Eight stars
First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley, Danny Fingeroth, and Dreamscape Media for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.
As the sixtieth anniversary of the JFK assassination will soon be upon us, I eagerly reached for this biography by Danny Fingeroth. While much of the attention is usually focused on the slain president or his assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, time and analysis should also include the actions Jack Ruby took two days later. Fingeroth offers up a strong foundation and backstory about the man who shot Oswald during the police transfer, as well as the fallout of the act, the myrder trial, and Ruby's fate thereafter. Fingeroth captivates the reader from the opening pages until all is summarised in this thorough piece. A great addition to the hoopla the age-old mystery tends to garner.
Jack Ruby's fame came from a specific moment, captured on television for the world to see. However, as Danny Fingeroth explores in this biography, there was much more to the man and his actions. There appears to be two different men who emerge throughout Ruby's life and the actions that led to him to a small window of fame. As Fingeroth explores throughout this biography, Ruby was a man whose Jewish faith and culture were dear to him, though he was keen to explore life and business choices that may stray from a strict adherence to the faith.
While Ruby grew up in the North, it was his discovery of business opportunities in Dallas that led him down to Texas. He wanted his name in lights and accepted that this would mean owning various adult establishments, where drink and striptease would be front and centre. While many scoffed at his ability to succeed, Ruby made a name for himself by owning and growing his nightclubs over a period of time. As Fingeroth examines, he was not always liked, both for his violent tactics and Jewish background, but Jack Ruby refused to let this deter him.
While not a great fan of the Democratic Party or John F. Kennedy, Jack Ruby was excited to know that President Kennedy would be coming to Dallas in the fall of 1963 on an apparent pre-election tour. The excitement that grew amongst locals was mirrored by Ruby, though he was less enamoured with the man than by the position. Ruby readied himself for events and. watched eagerly as the presidential motorcade drove through Dealey Plaza on the afternoon of November 22, 1963. Hearing of the assassination, Ruby is said to have turned sullen and angry at the same time, vowing to react in some form.
While Ruby was upset by the assassination, he was still an avid businessman and kept his clubs running on the day after events. He was heard by many as saying that Oswald should be killed for his actions, which was foreboding for the event that would catapult Ruby into stardom or infamy, depending on one's point of view. When, on the morning of November 24th, 1963, Lee Harvey Oswald was being transferred from local to state police officials, Jack Ruby leapt out and shot Oswald in the stomach, eventually killing him. Panic and pandemonium ensued before Ruby was himself arrested for the attack, which would eventually be deemed a murder.
What follows by Fingeroth is an assessment of Jack Ruby and the swift (by today's standards), case of murder. While Ruby had no recollection of events, he did feel as though the killing of Oswald might be justified as an act for the country. However, Ruby's lack of memory and paranoia that he would be deemed a scapegoat for the Jewish population led to lawyers on both sides to act quickly, arguing either for complete exoneration or the death penalty.
Politically, the assassination was also garnering much press and the Warren Commission was created to examine events and come to a final conclusion. In an interesting bit of fate, Ruby was one of the key witnesses that the Commission interviewed and his testimony, as well as numerous sidebar conversations, are included in the biography's latter chapters. Danny Fingeroth's detailed exploration of these events prove useful the reader to better understand how impactful Jack Ruby's constant paranoia became, as well as how he held onto this and sought not to be painted with a generaised brush so as to harm his 'people'.
When the legal machine finally offered up its fate for Jack Ruby, many were split on the result Ruby had shown a great deal of malice towards Oswald and the actions that turned the United States on its head. However, it also came in the heart of a state where law and order were cornerstones of daily life. That Jack Ruby died in 1967, still seen in two ways by many elves to shape the legacy that he has left many who remember events of that fateful day in November 1963, or at least the reader who has taken the time to educate themselves on everything that took place.
While there are some interesting legal moments in the biography, I extracted most from the paranoid man who was one a pillar of Dallas' nightclub community. His passion for ensuring his name was not sullied was soon turned on its head with the killing of Oswald, though Ruby went to his grave espousing that he was not culpable for the actions, due to a momentary insanity upon seeing them man in police custody. Danny Fingeroth depicts this in a steller manner and left me wanting to know more about the man, the fallout of the shooting, and how the world saw him at the time, as well as now, side decades later.
While I have not read anything by Danny Fingeroth before this piece, I was quite impressed. He tackled this issue head-on and developed some strong arguments that all can enjoy with ease. There is little that is left unexplored and the detailed chapters offer up a great deal of information to help better educate the layperson such as myself. I learned more than I thought I might with this piece and am eager to find more when time permits. Fingeroth offers up a chronological assessment of events and provides strong support for his assertions, while also relying on the expertise of many others, particularly those who were present at the time.
While this book does not decry solving the mystery of what happened on November 22, 1963, it does fill many cracks in what I knew about events, as well as the fallout of the shooting of the suspected assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, the morning of November 24th. I will certainly be scouring the bibliography of this book and seeking to better educate myself on the subject matter, when time permits.
Kudos, Mr. Fingeroth, for this unique and highly entertaining biography.
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