PRESIDENT KENNEDY HAS BEEN SHOT: A Moment-to-Moment Account of the Four Days that Changed America

Combining original interviews with previously available material, this volume by the Newseum (a museum of news sponsored by the Freedom Forum foundation) guides readers through the assassination of John F. Kennedy from his arrival in Dallas the morning of November 22, 1963, to the funeral four days later, including the arrest and murder of Lee Harvey Oswald. The emphasis on how the journalists covering the story perceived it adds an illuminating perspective to well-known events, communicating with immediacy the chaos of the moment. Journalists had to draw on all their resourcefulness to report the story while struggling to maintain their professional distance. The account is filled with fascinating details, from a description of the AP and UPI reporters fighting over a car phone to Dallas reporter Tom Alyca's recollection of staying inside the Texas School Book Depository after investigators closed it off, then smuggling out photos of the shooter's perch. The companion CD includes audio excerpts from radio and TV coverage and snippets of Dallas police communications, radio transmissions between the White House and the airborne, Tokyo-bound press secretary, Pierre Salinger, even a phone call from Lyndon Johnson to FBI director J. Edgar Hoover. Those who were alive 40 years ago remember the events so clearly because of the journalism commemorated here, but readers of all ages will be moved by the powerful testimony. 120 b&w photos. (Nov. 12)

Forecast: This may be the standout among 40th anniversary books, with a 75,000 first printing, and it's a BOMC and Literary Guild featured selection and a selection of Booksense and the History Channel.