Gary Mack and the Sixth Floor Museum

[Larry Hancock]

Hi Mike and thank you.

Certainly it should be available this summer, hopefully as early as June.

It has slipped a bit, among the reasons way my decision to add a good deal

of information which came out in 2005 including some significant work

by other authors. I wanted it to be as current as possible for 2006 and not

the "last book of 2005".

I've pledged to restrian myself from further editions and that should help

meet the new target. We do plan to start sharing some of the content in

advance of publication, especially for folks who didn't get the first

edition.

-- Larry

Hello Larry,

Can you give any indication as to when the updated version of Somebody Would Have Talked will become available?

I have always admired your approach to research. Thanks.

Mike Hogan

[Michael Hogan]

Thanks Larry,

I'm chagrined that I incorrectly referred to Someone Would Have Talked as Somebody Would Have Talked.

I am excited to hear that there is a tentative release date in June, and glad that you decided to include the latest information. I already look forward to the discussions that will be generated among members of this forum, and hopefully in the media. Maybe we'll get to see you on CNN, MSNBC, CSpan, etc.

Larry, in my opinion you are the contemporary embodiment of the great early researchers that asked important questions and tried to find answers for one of the great tragedies and mysteries of our time.

Mike Hogan

[Guest John Gillespie]

It seems that Gary Mack does not allow the Sixth Floor Museum to sell "conspiracy" books. Len Osanic has called for the museum to be boycotted. Do you agree?

The late Bill Hicks said that he was amazed when he visited the sixth floor museum. And awed by the painstaking reproduction of the snipers nest. And do you know how to tell it was painstakingly authentic, just like the day JFK was killed? Because Lee Harvey Oswald wasn't there.

___________________________

To have authenticity they'd have to hire "extras" to stand near the adjacent windows and one more guy for the last window on the left.

[Thomas H. Purvis]

Thanks Larry,

I'm chagrined that I incorrectly referred to Someone Would Have Talked as Somebody Would Have Talked.

I am excited to hear that there is a tentative release date in June, and glad that you decided to include the latest information. I already look forward to the discussions that will be generated among members of this forum, and hopefully in the media. Maybe we'll get to see you on CNN, MSNBC, CSpan, etc.

Larry, in my opinion you are the contemporary embodiment of the great early researchers that asked important questions and tried to find answers for one of the great tragedies and mysteries of our time.

Mike Hogan

I would like to "Second" the motion!

[Larry Hancock]

Thank you Mike and Tom for the kind words, I do appreciate it and it helps during those deadly hours sorting through the galley's and endless edits.

One thing that I did want to mention is that the second edition will contain appendices which present documents/analyses beyond what could be addressed in the body of the book without totally defocusing the reader.

They will include (among other things) new information on:

The FBI Odio investigation

The Rose Cheramie remarks and drug investigation

The mysterious death of Garrett Underhill

Mitch Werbell's contacts with the CIA

The Kirknewton incident and pre-assassination leaks

Suppressed CIA Castro assassinatation activities

Henry Hecksher's CIA career

Richard Case Nagell's activities in Mexico City

-- Larry

[Guest John Gillespie]

From Dave Healy:

"Thank you very much -- I'll file your concern for how I understand Dallas history, someplace!

'...I understand why books with pet theories aren't sold...' What's that Single Bullet Theory called, again?

Blood and guts on display, that's a problem in TEXAS? Surely you jest, Nic.

___________________________________________________

Not worth it, David. The phrase "less than zero" comes to mind.

I just got an email from Gary Mack (Gary, I tried to send a reply to you but something about its receptor is disabled, according to the Ed Forum response): "The Museum's exhibits are neutral. THAT is the reason there are no people represented. The sniper's nest today is the SCENE of the crime, not a depiction OF the crime."

Regards, as always,

JG

Edited April 6, 2006 by John Gillespie

[Richard J. Smith]

Thank you Mike and Tom for the kind words, I do appreciate it and it helps during those

deadly hours sorting through the galley's and endless edits.

One thing that I did want to mention is that the second edition will contain

appendices which present documents/analyses beyond what could be addressed

in the body of the book without totally defocusing the reader.

They will include (among other things) new information on:

The FBI Odio investigation

The Rose Cheramie remarks and drug investigation

The mysterious death of Garrett Underhill

Mitch Werbell's contacts with the CIA

The Kirknewton incident and pre-assassination leaks

Suppressed CIA Castro assassinatation activities

Henry Hecksher's CIA career

Richard Case Nagell's activities in Mexico City

-- Larry

Hi Larry,

IMO, you picked up where Gaeton Fonzi left off. Someone Would Have Talked is perhaps the best book of all the JFK related material I own. I also have a suggestion for those that have the original who plan to buy the revised edition. Give the original to a fellow researcher who doesn't have it or can't afford to buy the new one. I plan on doing exactly that.

Very much looking forward to the book's release, and thanks for the time you spent(and continue to spend) gathering this critical information.

RJS

[Thomas H. Purvis]

Thank you Mike and Tom for the kind words, I do appreciate it and it helps during those

deadly hours sorting through the galley's and endless edits.

One thing that I did want to mention is that the second edition will contain

appendices which present documents/analyses beyond what could be addressed

in the body of the book without totally defocusing the reader.

They will include (among other things) new information on:

The FBI Odio investigation

The Rose Cheramie remarks and drug investigation

The mysterious death of Garrett Underhill

Mitch Werbell's contacts with the CIA

The Kirknewton incident and pre-assassination leaks

Suppressed CIA Castro assassinatation activities

Henry Hecksher's CIA career

Richard Case Nagell's activities in Mexico City

-- Larry

So!

Would the Museum, openly provide for public viewing, the US Secret Service Survey Plat of December 5, 1963, which clearly "plats" the impact points of the three shots fired in the assassination? ( Under the assumption that someone in possession of such an item made it available.)

November 22, 2006 would seem to be a good time to provide it!

[Pat Speer]

David, I agree that those looking for the truth should not be shy. There are limits, however. No one needs to see JFK's underwear hung out in public. Nor do they need to see Jackie's bloody clothes.

BTW, I agree about Mantik's article on the failure of historians. Highly recommended.

[Tim Carroll]

Damn good thing most museums don't shirk their responsiblities: the good, bad AND the ugly... as most of us know, most, if not ALL history is written by victors. That's telling in and of itself, don't you agree? Now, WHO we're the victors? I will say, City of Dallas PR efforts are getting better....

Good point! The idea that children should be taught the Dallas Citizens Council version of the event is an abomination.

Tim

[Paul Kerrigan]

Where did this assumption come from? It is false. The Director and I were the ones who decided in 1994 (soon after I was hired) that the Museum gift shop SHOULD carry some conspiracy titles. The guidelines were simple: titles and content must be up-to-date, accurate, fair and objective, properly sourced, and are primarily an examination of the historical record, not pushing some pet theory. The Museum does history, not theories.

[/color]

If Gary Mack's agenda is not to push a "pet theory," why is "Case Closed" in stock? If he wants to eliminate conspiracy books because he claims they promote an agenda, he must be made aware that that rule applies to lone guman books as well.

Edited April 9, 2006 by Paul Kerrigan

[Mike Perez]

Hello All:

I believe the 6th Floor Museum should be boycotted, because of the exact reason that John states. I was in Dealey Plaza on Nov. 22, 2005 for the first time in about 20 years. The last time I was there, The 6th Floor Museum didn't exist. And as far as I am concerned it doesn't exist to this day. I believe the Museum should present ALL aspects about the assassination. My wife who isn't as well read on this subject as I am, insisted on buying me a book while she was in the gift shop. I wouldn't spend the money to go to the 6th floor because I believe because it is a part of history it should be free for everyone. Any way she ended up buying me the book "Without Malice". It had a lot of good information in it about Tippit's murder and how Oswald did it but other than that it was definately pro lone nut material. I didn't see one book, dvd, or any other item while I was in the gift shop that was pro conspiracy. So obviously Gary Mack's idea about what happened on Nov. 22, 1963 is that Oswald did it alone which makes Gary out to be a Lone Nutter.

[Tim Carroll]

The museum does not specialize in RESEARCH of the assassination, it does not advertise itself as a library. We do not need to see the President's brain matter on his wife's dress in the interest of research. We don't need to force the Zapruder film on EVERYBODY in the interest of research. For interested parties, they can BUY the whole thing and watch it to their heart's content.

It might come as news to Gary Mack that he and his facility do not specialize in research of the assassination, and while the museum doesn't "advertize itself as a library," it does have a bookstore with an imbalanced selection of available books.

History is both the good and the bad, I agree. Historians have failed before, I agree on that as well. However, you don't have to shove the brutal realities of everything in the face of every unsuspecting person just because you think it's not a big deal and because it doesn't effect you. JFK's death is tragic, but you don't have to shove the autopsy photos in the face of everybody for them to understand that.

This thread was initiated on the specific topic of the lack of availability at the museum bookstore of books that deviate from the Lone Nutter stance. Nobody has argued that the autopsy photos or the Zapruder Film should be displayed, but to argue that such photos and film frames shouldn't be contained in books sold there is a more rigidly nonforthcoming standard than that found at any common Barnes & Noble. The first time I saw the autopsy photos, I was standing in line at a grocery store glancing at a tabloid.

Nic is intelligent enough and has been around long enough that I have no use for cutting her the slack she has benefited from, at times, until now, on the basis of her youth. Hopefully she can understand that as respectfulness.

People go to museums to learn. When a museum skews its presentation to represent the local, right-wing community in the best possible light, when it misrepresents the validity of its number one exhibit (the plexiglass enclosed window), it should be seen for what it is: The Dallas Citizens Council's Lone Nut spin on the assassination.

I have demanded and received, under rule of law, the tax records of this non-profit organization, with its token board of directors unapologetically appointed by the politically elected Dallas County Commissioners. It generates profits which are used to refurbish other historical society projects while ignoring the fundamental objective of maintaining the plaza as closely as possible to its 1963 condition.

A few particular trees have flagrantly gone untrimmed such that re-enactments involving lines of sight and light and shadow issues are all but impossible. Is the re-enactment of the sniper's lair, glassed off from the viewing public, a valid display or an obstacle to allowing visitors to see for themselves the unlikeliness of the deed being accomplished by a single individual from that location?

Nic's inappropriately gender-based, Texas resident-based comments and sensitivities are argumentative and naive.

It's truly an embarrassment how many 60+ men on this forum act like catty little schoolgirls.

Since gender was raised as an issue of intended ridicule, how many women have supported Nic's position on this issue? While I concede expertise about the nature of "catty little schoolgirls" to Nic, where are they on this issue? Have "60+ men" expressed themselves on this thread? Here's what the one other female said:

If the 6th floor Museum had any interest in covering the debate about who killed JFK and why, all the critical books would be displayed. Even books which are out of print can be obtained online via Amazon. But there is an agenda, which is that the assasination took place on the 6th floor. I have never gone up to the Museum for this reason. I consider it a money making farce designed to continue the disinformation WC view about this case.

Dawn

Tim

Edited April 9, 2006 by Tim Carroll

[John Simkin]

Museums are as much about interpretation of the past as history books. See the following thread for a detailed discussion of this issue.

http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=6344

Interpretations in museums are mainly expressed through the selection of exhibits. In the case of the Sixth Floor Museum it also seems to be about the books selected for sale in the shop. The idea that a curator will only sell books by authors who send free review copies is ridiculous. If Gary Mack was really interested in presenting a balanced view of the assassination he would make sure the shop contains the best books available on the subject. Until he does this, the Sixth Floor Museum is just propaganda.

I can understand why the state of Texas is reluctant to admit that the JFK assassination was carried out by more than one man. Especially if the conspiracy involved a politician who dominated politics in Texas during this period of history. It is propaganda of the worse kind: an attempt to protect the illegal removal of a democratically elected leader. While Gary Mack continues to take blood money in order to preserve the false image of Texas his museum should be boycotted by all visitors to Dallas.

[Pat Speer]

Museums are as much about interpretation of the past as history books. See the following thread for a detailed discussion of this issue.

http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=6344

Interpretations in museums are mainly expressed through the selection of exhibits. In the case of the Sixth Floor Museum it also seems to be about the books selected for sale in the shop. The idea that a curator will only sell books by authors who send free review copies is ridiculous. If Gary Mack was really interested in presenting a balanced view of the assassination he would make sure the shop contains the best books available on the subject. Until he does this, the Sixth Floor Museum is just propaganda.

I can understand why the state of Texas is reluctant to admit that the JFK assassination was carried out by more than one man. Especially if the conspiracy involved a politician who dominated politics in Texas during this period of history. It is propaganda of the worse kind: an attempt to protect the illegal removal of a democratically elected leader. While Gary Mack continues to take blood money in order to preserve the false image of Texas his museum should be boycotted by all visitors to Dallas.

I believe people with an interest should go there once. It does have some nice exhibits on Kennedy. It does acknowledge that there's reasons to suspect there was a conspiracy. It's not as biased as you might think. And, as Gary has pointed out, the book store has carried conspiracy books in the past. It's just that the good ones are mostly out of print. As stated, if he carries Larry's book, or Ian's book, both of which he's expressed an interest in, he'll have convinced me he has no bias. As a former buyer for a music wholesaler who sold to thousands of music retailers, I'm well aware that not everything is for everybody. There's what is called a proper fit--where the social context of the record matches the social views of the store owner, and the clientele of the store. NWA does not need to be in Costco. Britney Spears does not need to be in a vinyl-only turntable shop. There's also the problem of corporations. Corporations generally shy away from controversial records and/or artwork. For example, Target would never carry the Brujeria album with the severed head on the cover. Because of the corporate nature of the museum, its high volume of traffic, and the mainstream views of many of its customers, it makes sense that the museum book store is selective about what it carries. To many of the customers in that store, each book carried there will be carrying an invisible seal of approval. The museum has the right to be selective how they use that seal.

And Tim, rather than have people crowding the sniper's nest, which would distract from the other exhibits, the museum opted to put a webcam in the window. Anyone interested anywhere can access the window whenever they want. The webcam is here: http://www.earthcam.com/jfk/

EarthCam - Dealey Plaza Cam