On e-readers and JFK e-books

by Rich Negrete

About a year ago a friend, who happens to be a high school principal, was extolling the potential of e-readers (a.k.a. e-book readers). He claimed they could serve every purpose a book does and much more. Being somewhat tech-stubborn, I replied that you could do something really important with a book that you could not do with an e-book. That is, drop it. Or have it stolen and only be minus one book instead of an expensive gizmo. (And who steals books anyhow?) But I’ve since learned a little more about e-readers and have warmed up to the idea. After all, I can’t imagine being without my iPod, which houses my select pod casts of Black Op Radio, Mae Brussell, and Coast to Coast shows, as well as my jogging play list. If I recall I also swore I would never relinquish my portable CD player!

When it came time to make my Christmas wish list I found that two of the most popular selling e-readers are the Amazon Kindle and the Barnes and Noble Nook, hereafter referred to mostly as just the Kindle or the Nook.

THE KINDLE VS. THE NOOK

As stated, I’m not a “techie” guy, and there are some good review sites on these two models. But I did find a few features of note, and I encourage you to follow up on your own if interested. The basic model Kindle sells for $139.00, and the similar model Nook for $149.00. The Kindle offers over 750,000 titles, and the Nook boasts over two million. The Kindle offers unit storage of over 3,500 books, and the Nook up to 1,500. But the Nook has a slot to add a memory card for additional storage. Storage may be a moot point, however, because both models allow you to delete and re-download your e-books indefinitely from your personal “library”. E-books download in a matter of seconds, all you need is access to a Wi-Fi area. Both models have a more expensive “3G” version, that allow you to surf the web and download from anywhere, even if you’re not in a Wi-Fi area.

The Nook has a replaceable battery. If out of warranty the cost is $29.00. The Kindle’s battery is not replaceable and requires that you send the whole unit in. If in-warranty it’s free, otherwise the cost is $89.00. However, either way you get a brand new Kindle. A friend just experienced a bad battery with an in-warranty Kindle. She called Amazon, received her new Kindle the next day, and sent in the old one in the same box using the provided shipping label. In short, Amazon’s customer service and return policy is very customer friendly. The Nook, on the other hand, boasts “walk-in” Nook service at any Barnes and Noble.

Amazon e-books are proprietary. If I understand this correctly you can only download e-books to your Kindle from the Amazon e-book library. With the Nook you download books primarily from the Barnes and Noble library, but also from Sony e-books and some place called Kobo Books (These sites do not offer a lot in the way of JFK material). Also the Nook has a feature that allows you to “check-out” e-books from public libraries. Kindle does not.

THE BOOKS

One really cool thing about these e-readers is the fact that over 1 ½ million pre-1923 titles are offered, free of charge! Shakespeare, Dickens, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – you name it – unabridged and in your library in an instant. Also, daily newspapers and many magazines are also featured, at reduced subscription costs.

In the JFK selection I found some really interesting things. It appears that the two companies split some of the official investigations between themselves. Amazon has the Warren Commission Report for a dollar. The Nook actually has the entire 26 volumes of Commission Hearings and Exhibits! For free. If you search “Barnes and Noble Nook store” and type in “JFK” you’ll see items 36-61 are “Hearings Before the President’s Commission”, etc.

An Amazon (Kindle) e-book search of the following prompts revealed: “JFK”, 220 hits. “JFK assassination”, 65 hits. The same search on Barnes and Noble (Nook) revealed “JFK”, 162 hits. “JFK assassination”, 71 hits. These numbers are deceiving, however, because about half of these “hits” aren’t related to the subject.

Below you will find a list of e-books relating to the JFK assassination, by e-book site. This list represents roughly ½ to ¾ of the most noted (in my judgement) e- books available on the subject. The JFK material is somewhat hodge-podge and you won’t find most of your favorites here. For instance, I found none of the CTKA Top 10 books on the JFK assassination. I talked to Amazon customer service representative “Josh” about this. He explained that it’s up to publishers to initiate book digitizing, all they need to do is provide the necessary materials to Amazon. Therefore, Amazon has a link next to all of their regular books to make an e-book request. I looked up the hardback edition of John Armstrong’s Harvey and Lee (which showed 3 used books starting at $161.00). Next to the title I found the link that said “Tell the publisher you want to see this book in Kindle edition! ” I clicked on this and got an immediate reply that said “Thank you for requesting Harvey and Lee in Kindle edition. Our goal is to make every title available for Kindle, and we will pass your specific request on to the publisher”. Josh was unable to give me any specifics as to how many requests it took for a book to go digital, but as stated it’s up to the publisher.

The average e-book goes for around $10.00. The biggest discrepancy I saw in pricing was on the biggest of all elephants, Reclaiming History. Yes, the Briggs and Stratton version. Amazon sells it for $12.99. Barnes and Noble? $39.96! (Is there a riddle that asks, “What weighs more, a pound of gold or a pound of hot air?”) I was unable to ascertain if the e-book version contains the endnotes and footnotes, I’m inclined to guess it doesn’t.

Disclaimer: the below list represents my search of “JFK Assassination”. As you know, searching is not an exact science. For instance, Oswald and the CIA does not show up in the Barnes and Noble library under “JFK”, but I did find it under “CIA”. Obviously if you want to look for a specific book then a search by title is best. (I found that the average number of words in a JFK book title is around 15! So these titles are abbreviated). My apologies for any errors or omissions.

One more note: I couldn’t bring myself to list the “conspiracy-debunker” books. Suffice it to say they represent roughly half of the reality-based JFK assassination books. The usual suspects are there, Russo, Waldron and a crop of Mob and Cuban connection books. But I will mention here the brand new Warren Commission apologist offering, The Kennedy Detail (offered in e-book for $14.99), from former Secret Service agent Gerald Blaine, because I fear we’re in for a new crop of crap looming before the 50th anniversary. I’m sorry, but the book description makes me want to vomit. Jerry Blaine captures the energetic, crowd-loving young President, who banned agents from his car and often plunged into raucous crowds with little warning…a look into the lives who devoted their entire beings to protecting the Presidential family…and their astonishment at the countries obsession with far-fetched conspiracy theories…” I think the original working title may have been It Was Kennedy’s Fault.

JFK related e-books offered by both Amazon and Barnes & Noble (B&N)


Oswald and the CIA (Newman) both at $9.99. Virtual JFK (Blight, etc.) both around $19.00. The Echo from Dealey Plaza (Bolden) both at $9.99. On the Trail of the JFK Assassins (Russell) Amazon-$9.15 B&N- $14.97. Brothers (Talbot) both at $11.99. Mrs. Paine’s Garage (Mallon) both at $13.20. Reclaiming History (Bugliosi), Amazon - $12.99, B&N - $39.96. Camelot and the Cultural Revolution: How the Assassination of JFK Shattered American Liberalism (Pierson) Amazon-$13.09, B&N-$14.27. Wedge: How the Secret War between the FBI and the CIA has Endangered National Security (Reibling) both for $12.99

• JFK related e-books currently offered for the (Amazon) Kindle only:

The Warren Commission Report $1.00. A Deeper, Darker Truth (Phillips) $9.99. Illusion and Denail by Twyman (Twyman) $9.99. Illusion and Denial (Twyman) $2.99. Who’s Who in the JFK Assassination (Benson) $9.99. Head Shot: The Science Behind the JFK Assassination (nice reviews by Cyril H. Wecht and Jefferson Morley) $9.59. An Uncertain Justice: Examination of the Eyewitnesses and Photographic Evidence in the JFK, etc. (Thornbro) $9.95. The Radical Right and the Murder of JFK (Livingstone) $7.99 / At The Door of Memory: Aubrey Rike (Rike) $9.99

• JFK related e-books currently offered for the Barnes and Noble Nook only:

  Investigation into the Assassination of JFK…26 Volumes of Hearings and Exhibits Free. Hearings Before the Select Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives…Free. JFK Assassination Collection Act of 1992, Hearings before the National Security Sub-committee…Free. Who Shot JFK (Ramsay) $9.99 The Kennedy Assassination Tapes: The White House Conversations of Lyndon B. Johnson Regarding the Assassination…(Holland, LBJ) $14.82

CONCLUSIONS

As you can see, the overall selection is not large. Yet there are a couple of titles that seem to be available only via cyberspace. Amazon has a better selection of working-author titles, but Barnes & Noble has a big edge on the official investigations. How did I end up picking? For the sake of objectivity I’ll decline to name which e-reader sits on my Christmas List. But I’ll give you a few clues. The idea of having the entire 26 volumes of Hearings and Exhibits (Nook) is enticing, but I figured at my beginner-to- novice level of the subject I probably wouldn’t wander down those vast and complex alleys without access to a search engine, ala the History Matters or Mary Ferrell websites.

So I ended up choosing by my personal book preferences and other individual model features. In a nutshell, though, my opinion is that both of these e-readers are very cool, and you can’t really go wrong with either one. Amazon claims to have a goal of having every book ever published available electronically. Could a $10.00 e-book version of Harvey and Lee be soon coming? Let us hope!

New! Part Two