The Gunman and His Mother

This “groundbreaking” biography of Lee Harvey Oswald’s formative years “provides new insight into the character of the man who murdered a president” (Michael Takiff, author of A Complicated Man and Brave Men, Gentle Heroes).

The narrative of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy has been told from many points of view, most significantly in the wave of books exploring the Warren Commission’s findings and the conspiracy theories that followed. But for journalist Steven Beschloss, the story of Lee Harvey Oswald began with the troubled bond he had with his mother.

Drawing on public records, key interviews with Marguerite Oswald and other family members, and Lee’s own writing and statements, Beschloss traces the origins of an American tragedy back to the lonely boy who couldn’t find a way to belong and the unstable mother with a grudge against the world. Often left to his own devices, young Oswald read heavily, skipped school, and hatched plans to make his mark on the world. The Gunman and His Mother reveals the complex parental relationship that turned a boy into a killer responsible for a crime that changed American history.

This updated edition, published in time for the sixtieth anniversary of JFK’s assassination, includes material from never-before-seen files containing Marguerite Oswald’s personal writings, as well as a series of lawsuits Marguerite brought against various people, including Jimmy Breslin, William Manchester, and Gerald Ford. Not only do these documents complete the portrait of Lee’s mother, but given her attacks on the media, conspiratorial mindset, and her sense of grievance, their inclusion sheds new light on our current political climate.

“Haunting and compelling . . . reads like a Greek tragedy.” —Ralph Pezzullo, author of Jawbreaker and Inside SEAL Team Six