Four Days in November: The Original Coverage of the John F. Kennedy Assassination

By The New York Times

Book Overview

The assassination of John F. Kennedy in Dallas forty years ago remains, and will always remain, indelible in the minds of those old enough to recall it. The youngest elected leader in American history, a charming man leading what seemed a charmed life, by general consensus a president whose administration, having survived its early crises, was now at last hitting its stride, was shot and killed by a sniper firing a mail-order rifle from the southeast corner of the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository. So great was the shock that time seemed to freeze in the squinting glare of late-November sun. For four days in November 1963, the business of the nation ground to a halt.The coverage provided by The New York Times is still generally considered the most complete of its day. Almost miraculously, Times reporters, writers, and editors produced 250 columns, or about 200,000 words, on and about the very first day. The other three days were no less exhaustive. Through the combined efforts of, among many others, Tom Wicker, James Reston, Max Frankel, Anthony Lewis, Harrison Salisbury, A. M. Rosenthal, and Arthur Gelb, The Times covered history as it was happening, from the assassination to the funeral. Here were the first portraits of Lee Harvey Oswald and Jack Ruby, the earliest speculation regarding the prospects of Lyndon Johnson's administration, the immediate reaction from world leaders, and, perhaps most of all, the pulse of a populace reeling from an event that surpassed both understanding and belief.This commemorative volume provides a haunting, firsthand, and detailed chronology of the events that took place in Dallas and Washington from November 22 to November 25, 1963. Here is history being recorded in the moment - a recitation not just of facts but of emotions and reactions as they were being experienced. The clarity of the writing is matched only by the almost desperate intensity of its occasion. Getting all the news that's fit to print seemed the only way of keeping the world fromspinning further into chaos; The Times 's coverage provided not just information but a sense of balance. Though no one would ultimately explain to everyone's satisfaction the why, the who, what, and how were brought with amazing speed and accuracy within our grasp.f0With an introduction by Tom Wicker and edited by Robert B. Semple Jr., Four Days in November is an extraordinary book. It will serve as an invaluable resource for anyone wanting to remember, to understand, and most of all to feel what it was like, minute by minute, detail by detail, while one of the most traumatic events in recent American history unfolded.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312321619
• ISBN13: 9780312321611
• Release Date: November 2003
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Length: 544 Pages
• Weight: 2.28 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.5" x 1.8" x 6.4"

Customer Reviews

HISTORY'S FIRST DRAFT

This is a hard book to review as I feel I am critiquing articles that were probably never meant to be critiqued by the public. This is, as described in the preface or introduction, history's first draft. It is history in its rawest form and it shows.I did not expect to learn anything new about the assassination. This book captures the moment of tragedy as it happened and how the reporters responded to the challenge. Yes, there were inaccuracies in the reports. Yes, there was a lot of eulogizing over the fallen president. Yes, there was a lot of speculation about the man to replace him. Yes, there was a lot of downplaying the tensions between JFK and LBJ and, more importantly, the tensions between Bobby Kennedy and LBJ. Yes, there was a lot of speculation about their future that is now part of our past (e.g., the 1964 election, LBJ's ability to pass legislation that JFK could not, Vietnam, etc.). But all that was to be expected and that was part of the intrique with the book. For example, I found the very first article by Tom Wicker very revealing. It was, in my opinion, disjointed and poorly organized -- an article that under normal circumstances would have been heavily edited before being put into a newspaper. But those were not normal circumstances.I often find it fascinating reading old magazine or newspaper articles written by people who have no clue as to what the future would hold while I, as the reader, do have a clue. I thought the publishers should have included articles from the 22 Nov 63 edition about the presidential party's activities on the previous day to show the sense of normalcy the writers were in as the covered JFK's swing through Texas. Then a reader could contrast that normalcy with the shock and grief that was to follow.Yes, this may be a cheap effort by the publishers of the New York Times to capitalize on the 40th anniversary of President Kennedy's death. But it is still a good historical reference.

Still a Tragedy

I highly recommend this book by Tom Wicker, one of the most respected print journalists of our time. I also caution people who try to compare the assassination of JFK in 1963 with the events of September 11, 2001. Both were life-changing events and both events changed the country, but from the short perspective we have now of the events of September 11, 2001, at this moment it seems to me as though the impact of JFK's assassination was greater -- it was not merely a tragedy; it was an event that literally changed this country and, in many respects the world, in a way that went far beyond fear, war and the current paranoia we are experiencing. I remember well that day in November when JFK lost his life -- I was living in Boston at the time -- and I still get chills when I remember those four days. Of course the tragedies of September 11, 2001 were enormous as well, but it simply is impossible to compare -- or "rate" -- the two events. If one wishes to be well educated on turning points in our recent history, one would do well to read extensively about both events and not try to assess them as one being more important than the other.

PRESIDENT KENNEDY ASSASSINATION

IF YOU GET JUST ONE BOOK TO COMMEMORATE THE ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT KENNEDY FOUR DAYS IN NOVEMBER THE ORIGINAL COVERAGE OF THE JOHN F.KENNEDY ASSASSINATION BY THE NEW YORK TIMES IS THE ONE YOU MUST HAVE. FOUR DAYS IN NOVEMBER HAS REPRINTS OF THE STORIES BY THE NEW YORK TIMES FROM THEIR COVERAGE OF THE ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT KENNEDY FROM NOVEMBER 22-25,1963. FOUR DAYS ALSO HAVE 32 PAGES OF PHOTOS OF THE EVENTS OF NOVEMBER 22-NOVEMBER 25,1963.I WAS BORN ONE YEAR AFTER THE ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT KENNEDY NOVEMBER 22,1964.