Pictures of the Pain: Photography and the Assassination of President Kennedy - Hardcover

Richard B. Trask

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0963859501 ISBN 13: 9780963859501

Publisher: Yeoman Press, 1994

Synopsis

This major work displays the history of the photography of the President John F. Kennedy assassination. Written by historian and archivist Richard B. Trask, the book is the result of 10 years' research. The volume's 638 pages and over 360 illustrations, many never before published, reveal in detail the November 22, 1963, assassination in Dallas, Texas, as recorded by numerous photographers who were present in Dealey Plaza at the time of the shooting.

These on-scene photographers included professional photojournalists and rank amateurs who captured on film in a form truer than any person's memory, relevant and dramatic slices of the reality of the event.

This Point-In-Time history combines photographic sources, numerous revealing, first-time interviews and a wealth of primary source documentation, including many Freedom of Information Act requests, which display from a multi-perspective view how this event was personally experienced by these picture-takers and others. The narration gathers multiple strands of information which, when woven together, create a broad tapestry of truths and perspectives never before revealed concerning one of the most shocking events of the 20th century.

Also examined is the story of how these images, including the famous Zapruder film, were used, and sometimes abused, by the news media and government investigations, as well as by assassination critics who distrusted the government's conclusions in the case. The beliefs of a number of researchers who have discovered assassins within some of these images are also examined.

This is a limited, acid-free, sewn, hard-cover edition of 638 pages divided into 26 chapters and includes over 360 photographs, maps, diagrams and drawings, and is footnoted throughout. Included are notes, various appendices, a bibliography and index.

About this title

About the Author:

Richard B. Trask is an archivist who lives with his wife Ethel in a 1681 house in Danvers, Massachusetts, which they have restored. An authority on the Salem Village witchcraft delusion of 1692, Trask served as historical consultant to an American Playhouse docu-drama on the subject, directed the archaeological excavation of the home where the witchcraft events began, saved several 17th century houses from destruction, and served for several decades as curator to the 1678 Rebecca Nurse Homestead. He is author of numerous books and articles, has lectured extensively, taught courses on American history and architecture, and appeared on numerous television programs and documentaries.

Trask's research into the Kennedy assassination began at age 16, and since the first publication of this book, he has published three others on the subject of the President Kennedy assassination and has served as a consultant to CBS News, the Assassination Records Review Board, and the National Archives.

Review:

Never before the Richard Trask volume Pictures of the Pain has any book provided such an exhaustive, even-handed survey of documentary evidence in the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Dispassionate in its assessment of the facts, rigorously free from speculation or bias, Pictures of the Pain is especially valuable in helping us to understand clearly what is known, what is not known, and what can never be known.

Most writers on this subject succumb to the temptation to skew or manipulate the evidence: Richard Trask never does. Mr. Trask does not always flatter my own reporting on the assassination but he is scrupulously, unfailingly fair to me and to everyone else. He has written the definitive book on the subject. Dan Rather, Journalist

His chapter on the Zapruder film is brilliant and riveting. Review from Choice magazine

The magnificent book, Pictures of the Pain by Richard Trask, which I have quoted often in [my] book, was the result of ten years of meticulous research on the photographic history of the assassination. Presented in a coolly objective way, the 638 pages are chock-full of much information and detail Trask unearthed that had never been previously published. The book is an absolutely invaluable reference that has been widely relied upon by the assassination research community.[His book] only has one objective THE TRUTH. Vincent Bugliosi, author of Reclaiming History

[The Trask book is] the finest work in the photographic evidence that has been or will be produced. Harrison E. Livingstone, author of Killing Kennedy and several other books on the subject

A magisterial book. Scrupulously researched, well written, and admirably designed and printed. Anthony Frewin, The Lobster, England

Since 1963, book after book has been churned out on the Kennedy assassination. With few exceptions, these have been works of advocacy. Long after they have been forgotten, the Richard Trask works of true historical scholarship will be remembered. His Pictures of the Pain set a standard for objective scholarship which has made it a leading reference work. Josiah Thompson, pioneering assassination researcher and author of Six Seconds in Dallas

Whether one views the death of JFK as an act of one lone man or the act of a deadly conspiracy, the book holds up admirably either way. Vince Palamara, researcher and author

At the risk of triteness, I would venture to say that Trask puts us there at Elm and Houston ... in an age where sensational journalism, sloppy methodology and outright fakery seem often to replace incisive assassination research, this book is a tough act to follow. Jan R. Stevens, The Fourth Decade

The book will become recognized as one of the seminal reference works on its subject. Brian Woolley, Senior Reporter, The Dallas Morning News and author of November 22

An essential basic book for every researcher on the case ... a masterful job. Martin Shackelford, noted assassination researcher

Some of his observations are very perceptive, others even eloquent. The book is a blessed relief from assassination literature loaded with assumptions stated as fact, polemical diatribes, etc.! Jim Folliard, noted researcher ---- Letters to the Author

[Your book is] the finest work in the photographic evidence that has been or will be produced. Harrison E. Livingstone, author of Killing Kennedy and several other books on the subject
A magisterial book. Scrupulously researched, well written, and admirably designed and printed. Anthony Frewin, The Lobster, England
Since 1963, book after book has been churned out on the Kennedy assassination. With few exceptions, these have been works of advocacy. Long after they have been forgotten, the Richard Trask works of true historical scholarship will be remembered. His Pictures of the Pain set a standard for objective scholarship which has made it a leading reference work. Josiah Thompson, pioneering assassination researcher and author of Six Seconds in Dallas
Whether one views the death of JFK as an act of one lone man or the act of a deadly conspiracy, the book holds up admirably either way. Vince Palamara, researcher and author
At the risk of triteness, I would venture to say that Trask puts us there at Elm and Houston ... in an age where sensational journalism, sloppy methodology and outright fakery seem often to replace incisive assassination research, this book is a tough act to follow. Jan R. Stevens, The Fourth Decade
The book will become recognized as one of the seminal reference works on its subject. Brian Woolley, Senior Reporter, The Dallas Morning News and author of November 22
An essential basic book for every researcher on the case ... a masterful job. -Martin Shackelford, noted assassination researcher
Some of his observations are very perceptive, others even eloquent. The book is a blessed relief from assassination literature loaded with assumptions stated as fact, polemical diatribes, etc.! Jim Folliard, noted researcher --Letters to the author

About this edition

• Publisher: Yeoman Press
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0963859501
• ISBN 13: 9780963859501
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 638