Oswald in the doorway: the blog of the Oswald Innocence Campaign, by Ralph Cinque

This is a book review by Dr. Thomas Halle of the book, LBJ: The Dark Side of Lyndon Baines Johnson by Joachim Joesten.  

You may recall that--over the last few years--I've been perusing some of the volumes in my JFK assassination library... to refresh my memory (and, in some cases, make additional "discoveries"). Today the book in question was Joesten's book on LBJ ("The Dark Side of Lyndon Baines Johnson")...and here is my review of that volume:

I laid my hands on this volume more than ten years ago, and was delighted to learn a considerable amount about LBJ's corrupt history. Yet, sometimes a "second read" of a book will reveal additional details (or provide a more complete "picture" of a topic). I've been perusing it this morning....and have learned that--yes--Johnson only won his Senate seat by "slick maneuvering" (my words), but this early "win" was done with an incredible number of  (scandalous) "steps" to make him "Landslide Lyndon." This practically unbelievable story leaves one breathless. Johnson overcame a 20,000-vote deficit to achieve his famous 87-vote victory in the 1948 Democratic runoff primary against the popular former Governor, Coke Stevenson. A South Texas political boss, George Parr, had manufactured thousands of votes, particularly in one county, Jim Wells County, the county seat being the town of Alice. 

RC: That LBJ stole the 1948 Senate election through ballot fraud is widely recognized. Even Robert Caro in his adulating biodgraphy of LBJ admitted it bold-faced in the second volume, entitled Means of Ascent. Now back to Thomas:  

Of course, of great interest has been Joesten's documentation of LBJ's connection with Bobby Baker and Billy Sol Estes (and Johnson's very likely imminent indictment, along with them, over MASSIVE corrupt practices!), at the time of the presidential visit to Texas in November of 1963, which seems to explain why he was so intent on being sworn in as the 36th president (on AF1) before returning to Washington.

Yet there is also biting content in this book which strongly implicates Johnson (and his cronies) in the death of his predecessor.  PARTICULARLY poignant was the revelation (which had slipped my attention years ago), that Manchester's book "Death of a President" originally had the title "Death of a Lancer," and contained material which was scathingly critical of Johnson. Only because of the urging of Jacqueline and Robert Kennedy, was this material excised, leaving us with a very pallid, unsatisfying narrative.

By far the most interesting aspect of this matter, however, is Epstein's contention that Manchester's original theme, which gave unity to his book, was 'the notion that Johnson, the successor, was somehow responsible for the death-of his predecessor'. Several quotations from the original draft bear out this contention. At one point, the Lancer version states, 'The shattering fact of the assassination is that a Texas murder has made a Texan President'. At another, Kenneth O'Donnell, Kennedy's appointments secretary, is quoted as exclaiming 'They did it. I always knew they'd do it. You couldn't expect anything else from them. They finally made it'. Then Manchester comments: 'He didn't specify who "they" were. It was unnecessary. They were Texans, Johnsonians'.

 If you are a serious student of the assassination, this book is a Must-Have!!! Yes, the "Military-Intelligence Apparatus" (or, to use Col. Prouty's term, the "Secret Team") was behind the murder of a sitting US chief executive, but Johnson and his Texas Oil cronies were also in the midst of this UNSPEAKABLE plot.

https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Side-Lyndon-Baines-Johnson/dp/1771520094