Thom Hartmann

Ultimate Sacrifice

John and Robert Kennedy, the Plan for a Coup in Cuba, and the Murder of JFK

A landmark in historical research, tying the Mafia and Cuba to the assassination of JFK—updated to reveal the role of Cuban Commander Juan Almeida.

Recent revelations by the U.S. government point to Cuba’s former number three official—Commander Juan Almeida—as secretly working with President John F. Kennedy in November 1963 to overthrow Fidel Castro. This updated edition of Ultimate Sacrifice tells the full story for the first time—complete with new photos and documents. The authors obtained the story from almost two dozen associates of John and Robert Kennedy, starting in 1990 with JFK’s Secretary of State Dean Rusk. Their accounts are supported by thousands of newly released files at the National Archives.

A “palace coup,” set for December 1, 1963, was to be backed up by U.S. forces “invited” in by Commander Almeida, then Chief of the Cuban Army. However, three Mafia bosses being targeted by Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy used several CIA assets to infiltrate the secret plot and murder JFK. The new edition explains why Almeida was not a double agent, why Fidel suspected Almeida’s ally Che Guevara, and what Fidel did in 1990 when he finally found out about Almeida’s work for JFK.

“How well do the authors make their case? With a relentless accumulation of detail, a very thorough knowledge of every political and forensic detail and the broad perspective of historians rather than assassination theorists.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“At last, the mysteries surrounding JFK’s death are fully explained by the startling revelations in this book.” —William W. Turner, former FBI agent and author of Deadly Secrets

Legacy of Secrecy

The Long Shadow of the JFK Assassination

This painstakingly researched follow up to Ultimate Sacrifice draws on “explosive new material” from the National Archives to piece together the puzzle of JFK’s assassination (Vanity Fair).

“A riveting take on the assassination itself and the devastating results of government secrets.” —Publishers Weekly

John F. Kennedy’s assassination launched a frantic search to find his killers. It also launched a flurry of covert actions by Lyndon Johnson, Robert F. Kennedy, and other top officials to hide the fact that in November 1963, the United States was on the brink of invading Cuba as part of a JFK–authorized coup. The coup plan’s exposure could have led to a nuclear confrontation with Russia, but the cover–up prevented a full investigation into Kennedy’s assassination, a legacy of secrecy that would impact American politics and foreign policy for the next forty–five years. It also allowed two men who confessed their roles in JFK’s murder to be involved in the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King in 1968. Exclusive interviews and newly declassified files from the National Archives document in chilling detail how three mob bosses were able to prevent the truth from coming to light until now.

This trade paperback edition is updated with dramatic new revelations, has three new chapters, an expanded photo-document section, and updated text throughout, including the completed story of how three powerful Mafia bosses used John and Robert Kennedy's top–secret plan of staging a coup against Fidel Castro to murder JFK.