Murray Kempton

A collection of portaits of America's communists, union leaders, and mobsters of the 1930s.

Some Ruins and Monuments of the Thirties

Part of Our Time

Through brilliant portraits of real persons who created the myths and realities of the 1930s, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Murray Kempton brings that turbulent decade to life. Himself a child of the time, Kempton examines with the insight and imagination of a novelist the men and women who embraced, grappled with, and in many cases were destroyed by the myth of revolution. What he calls the “ruins and monuments of the Thirties” include Paul Robeson, Alger Hiss, and Whittaker Chambers, the Hollywood Ten, the rebel women Elizabeth Bentley and Mary Heaton Vorse, and the labor leaders Walter Reuther and Joe Curran.

This collection of essays on the characters and issues of American life features Kempton's best columns, reviews, and reportage

Rebellions, Perversities, and Main Events

On April 2, 1969, New York City policemen rounded up members of the Black Panther party. Thirteen of 21 suspects were then charged and tried for attempted arson, attempted murder, and conspiracies to blow up various police stations, school buildings, and the Bronx Botanical Gardens. "The Briar Patch" brilliantly examines the proceedings, illuminating not only the history of the Panther 21, but the quality of justice in America.

The Briar Patch

Richard H. Popkin

Who killed Kennedy? Many keen minds have their doubts about the findings of the Warren Commission. Could Oswald have fired 3 shots in 5.6 seconds with the inaccurate rifle he had - and hit a moving target? Did he even kill patrolman Tippit (the bullets in the body were smaller than the barrel of his revolver)? Was the brown paper bag made only to attract attention? Was Bullet No. 399 a plant? Suppose there was a Second Oswald - a man very similar physically and an expert marksman? Such a man was seen both before and at the time of the murder. Was there a rifleman on the knoll as well as at the Book Depository window? If so this was one of the greatest - and most successful conspiracies of modern times... THE SECOND OSWALD has been called "the first plausible and significant argumentation on the Kennedy assassination." It takes into account the books by Edward J. Epstein, Mark Lane and Harold Weisberg. Too much was attempted too quickly. Professor Popkin believes that Lee Harvey Oswald may have been innocent and no more than a decoy in a plot to kill the President. His job may have been to divert suspicion and be arrested. A startling alternative to the 'Single Assassin' theory. For an author bio and photo, reviews and a reading sample, visit bosonbooks.com.

Murray Kempton

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