The Death of a President November 1963 Author:William Manchester After the assassination of President Kennedy, Mrs. Kennedy and then Senator Robert Kennedy asked Mr. Manchester to write the history of the assassination and the days immediately preceding and following it. — " At the invitation of the Chief Justice, Mr. Manchester was a privileged observer of the Warren Commission inquiry. Meanwhile, however, h... more »e had developed his own sources of information. Operating out of the headquarters in the National Archives for two years he worked twelve to fifteen hours a day, conducting a major historical investigation throughout Texas and elsewhere, accumulating forty-five volumes and portfolios of transcribed tapes, shorthand, documents and exhibits, all of which will be deposited in the Kennedy Library. Finally, in New England, he completed a 350,000 word manuscript, nor for scrutiny by the family but to set down as a whole the national and personal tragedy.
The result is a powerful narrative which, in the opinion of the publisher, is both a significant contribution to history and an eminent literary achievement."