German born Joachim Joesten, who worked for Newsweek magazine before becoming a freelance writer in 1944, published Oswald, Assassin or Fall Guy? in 1964, prior to the release of the Warren Report. Surprisingly, at that early date, the foundation of doubt that would pervade the assassination research community for the next 50 years and beyond, was already well in place. Like other early authors who questioned the official Government verdict, Joesten had to have this book published outside the United States.
Through special arrangement with his heirs, Iconoclassic Books is proud to present this reissue of the first important treatise on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Also included is Joesten's 50 page summary of the Warren Report, which he examined upon its release in September 1964.
A "fall guy", in American underworld slang, is a person selected by a criminal gang to be framed up as the guilty one, in order to shield the real perpetrators of a crime. This is Joesten's thesis about Oswald.
Most of the book is devoted to a systematic development of the evidence. A number of the points are sufficiently powerful to singly cast grave doubt on the official version; and in their cumulative impact to provide a serious basis for Joesten's conclusion.