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Dust Jacket
[TOP] Few books have been written with the extensive research and rigorous scholarship one expects in works that examine the events surrounding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. This is one of those rare books. With Malice: Lee Harvey Oswald and the Murder of Officer J.D. Tippit is a major contribution to the historical record on the Kennedy assassination and its aftermath. Author Dale K. Myers brings nearly twenty years of research to this second-by-second account of the murder of Dallas Patrolman J.D. Tippit - killed forty-five minutes after the assassination of President Kennedy - and the frantic manhunt that ended in the arrest of Lee Harvey Oswald. Although considered the Rosetta Stone of the case against Oswald, the Tippit murder has proven to be one of the most misunderstood, largely ignored - and often twisted - aspects of the Kennedy assassination. For over three decades, a community of doubters found reason to challenge the official version of Tippit's death. Eyewitness accounts of the shooting were contorted to exonerate Oswald. Dallas police officers were painted as bumbling flatfoots, not to be trusted. Every government report was assumed to be full of lies and deception. Some claimed that Oswald had been framed by a zealous police force. Others suggested that Tippit was part of the plot to murder the chief executive. There have been many questions raised about Tippit's death over the past thirty-five years, but few real attempts to find the answers. With Malice weaves first hand accounts (many taken from personal interviews), newly released documents, and previously unpublished photographs into a detailed tapestry of facts that lifts the mystery surrounding this pivotal moment in American history. Did Oswald murder Tippit? Was Tippit a part of the plot to murder President Kennedy? What really happened on Tenth Street? Fully documented and richly illustrated, With Malice fills a major void in Kennedy assassination literature. Myers' painstaking research and analysis is fresh, innovative, and thought provoking. Rarely has one book brought together original elements from so many far flung sources - the National Archives, Texas State Archives, and the Dallas Municipal Archives and Records Center, as well as the personal accounts of eyewitnesses, police officers, newsmen, and investigators. This is their story, in their own words. With Malice: Lee Harvey Oswald and the Murder of Officer J.D. Tippit, by Dale K. Myers, is the definitive work on the Tippit murder and its far reaching implications. ISBN 0-9662709-7-5 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 98-91213 Table of Contents
[TOP]Foreword by Robert H. Johnson, Associated Press People who remember the assassination of President John F. Kennedy also remember police officer J.D. Tippit, an obscure cop murdered that same day. They still argue about who did it and why. Dale Myers has the best answers I have seen to these questions:
- Did Tippit pull his patrol car up to Oswald's apartment house and honk a warning as Oswald was fleeing? - How did Oswald and Tippit happen to meet a short time later on a residential street in Dallas' Oak Cliff section? - Why did Tippit stop Oswald and approach him, only to be killed by four pistol shots? - Was the pistol a revolver or an automatic? - Did the two men know Jack Ruby, the nightclub owner who fired a fatal shot into Oswald as he was being led from the Dallas city jail? - Was it really Oswald who shot Tippit? Myers has researched and analyzed those questions - and more - in minute detail. He has sought every conceivable source, interviewed witnesses, reporters, attorneys and policemen. He has studied Tippit's life from boyhood. He has reviewed television footage, printed news accounts, earlier books and police records. He has dug into the files and report of the House Select Committee on Assassinations, which reviewed the JFK case in 1978. He has pored over the Warren Commission report and Commission files - and has turned up some documents never before made public. Where testimony and evidence conflict, he has used reason and worked out logical answers. His account is a fascinating web of fact vs. fantasy, of the frantic confusion that began with the shots that killed the President on November 22, 1963. Many people refused to believe that a loner had shot both the President and the policemen. Conspiracy theories bubbled to the surface. The theories expanded after Ruby shot Oswald. Some saw evidence in every rumor and stray report. Many reporters and editors pursued them and found them baseless. But dozens of books have kept the questions alive. They persist in a cult of theorists. I was the Associated Press Chief of Bureau for Texas, in charge of covering the assassination and related events through the trial of Jack Ruby. The day Kennedy and Tippit were killed, near chaos engulfed Dallas. Then, downtown Dallas became almost a ghost town. Football games and the opera were canceled. Stores were empty, streets deserted. Anger merged with despair. Only police, service workers and news people seemed to be abroad. In the AP bureau and other news offices the pace was fast, intense and focused on what had happened. The day of Kennedy's funeral, AP news printers fell silent as his casket was lowered into the grave. A bugler cracked on a high note as he played Taps. AP staffers gathered around the television set to watch, their eyes filled with tears, allowing emotion to surface for the first time. Then determined pursuit of facts by wire service, newspaper, radio and TV reporters continued. More than thirty years later, Myers has wrapped up the story. His answers make sense. They're supported by pillars of fact and analysis. They should stand.
Principal Figures Timetable of Events Acknowledgments Appendix A: Color Plates Appendix B: Maps and Diagrams Appendix C: Autopsy Reports Appendix D: Selected Documents Endnotes Bibliography Index Photographs [TOP] Over 150 photographs in text - many never before published. These digitally restored images were culled from the files of the Dallas Police, FBI, Warren Commission, and House Select Committee on Assassinations, as well as many public and private sources. Included in this remarkable collection are still frames from KRLD and WFAA-TV's coverage of the Tippit shooting scene, the police investigation, and the arrest of Lee Harvey Oswald. Plus, new photographs of the ballistic evidence - presented here for the first time. Sixteen color plates, depicting Oswald's arrest at the Texas Theater and much of the key physical evidence, round out this unique photographic album. Maps & Illustrations [TOP] Thirteen maps and illustrations give a new perspective on the events in Oak Cliff. Using archival photographs, a computer model was constructed of the five square block area surrounding the murder scene. This full scale model was the basis for a series of computer generated renderings depicting the crime scene, the flight of the gunman, and the arrest of Oswald at the Texas Theater. Also included are maps, diagrams, and contemporary aerial photographs from government files. Documents [TOP] Over 180 documents from the investigative files of the Dallas police, FBI, Warren Commission, and House Select Committee on Assassinations are contained in this definitive work - many published for the first time. Included are handwritten notes, interviews, affidavits, and evidentiary reports. Reference Notes [TOP] Over 1,000 reference notes document this exhaustive look at the shooting of Officer J.D. Tippit. Serious students of the assassination will find a treasure trove of resources for continued research and study. In addition to the listings, author Dale K. Myers brings twenty years of research insight and analysis to the many myths and rumors that surround this Dallas crime. A true case file of the Tippit murder and its aftermath. Reviews [TOP] ...In his fine and powerful new book, 'With Malice: Lee Harvey Oswald and the Murder of Officer J.D. Tippit,' author Dale K. Myers wisely avoids the temptation to speculate on the role Mr. Oswald played - or didn't play - in the death of the president. But in the course of a 704 page tome, he gives compelling evidence that Mr. Oswald, and he alone, killed Officer J.D. Tippit with three shots to the chest and a final coup de grace to the head. So convincing is the case he makes that anyone reading this finely crafted account may automatically conclude that Mr. Oswald killed not only Officer Tippit but also the president. Even Mr. Myers once believed that the killing of Officer Tippit was the work of conspirators. Apparently all it took to convince him otherwise was the tireless task of leaving no stone unturned. David W. Belin, assistant counsel to the Warren Commission, once called the slaying of Officer Tippit 'the Rosetta Stone' that helped unravel the mystery of the president's murder. But 35 years after the crime, Mr. Myers does far more than the commission ever did in helping us understand the murder of the police officer and why, in fact, the Rosetta Stone comparison makes sense..."
Michael Granberry, The Dallas Morning News"Dale Myers' book is the absolute best ever written concerning the murder of Dallas cop J. D. Tippit. It contains new information, is written superbly and should be read by anybody interested in the complex JFK tragedy. Most importantly of all, it is truth, something often missing from JFK assassination exploitation." Dale Myers's 'With Malice'...is an exhaustive micro-study of the other shooting that day, forgotten by most Americans but rightly considered a Rosetta stone...Myers has combined statements made to Dallas lawmen, testimony before the Warren Commission, his own interviews of surviving witnesses, research into Dallas municipal archives and even television outtakes to write an almost minute-by-minute account, and surely a definitive one, of Tippit's encounter with Oswald..." "...Myers weaves a tense recitation more suspenseful than most thrillers. Courage and cowardice, fine police work and flatfoot mistakes, Myers serves it up with an urgency as fresh as today's newspaper. 'With Malice' is a massive, erudite work of scholarship that removes all doubt that Oswald murdered officer J.D. Tippit to avoid being questioned about the Kennedy killing. It also makes a nearly irrefutable case that Oswald acted alone at Dealey Plaza as well. Dale K. Myers' book is that rarest of literary accomplishments, an impeccably accurate historical account so superbly written that it's tough to put down." "...This massive and well-researched book provides every detail of Tippit's murder: the background, locale, witnesses, police officers, and investigators - complete with photos, maps, radio reports, crime scene diagrams, autopsy reports, and copies of numerous police department documents. Conspiracy buffs have discounted Oswald as Tippit's killer, even claiming Tippit was an accomplice of Oswald's. However, with sound reasoning and careful analysis of evidence, Myers convincingly concludes that Oswald did murder Tippit and that there was no conspiracy between the two men. Myers' narrative is crisp and suspenseful, reading like a 'True Crime' drama with extra voltage. The gunshots, sirens, crackling police radios, and cops frantically searching for a 'cop-killer' are all too real and bring back vivid memories of that tragic day in American history. Myers also cleverly looks past the conspiracy theorist's smoke and mirrors, chasing down and debunking all the red herrings connected with Officer Tippit's murder..." ...'With Malice' by Dale Myers has finally cut through the veneer of insinuations and innuendoes applied by the conspiracy buffs for the past thirty odd years. He has cleared up the points of confusion brought on by the rumors and hearsay that had no basis of facts. This book will clear up many questions for the reader about the murder of Officer J.D. Tippit and the assassination of President Kennedy. ...As I read ['With Malice'], I found myself once again caught up in the tragic events of that day in Dallas...reliving the capture of Oswald. ['With Malice'] is thoroughly researched and well organized... [including] photographs and illustrations I have never seen...An orderly exploration of the true facts. ...['With Malice'] is by far one of the best and most interesting books surrounding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy that I have read. No doubt [Myers] put in many years of research to write such an outstanding book. ...'With Malice' is an exhaustive, multi-dimensional study of this key episode of November 22, 1963. Myers has gathered and reexamined the voluminous primary sources, has uncovered new information and material - and for the first time - has melded this material to come up with a credible conclusion of the guilt of Lee Oswald in the murder of J.D. Tippit. Scores of documents, diagrams and photographs add to the clarity of Myers' text and assist in making this 700 page volume both attractive and useful. While Myers cannot answer all the questions relating to this incident, since the murder of both chief participants silenced motives and previous actions, the author is able to dispel much previous incorrect speculation and clear up numerous controversies. Dale Myers has written the authoritative book on the murder of Officer Tippit. His book will stand as a major contribution to the truth of the events in Dallas on November 22, 1963." At last a comprehensive study of an often overlooked aspect of the Kennedy assassination: the murder of Officer J.D. Tippit. Dale Myers has conducted exhaustive research on the subject and used logical reasoning in his conclusions. He has mastered the art of blending documented evidence and personal interviews into resolving an often debated murder mystery. Though there will always be doubters, Myers has conclusively answered most of the questions regarding the guilt of Lee Harvey Oswald in the murder of Officer Tippit. Supplemented with an impressive array of photographs and endnotes, 'With Malice' is the definitive study on the subject and should remain so for many years to come." "One does not have to accept all of Dale Myers' findings to recognize the value of this, the first serious study of the Tippit murder, a vital element in the assassination story long neglected by official and unofficial probers alike." "Without a doubt, ['With Malice'] is one of the best books on the JFK assassination I've ever read. It is thoroughly researched, well-written and filled with many new details - all and all, a very scholarly and extremely interesting work...I expect that this will be the definitive work on the Tippit case...definitely a 'must read'..." "I still wonder what would have been the consequences for Dallas had Oswald escaped? Until author Dale Myers so painstakingly retraced the event, the person I consider a national hero, Officer Tippit, had remained largely a faceless player in the JFK assassination cast. Yet Tippit's showdown with Oswald had a momentous impact on the outcome. Thanks to Myers, maybe history will remember the price Tippit paid in the performance of duty in 1963." "...a fascinating web of fact vs. fantasy, of the frantic confusion that began with the shots that killed the President on November 22, 1963 ...Thirty-five years later, Myers has wrapped up the story. His answers make sense. They're supported by pillars of fact and analysis. They should stand." "Myers is the author of a truely remarkable book. The text is unclouded and unlike most other assassination related books, well documented. There is no speculation or innuendo leading the reader to false assumptions. Myers states his case in a loud, clear voice and in my view a voice of reason. What Myers has done with the photographs is spectacular. I have to believe this is the best and probably the only true compilation of Tippit related photographs...Over the years, I developed a sense that others had means, motive and opportunity to carry out the attack on Tippit...After reading this book, I believe Myers has conclusively proven Oswald is guilty..." "Dale Myers has done a magnificent job in capturing the detail and the excitement of the apprehension of Lee Harvey Oswald. It flows and holds the reader's attention like a first class mystery novel. Students of history will love this book. For police officers like myself, the author's analysis of the events and facts could serve as a text book. Mr Myers' attention to all aspects of the case leave no doubt as to Oswald's role in the death of Officer Tippit." "A lesson in what to do and what not to do in areas of crime scene search; protecting the crime scene and documenting the crime scene. Every criminal justice student, police officer, or detective should read this book. A most thoroughly documented study of [the murder of] J.D. Tippit." |
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WITH MALICE: Lee Harvey Oswald and the Murder of Officer J.D. Tippit by Dale K. Myers (ISBN: 0-9662709-7-5) 704 pp. |
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