes: The Chase for Jefferson Davis and the Death Pageant for Lincoln's Corpse, 2010, etc.) breathlessly re-creates the tragedy. Drawing on the decades of technological advances that have deepened the knowledge of the assassination, the author presents the stunning unfolding of the event in punchy, poignant vignettes, following one character after another to the inexorable conclusion. "Today we know much more about the assassination of President Kennedy than the members of the Warren commission did," acknowledging the organization appointed by President Lyndon Johnson to investigate the murder and present its findings nearly a year later. Swanson's tidy, concise character summaries give a terrific sense of the dramatis personae in just a few strokes: JFK, impossibly brilliant and charismatic, overcoming enormous obstacles to his rising star; stylish Jackie, emerging from mourning the death of newborn Patrick, agreeing to accompany her husband to Dallas as part of the campaigning swing through Texas, holding up beforehand for Jack the outfits she had chosen to "show these Texans what good taste really is"; Lee Harvey Oswald, the "lifelong loser and nobody," planning to catch a bus after killing the president; and LBJ, incredibly poised under the strain of those first few hours, especially regarding his graciousness toward Jackie. Swanson manages a sympathetic, human portrait of Marina, Oswald's long-suffering Russian wife, and excoriates the Secret Service for many bad decisions--e.g., the immediate washing out of the limo and the rush to take JFK's body back to Washington, D.C., before a proper criminal autopsy was performed, an oversight that would "come to haunt the history of John Kennedy's assassination for the next fifty years." Clarity has finally lifted the lingering suspicion of conspiracy in favor of the creation of a shining Kennedy legacy. Chilling, gruesome and riveting.

Kirkus Reviews