Deadly Delusion
by Jim Jarman
Copyright: © 2006
272 Pages
$19.95 Paperback
$9.97 E-Book
In high school, I had a history teacher who was obsessed with JFK. We spent six weeks studying the president’s life and of course his assassination, and the infamous Lee Harvey Oswald and Jack Ruby. The teacher was so obsessed that he even had a poster of JFK on the wall behind his desk. Oliver Stone’s successful film was watched in class, along with specials recorded from the History and Biography channels.
Every November when these shows are repeated on television in conjunction with the anniversary of Kennedy’s death, I’m still captivated and sit and watch them although I have seen some of them thousands of times and know the events and conspiracies by heart. As Americans we probably all do, which is why it’s always interesting to come across a new point of view. And that is exactly what Jim Jarman has presented to us in his book, Deadly Delusion.
Jim is the first to offer to send a free copy of the actual book to me, so I would like to take a moment to discuss the quality of the book cover thanks to my own book cover charades which I have discussed in great detail in the POD Diary. The image which is pictured above was copied from Lulu, but appears to be the same as the one pictured on Amazon. Unfortunately, either the color or the font has caused the DEAD part of DEADLY to appear quite blurred online. It does not look like that at all on the physical book. The hands and the rest of the title appear quite bright and even washed out in the picture above. Again, they are not like that at all on the actual book. These parts even have some nice shading which make the overall effect Jim was probably going for work very well. The blood splatter and gun shot reminded me of the opening sequence of a Bond film, and were probably prevalent on murder mystery book covers published in the 60s which is when Jim’s book takes place.
There are a few issues on the back of the book with the overlapping of lettering in the blurb. It almost gives the words the same glass crackled effect as the front, but makes them hard to read. The blurb also gives no mention to this book being about the JFK assassination and Oswald. You can read the blurb here. Had I read this blurb on my own without any prior knowledge about Jim’s book, I probably would not pick up this book and buy it. Lastly, on the front I’d like to see Jim’s name be a bit larger. Sorry to pick on Jim, but I’m only offering my constructive criticism because the piece of work he has written between the front and back cover is truly amazing.
As I’ve said before, the outside of the book gives no mention to this story being about JFK and Oswald. The entire book is about the CIA choosing Oswald and training him to carry out the murder of the president, ultimately changing history forever, unbeknownst to Oswald ever knowing he was just a pawn. Right from the start, Jarman dives head on into Oswald’s life as a loyal marine. You almost feel sorry for him as the opposite side of the story treats you to some harsh CIA operatives manipulating Oswald like a puppet on a string just as the book cover hints.
I’d like to point out that Jim Jarman has not just regurgitated the conspiracy theories and historical evidence that history buffs are already privy to. I enjoyed having some prior knowledge to the themes that Jarman plays upon, but the twists and turns that his fast paced, hard edged writing takes you on offered many pleasant surprises that I was not expecting. He’s written a thriller, with new point of view and bite, that I could easily see transposed to the big screen.
I would have liked to have seen the climax play out a bit differently, even a fictional account perhaps, as we all know how Oswald’s story ends. Jarman leaves us with a “textbook” account of the tragic story which I have to admit disappointed me just a bit:
The world had been denied comprehension of the extreme dedication of Lee Harvey Oswald to his dream of worthwhile fame. A young life whose voice was hushed forever, never to heard, never to implicate an evil force that infected a free nation.
But I have a feeling Jarman wanted to remain true to history with the basic plot of his book. Outside of this, Deadly Delusion is an amazing piece of work filled with suspense and mystery. If you are a JFK buff, history major, mystery reader, or political guru, I highly recommend that you add Jim Jarman to your bookshelf! You will not be disappointed. I look forward to more from this author in the near future!
I can across your site while looking for a book on conspiracy theories and this one sounds perfect!
Actually I’ve also just finished reading a book on conspiracy theories that deals heavily with JFK – and let’s face it, it’s one of the juicier conspiracy subjects, isn’t it? The book is “Conspirator’s Odyssey” by Aaron Kinte Kuykendall, and it’s a wild yarn that tries to pretty much link the supposed UFO landing in Roswell to JFK’s assassination, while throwing a whole lot more in there for good measure. It’s a little like the Celestine Prophecy in that it’s a fictional book about possible non-fiction events. If you love a good juicy conspiracy and let’s face it, who doesn’t, then you’ll no doubt love reading through this funny and sometimes thought-provoking tale. Just what are they hiding from us – and while we’re at it, who are they anyway…? Great stuff, thought you might be interested.