The End of Days is a readily readable account of the four days in November 1963. The author’s title was intended to be a metaphor which marked the end of days for JFK as well as naivite for the nation. Swanson is a skilled writer who was able to condense 80 pages of source notes into a page turning murder mystery story without the mystery. Swanson firmly believes that Lee Harvey Oswald was the lone gunman.

The short retelling of the Kennedy’s presidency is portrayed as a fervent anti-Communist who was positioning himself for his run for re-election on a pro-growth, tax cutting theme. This gives political context to The End of Days for JFK.

The detailed account of the run up to the dastardly deed, the manhunt and the interrogation of the perpetrator was masterful. But there were a couple of instances when the foreboding background voice of the fate that awaits seemed overwrought. The denouement also seemed rushed.

This book would neither satisfy a Sixth Floor Museum devotee nor a convicted conspiracy type, but Swanson was not writing for that audience. If someone wants to read a true life potboiler chock full of facts about the JFK assassination without indulging in the specter of conspiracy, they should consider reading James Swanson’s “The End of Days.”

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