John F. Kennedy’s fascination with death—particularly his own—and Lee Harvey Oswald’s love of violence and desire for fame made November 22, 1963 practically inevitable. With new details from the very latest documents declassified by the CIA and FBI! The so-called “crime of the century”—the assassination of President John F. Kennedy—was almost preordained to happen. Like all presidents from decades before him, JFK played it loose with security—open cars, Secret Service agents at a distance, and a desire to be seen. Yet conspiracy buffs are certain the security setup on November 22, 1963 was unusual and suspicious. It wasn’t. And what of Lee Harvey Oswald, the drifter, the vicious wife-beating, fame-seeking narcissist? Everything in his background—dating back to his violent, disturbing grade school years, including his stated desire to murder President Dwight Eisenhower—defines the real Lee Oswald. The Oswald that conspiracists rarely talk about—the Oswald who was perched in the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository as JFK drove by—was headed for this moment of infamy years before he pulled the trigger. In Countdown to Dallas, author Paul Brandus tracks the backgrounds of both Kennedy and Oswald, the very different era in which they lived, and the incredible string of circumstances that brought them together for a few fateful moments in Dallas. He reveals: There was indeed a second person on the 6th floor of the Texas School Book Depository in the minutes prior to the assassination—but it’s not what you think. How Oswald REALLY got his job at the Depository. The OTHER president that Oswald previously discussed wanting to kill. What Oswald’s favorite TV show and favorite opera reveal about his personality and his willingness to use violence. The sinking of the Titanic—and how we process it more than a century later—is an example of how we continue to process information about the Kennedy assassination.

Everyone knows that Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis was married to two of the twentieth century's most powerful men: John F. Kennedy and Aristotle Onassis. Lesser known are the five incredible years between those marriages, when she was on her own. Jackie tells that story-the story of a woman who was globally famous, and yet utterly enigmatic. The world was shocked when Jacqueline Kennedy married Aristotle Onassis in 1968. It would not have been so surprising had the truth of their relationship-which dated back to the 1950s-been known. Jackie knew Ari almost as long as she had known John F. Kennedy-and saw qualities in him (besides money) that she found highly attractive. The five years between her marriages to JFK and Onassis are often overlooked. But it was an incredible period of growth and change for Jackie. How did the world's most famous woman remain so enigmatic? What was she really like? This book reveals the real Jackie, the one that hid behind her trademark large sunglasses. In this book, you'll learn about: Jackie's lovers-and the one man she regretted not marrying The secret, second burial of JFK Her evolution from "political wife Jackie" into "nightclubbing, party girl Jackie" Her own near death in 1967 Her influence on pop art, fashion, and design

Paul Brandus, White House journalist and creator of the popular "West Wing Report," exposes lesser-known stories from the White House. Imagine Nixon in the East Room worrying over the moon mission; Edith Wilson running the country from the Master Bedroom; or Obama nervously playing spades in the Private Dining Room awaiting news on Osama bin Laden.

For reference librarians, journalists, social media managers, history buffs, and more, a treasure trove of information about the U.S. presidency for each day of the year from the popular, award-winning White House journalist Paul Brandus. The Atlantic calls Brandus "one of the top Washington insiders you should follow on Twitter" (@WestWingReport). For each of the 366 days of the year, Brandus offers little-known, fascinating facts; historical anecdotes; and pithy quotations from and about the 45 presidents of the United States-from George Washington to Donald Trump. This Day in Presidential History will surprise its readers with the inside information that Brandus has uncovered in his years on the White House beat. Here are stories that span war and peace, sex and scandal, frivolity and tragedy-and everything in between, including * the night Abraham Lincoln and John Wilkes Booth met at Ford's Theatre-17 months before Booth's crime, * the advice Richard Nixon gave Donald Trump, * the president who immediately went to bed after his swearing in, * the only president to be censured by the U.S. Senate, * the president who gambled away the White House china, * the joyriding teens who crashed into the president's car-and lived to tell the tale, * the secret swearing in, * and much more. Brandus's previous book, Under This Roof: A History of the White House and Presidency (Lyons Press, 2015), was one of Publishers Weekly's "25 Christmas Recommendations."