suggestions for page edits

[Greg Parker]

C David Heymann

Material from his NYT obit not already included in his Spartacus page:

Including that he

"came to wide attention in 1983 after his life of the heiress Barbara Hutton was withdrawn by its publisher because of factual errors" resulting in 58,000 copies being "recalled and destroyed".

and that flowing from the above, his past work came under scrutiny which culminated in The Alternative: An American Spectator accusing him of "having taken an interview with [Ezra] Pound by an Italian interviewer, published in Venice, and presented it in his book as if it he had conducted it himself.

that many critics had concerns about his "use of single rather than multiple sources in reconstructing historical events, and his reliance on hearsay accounts by people not directly involved in incidents he was describing."

claimed that he wrote in the nude (a claim made apparently to bolster his self-proclaimed eccentricity).

claimed he worked for Mossad.

http://www.nytimes.c...?pagewanted=all

David S Lifton

Include Sylvia Meagher memo dated Oct 30, 1965 setting forth a phone call from David Lifton in which he outlined his current theory:

Dave is certain that the [Moorman] photo was doctored — probably by someone high–up in the Times–Herald, on instructions from LBJ, before it was ever released, so as to conceal the betraying details on the original.

Dave believes that there was a massive camouflage–and–guerrilla operation, involving perhaps 100 men, and that the assassination was a “high Texas” and “Army–military” attempted coup, and that LBJ was forced to cover it up, because if the high Texans were exposed, no one would believe that LBJ was not involved, even if he really was not.

He believes that the trees on the grassy knoll were camouflage; men were concealed in capsules; they may have remained there until dark and then made their escape. He believes there was a trench in front of the concrete structure, with phony hedges; and a trench also on the other side of Elm Street, where gray and black shadows and swatches appear on the Zapruders [sic] without any natural explanation … I asked him also if it is possible that the elaborate engineering job (which he thinks was in progress for several days before 11/22/63) and the camouflage–and–guerrillas could have escaped penetration by all of the numerous witnesses who were present. … He believes … that they all saw what was really going on the grassy knoll; and that they are maintaining silence for the same reason that no one helped Kitty Genovese when she was being murdered under the eyes of many witnesses.

Include Weisberg's claim that David Lifton arranged for some material to be stolen from Weisberg.

Include David Lifton's proclivity to make threats and his efforts to sue. This includes threats and/or.actions against Weisberg, Feinman and Hood University.

Leo Damore

Include that his publisher, Regnery Publishing specializes in conservative books and is a division of Eagle Publishing which owns Human Events magazine. Newt Gingrich, Michele Malkin and Ann Coulter are among the stable of writers for this publisher.

Include that the publisher's founder, Henry Regnery, was co-founder of Human Events which RightwingWatch describes as anti-gay, anti-Muslim and a supporter of End Times prophecies among other things.

Include that Damore relied heavily on interviews for his book on Chappaquiddick - a familiar strategy when setting out to demonize political enemies.

Edited October 11, 2012 by Greg Parker

[Robert Charles-Dunne]

C David Heymann

Material from his NYT obit not already included in his Spartacus page:

Including that he

"came to wide attention in 1983 after his life of the heiress Barbara Hutton was withdrawn by its publisher because of factual errors" resulting in 58,000 copies being "recalled and destroyed".

and that flowing from the above, his past work came under scrutiny which culminated in The Alternative: An American Spectator accusing him of "having taken an interview with [Ezra] Pound by an Italian interviewer, published in Venice, and presented it in his book as if it he had conducted it himself.

that many critics had concerns about his "use of single rather than multiple sources in reconstructing historical events, and his reliance on hearsay accounts by people not directly involved in incidents he was describing."

claimed that he wrote in the nude (a claim made apparently to bolster his self-proclaimed eccentricity).

claimed he worked for Mossad.

http://www.nytimes.c...?pagewanted=all

David S Lifton

Include Sylvia Meagher memo dated Oct 30, 1965 setting forth a phone call from David Lifton in which he outlined his current theory:

Dave is certain that the [Moorman] photo was doctored — probably by someone high–up in the Times–Herald, on instructions from LBJ, before it was ever released, so as to conceal the betraying details on the original.

Dave believes that there was a massive camouflage–and–guerrilla operation, involving perhaps 100 men, and that the assassination was a “high Texas” and “Army–military” attempted coup, and that LBJ was forced to cover it up, because if the high Texans were exposed, no one would believe that LBJ was not involved, even if he really was not.

He believes that the trees on the grassy knoll were camouflage; men were concealed in capsules; they may have remained there until dark and then made their escape. He believes there was a trench in front of the concrete structure, with phony hedges; and a trench also on the other side of Elm Street, where gray and black shadows and swatches appear on the Zapruders [sic] without any natural explanation … I asked him also if it is possible that the elaborate engineering job (which he thinks was in progress for several days before 11/22/63) and the camouflage–and–guerrillas could have escaped penetration by all of the numerous witnesses who were present. … He believes … that they all saw what was really going on the grassy knoll; and that they are maintaining silence for the same reason that no one helped Kitty Genovese when she was being murdered under the eyes of many witnesses.

Include Weisberg's claim that David Lifton arranged for some material to be stolen from Weisberg.

Include David Lifton's proclivity to make threats and his efforts to sue. This includes threats and/or.actions against Weisberg, Feinman and Hood University.

Leo Damore

Include that his publisher, Regnery Publishing specializes in conservative books and is a division of Eagle Publishing which owns Human Events magazine. Newt Gingrich, Michele Malkin and Ann Coulter are among the stable of writers for this publisher.

Include that the publisher's founder, Henry Regnery, was co-founder of Human Events which RightwingWatch describes as anti-gay, anti-Muslim and a supporter of End Times prophecies among other things.

Include that Damore relied heavily on interviews for his book on Chappaquiddick - a familiar strategy when setting out to demonize political enemies.

Seconded.

[John Simkin]

I have updated my page on David Heymann that includes the criticisms of both Elaine Woo of the Los Angeles Times ("Though some critics gave Heymann points for assiduous research and engrossing subject matter, others found major flaws, including his reliance on single sources giving accounts of important events they did not witness and on sources who could not be questioned because they were dead.") and Margalit Fox of the New York Times ("Though some critics admired Mr. Heymann’s biographies for their comprehensiveness, others were far more caustic. Their concerns included his use of single rather than multiple sources in reconstructing historical events, and his reliance on hearsay accounts by people not directly involved in incidents he was describing.")

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/JFKheymann.htm

[Greg Parker]

John,

that is a more balanced overview of the man and his work.

I'm sorry to see you have not received any other suggestions. I would have thought members would, in the same spirit it was offered, take up the opportunity to contribute ideas for improvements - which is not to say there are massive problems - just pockets of them.

[Len Colby]

IIRC he made several questionable claims about John Jr. and his relationship with the president's son.

[John Simkin]

John,

that is a more balanced overview of the man and his work.

The original page only included a list of his work plus three passages from his book. The passage about his interview with Cord Meyer about the death of Mary Pinchot Meyer seemed to upset some people but I have no reason to doubt that the interview took place.

[Greg Parker]

John,

that is a more balanced overview of the man and his work.

The original page only included a list of his work plus three passages from his book. The passage about his interview with Cord Meyer about the death of Mary Pinchot Meyer seemed to upset some people but I have no reason to doubt that the interview took place.

Like I said before, I never had any intention of asking you to remove anything. My concern was that any student reading it would be left with the impression that he was a respected biographer untouched by any controversy. Personally, I would have included the passage from his RFK bio about JFK and RFK partaking in homosexual acts and what his sources were for that - but that's just me, I suppose. It certainly would have left few in doubt about his credibility.

But now that you raise what is very obviously a sore point regarding the Meyer case, I do think you should redo both yours and Jim's bios. As they are, they read like an extension of your Meyer debates rather than bios reflecting your efforts in historical research. Neither of you are done justice... perhaps the opposite...

[Guest Tom Scully]

John,

that is a more balanced overview of the man and his work.

The original page only included a list of his work plus three passages from his book. The passage about his interview with Cord Meyer about the death of Mary Pinchot Meyer seemed to upset some people but I have no reason to doubt that the interview took place.

Heymann lacked credibility and had a penchant for writitng about and quoting the dead. Despite this, he offered no confirming evidence for single source, "bombshell" quotes he attributed to the dying Cord Meyer, but you have no reason to doubt him? Thus, you link yourself and your reputation to his, so why do it? When points such as this are stressed to you, you consider it an attack. If I did not care, I would not bother. I call it as I see it. You indicate you are more satisfied with those who do not.

The Washington Times : Heymann opens door to Georgetown...

Washington Times - Nov 21, 2003

.......

A: I also considered Susan Mary Alsop, Polly Wisner Fritchey and a few latter-day hostesses like Arianna Huffington. The list I came up with seems fairly natural,

even though Sally Quinn is of a different generation than the others.

Q: She is the only one still alive. Why did you include her?

A: Some people thought she was of a different caliber than the other four women, but that is a matter of opinion. ...

I wanted to take the book from 1950 up to the present day, and she seemed to be a natural successor to whatever throne exists in Georgetown.

Furthermore, being married to Ben Bradlee tied her in to Kay Graham.

Q: She was famous for scathing profiles when she covered the social/power scene.

A: The thing that is interesting about her is that she has been on both sides of the camera. Back when she was "looking behind the veil" to write her articles, she was the one taking the pictures. Now she wouldn't want "Sally Quinn the reporter" at her own parties so that people can feel free to do or say whatever they want. ...

The most telling comment about her in my book is Evan Thomas' mentioning her "affinity for doling it out, but her inability to take it." I maintain she should be overjoyed and honored to be included in the same company as Kay Graham, Evangeline Bruce and the others.

Q: It is surprising that some people consider her evil.

A: Jennifer Phillips' original comments were even nastier than the ones that were finally published. The lawyer who read the manuscript insisted on using the less aggravating descriptions.

Q: Sally Quinn agreed to talk to you?

A: We had several telephone interviews, and I have to say I found her to have a fairly good sense of humor about her own image.

When I asked for her response to some of the more negative quotes, she said, " Do you mean there are actually people in Washington who don't like me?

Q: Most of the ladies had skeletons in their closets.

A: Pamela Harriman slept slept with every wealthy playboy in the Western world. ... Lorraine Cooper was raped at age 69 while her husband served as ambassador to East Germany. ...Evangeline Bruce was a leading spy master for the OSS during World War II. ...Katharine Graham had liaisons with Warren Buffet and Robert McNamara.

Q: You had a few bizarre moments during the course of your 450 interviews.

A: Cord Meyer had 11/2 feet in the grave when I interviewed him in a nursing home. What was strange about it was how willingly they let us wander in and

interview someone who, after all, still did know a few things about the CIA.

Q: He told you that the same people who murdered his wife, Mary, had also killed JFK.

A: I take it to mean that he thought the CIA had killed them both. Whom else could he have meant? Lee Harvey Oswald obviously didn't kill his wife because he was already dead.

A: An ex-CIA agent told me he had to work as a waiter because James J. Angleton was convinced that the mole he believed to be at the CIA could be uncovered by virtue of what a "plant" could learn at Georgetown parties.....

John, a long list of reasons to doubt do exist and include this.:

C. David Heymann dies at 67; controversial bestselling biographer

articles.latimes.com/2012/may/.../la-me-c-david-heymann-20120514 May 14, 2012

..... Although some critics gave Mr. Heymann points for assiduous research and engrossing subject matter, others found major flaws, including his reliance on single sources giving accounts of important events they did not witness and on sources who could not be questioned because they were dead.

Controversy also surrounded his first two biographies. Critic Hugh Kenner charged that quotes in "Ezra Pound: The Last Rower" (1976) were lifted from an obscure Italian journal, and not obtained by Mr. Heymann, who said he had interviewed Pound before he died in 1972. Reviewers said serious errors were rife in "American Aristocracy: The Lives and Times of James Russell, Amy, and Robert Lowell" (1980).

To your credit, you do include that quote in your page on Heymann,:

http://www.spartacus.../JFKheymann.htm

......yet your awareness of it seems to give you no pause?

Full narrative available - National Transportation Safety Board

www.ntsb.gov/aviationquery/brief2.aspx?ev_id...ntsbno...1

Witnesses who were at CDW on the night of the accident stated that they saw the .... CFIs in New Jersey in his newly purchased Piper Saratoga, the accident airplane. ...... The toxicological tests were negative for alcohol and drugs of abuse.

American Legacy: The Story of John and Caroline Kennedy - Page 21

books.google.com/books?isbn=0743497392

C. David Heymann - 2008 - Preview - More editions

... a potent pain medication, so John sought relief from another doctor who promptly put him on Vicodin extra strength. He was still taking pain medication the day he died, as well as Ritalin for attention deficit disorder and PTU (propylthiouracil) .

American Legacy: The Story of John and Caroline Kennedy - Page 47

books.google.com/books?isbn=0743497384

C. David Heymann - 2007 - Preview - More editions

He'd been spotted less than an hour before the start of his last flight carrying what appeared to be an uncorked bottle of wine. That he wasn't an extreme or habitual drinker could possibly have heightened the effect of what alcohol he did imbibe prior to the flight. Then there were John's medications, the pharmaceuticals he'd been prescribed for attention deficit disorder and Graves' disease, as well as the pain pills he took for his ankle injury. While none of these was mentioned in the NTSB's final report—tests were simply not conducted for these particular medications—there is no question that they too could have increased the effect of any alcohol he might have consumed. Given the NTSB's apparent obfuscation of the record, it is easy to understand why their operational files on JFK Jr. are incomplete. A separate document of some three hundred pages, these files normally include a section titled "Human Performance.” Listed in the index to the operational files the “human performance” section is not only missing but, according to an NTSB spokesperson, “was never begun. ....

http://www.thedailyb...-fantasies.html

Kennedy Fantasies

Jul 24, 2009 1:44 PM EDT

Andrew Goldman

.....Instead, Stern helped the “Pulitzer-nominated” Heymann publicize a book whose most salacious bit came from an alleged Bobby Kennedy ex who is now dead and, according to a trusted local real-estate agent, could not have witnessed the tryst from any possible vantage point near that Florida compound.

That sure seemed like the old C. David Heymann I’d gotten to know. Back in 1999, I’d written a story about Heymann for the New York Observer. Just after John F. Kennedy Jr.’s plane was lost en route to his cousin’s wedding in Hyannisport, Heymann emerged onto the scene via a Cindy Adams’ cover story in the New York Post headlined, “He Did Not Want To Fly.”

John Kennedy, Heymann told Adams, had confessed to him 10 days before the fateful flight that he didn’t want to drop Lauren Bessette in Martha’s Vineyard before heading to Hyannisport, but his wife was forcing the issue. So the Bessette sisters immediately became cast as the heavies in the tragedy.

There was one very obvious question nobody bothered to ask: Why in God’s name was John Kennedy Jr. talking to C. David Heymann, who had already included in his work some ugly innuendos about Kennedy’s family?

http://whatreallyhap...phonyphone.html

If JFK Jr. call was phony, I fell for it

Crime/Corruption Front Page News Keywords: JFK JR CRASH KENNEDY HEYMANN

MOSSAD PILOT ERROR

Source: New York Post

Published: July 29, 1999 Author: Cindy Adams

Posted on 07/29/1999 22:47:03 PDT by Plummz

PRESIDENT Kennedy took the blame for the Bay of Pigs. LaGuardia who was once

our mayor and before he was an airport said: "When I make a mistake it's a

beaut."

Me, I don't myself 100 percent for a fact know whether I made a mistake or

not . . . but I don't want to wait until the last minute to find out. If in

case and just in case I did, I'm going to fix it.

The Monday after JFK Jr.'s plane went down, I did a story quoting C. David

Heymann. Heymann's written Kennedy books. On Jackie. And Bobby.

Unauthorized. The Kennedy family is not thrilled with this man. He has

enemies. But figure I have a few, too. Immediately you raise up from the

muck of mediocrity you make them. Anyway, I don't care one way or another

about Heymann's reputation except as it concerns me.

For years I've done interviews with him. Never had one problem with anything

he said. Others may have had. Me, I haven't. So, no reason to doubt what

he'd told me this time. This time he told me he'd had a chat with John in

what turned out to be the finalo period of this beautiful boy's life.

Under the instant horrendous circumstances, it being a weekend, verification

wasn't possible. Nobody answered Kennedy office phones Saturday or Sunday.

And news deadlines don't wait. Using my only exiosting yardstick, that of a

longtime track record with Heymann, I accepted his story.

My Kennedy insiders subsequently tell me they doubt this conversation he

reportedly had with John. They say his name's not down in any JFK log books,

and John's appointment secretary hasn't him in any listing.

My work is in the Kennedy library. I co-authored a book on Rose. I've broken

major headlines dealing with the family.

So, if in fact I got snookered on this piece, I'm laying this out in front

of everyone. If in fact anybody feels the thing needs more roiling and

broiling, let them take it to Heymann. Not me.

And if it's proved Heymann did give me a bum steer, I put it to you this

way. He ahs God to answer to. Worse, he has me. God, you see, may someday

forgive.

Is it possible that both Cord Meyer and E. Howard Hunt died exhibiting identical disease symptoms, or did Nina Burlegih simply recall Hunt's death when describing Cord Meyer in his last days?

http://seattletimes....huntobit24.html

Sunday, January 28, 2007

E. Howard Hunt, key Watergate figure, dies at age 88

By Patricia Sullivan

The Washington Post

....In the past few years, Mr. Hunt lost a leg to complications from atherosclerosis, battled lymphoma in his jaw and used an electric wheelchair to get around.

Edited October 28, 2012 by Tom Scully