Harrison Edward Livingstone tribute (several posts from 2015)
Harrison Livingstone with Robert Groden
Harrison “Harry” Edward Livingstone, who passed away in February 2015, was an eccentric, prolific, talented, paranoid and tireless author of many books, including quite a few on the JFK assassination:
1) HIGH TREASON with Robert Groden (1989)- for all intents and purposes (other than John Davis’ “Mafia Kingfish”), THE book that started my obsession on the JFK murder and the Secret Service. Warts and all (yes, it is a little dated now in places), this two-time NY Times best-seller is a seminal book on the case (I am mentioned in the 1998 and 2006 versions of this book)…
I mailed Livingstone a letter (actually, it was primarily meant for his co-author Groden at Conservatory Press, but Livingstone intercepted it and replied) in February 1991and he promptly wrote back and included this memorable line: “Unless you have something original to offer, don’t bother. You’ll just run yourself into the ground.” Wise and cutting words, indeed, and inspiring, as well- I scrapped my original secondary-source laden manuscript FOR NATIONAL SECURITY and started to focus like a laser beam on the actions and inactions of the Secret Service, inspired in part by the modest chapter in Harry’s book (thanks, Harry). I subsequently met Harry in person at the Third Decade conference in Fredonia, NY in June 1991-my coming out party, so to speak, as a researcher-and I began to work on primary research and helping Harry when I could, including a memorable two-day jaunt (11/22-11/23/91) to a nearby Pittsburgh suburb to film Bethesda x-ray tech Jerrol Custer (and Tom Wilson) for what would become Harry’s second book (Harry thanked me in the book [the very first book I ever appeared in]):
2) HIGH TREASON 2 (1992)- another NY Times best-seller, thanks in large part to the hooplah over the Oliver Stone film (to which Harry had a chapter and was an ardent critic) “JFK”. In my opinion, this is Harry’s crowning achievement; excellent stuff on the medical evidence, in particular…then things got “harry” (pardon the pun)- I helped Harry once again in 1992 (going to Ohio to interview Steve Barber) for what would turn out to be his most controversial work:
3) KILLING THE TRUTH (1993)- this book, while having some important information in spots, greatly alienated the critical community towards Harry (and vice versa) due in large part to Harry’s criticism of several sacred cows in the community (I am mentioned in this one, as well);
4) KILLING KENNEDY (1995)- NOT to be confused with the later Bill O’Reilly junk with the same title, this was a somewhat mixed bag of a book (I am mentioned in this one, too);
5) THE RADICAL RIGHT AND THE MURDER OF JOHN F. KENNEDY (2006)- Harry’s best book (and last good one) since HIGHT TREASON 2 (yes, I am mentioned in this one). A good synthesis of what was good about his prior works, along with a few new items and surprises;
AND THE REST-
6) THE HOAX OF THE CENTURY (2004)- Z-FILM-IS-ALTERED ‘stuff’;
7) PANJANDRUM (2013)- JFK X-RAY faulty expose
8) KALEIDOSCOPE (2012)- a too critical attack on Doug Horne
CONTRIBUTED TO-
9) TEXAS IN THE MORNING by Madelaine Brown
10) FROM AN OFFICE BUILDING WITH A HIGH-POWERED RIFLE by Don Adams
Not to mention many other non-JFK novels and books of interest.
Harry inspired me greatly and started my path into PRIMARY, ORIGINAL research and thinking AND being my own person in the community, even if that meant being a “loner” at times within it.
I will remember the good times and miss him. Not everyone will, for he alienated some (a lot?)…but I will always be grateful.
Thanks, Harry. RIP. I hope you get to talk to JFK now- you idolized him so.
Kennedy assassination is author’s life’s work
By DENNIS TAYLOR Herald Staff Writermontereyherald.com
Posted: 05/06/2012 09:14:46 PM PDT
May 7, 2012 4:15 AM GMTUpdated: 05/06/2012 09:14:47 PM PDT
Click photo to enlarge
John Kennedys murder is a major part of my lifes work, says… (VERN FISHER/Associated Press)
- His life has been a long, strange ride, and an unpleasant one at times — a price that has been paid by serious writers throughout history.
Harrison Livingstone, 75, who ranks among the world’s most prolific investigative authors on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, has been a serious writer for most of his life. An early work, “David Johnson Passed Through Here,” was hailed as a ground-breaking novel about child abuse. Like many of his published books — more than two dozen now — “David Johnson” is at least partially autobiographical. Livingstone described his mother in print as a “violent and hysterical” woman with whom he “never had a two-way conversation.”
“Terrible things happened when I was a kid,” he said, “but a part of you rises above it.”
His first name is an homage to a branch of his family tree that sprang from William Henry Harrison, the ninth president of the United States.
Livingstone’s aunt married a billionaire who co-founded the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. He said he was written out of the will when he opted to live as a writer, rather than commit to the family business.
His father was a World War I hero with the Army’s Rainbow Division, hauling soldiers, alive and dead, off the battlefield at the river Marne.
“I was very proud of my father, even if he died (in 1985) thinking I was a failure,” Livingstone said. “I vowed not to fail, no matter what, and I became an obsessed
workaholic for the next 24 years.”
His stepfather was a supervisor in charge of the two FBI agents who observed the autopsy of Kennedy.
Livingstone seized on the opportunities stemming from that connection. He has written 3,400 pages about the assassination of Kennedy and what he is certain is a conspiracy to hide the facts about what really happened in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963.
The truth, said Livingstone, is that four men (none of them Lee Harvey Oswald) fired 13 shots at Kennedy, and some of the fatal bullets struck the president in the front of the head and neck — not the just the back, as the Warren Commission Report said.
Livingstone said Kennedy’s murder was orchestrated in part by FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, partly for the benefit of wealthy Texas oilmen and others who were heavily invested in the war industry and stood to lose billions if the U.S. withdrew from Vietnam. Vice President Lyndon Johnson, a friend to those barons, was a heartbeat away from solving their problem.
Consumed by Kennedy
Livingstone has written 25 published books, as well as plays, movie scripts, novels and poetry. But Kennedy’s assassination has consumed most of his adult life.
His obsession with the case has spilled into six published volumes (all available at the Monterey Public Library), three of which made the New York Times bestseller list. “High Treason: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy; What Really Happened” and its sequel sold more copies than any other JFK conspiracy books in history.
His 2004 book, “The Hoax of the Century: Decoding the Forgery of the Zapruder Film,” lays out evidence that the home movie of the assassination was drastically doctored before it was shown to the press and public.
Livingstone believes his findings are being validated today by FBI and Secret Service agents who were on duty in Dallas when Kennedy was killed — men now going public with their information.
One of those agents, Clint Hill, famously leaped onto the back of the limousine to protect first lady Jackie Kennedy. Livingstone said Hill’s April 6 NBC interview promoting his own memoir, “Mrs. Kennedy and Me,” corroborated his findings, providing renewed hope that the truth about the president’s murder, and its cover-up, will finally come to light.
For Livingstone, it’s none too soon. He has stage 4 cancer and said doctors are unable to give him a definitive prognosis about his longevity
HARRISON LIVINGSTONE: ALL OF HIS MANY, MANY BOOKS
HARRY LIVINGSTONE 1992
HIGH TREASON (DELL COMMERCIAL PAPERBACK VERSION 1990/1992) MAJOR NY TIMES BEST-SELLER TWICE!
HIGH TREASON (1989) CONSERVATORY PRESS VERSION
HIGH TREASON 2006 VERSION
HIGH TREASON 1998 VERSION
HIGH TREASON 2 (1992/ PAPERBACK 1993): NY TIMES BEST SELLER
KILLING THE TRUTH 1993; PAPERBACK 1994
KILLING KENNEDY (1995)
THE HOAX OF THE CENTURY (2004)
THE RADICAL RIGHT AND THE MURDER OF JOHN F. KENNEDY (2006)
KALIEDOSCOPE (2012)
PANJANDRUM (2013)
WITH OTHERS:
FROM AN OFFICE BUILDING WITH A HIGH-POWERED RIFLE (2012)
TEXAS IN THE MORNING (1997)
NON-JFK WORKS: NOVELS, SCREENPLAYS,ETC.-
(image repeated from above selections): THIS BOOK IS AN AMAZING YET SAD ACCOUNT OF HARRY’S LIFE- RECOMMENDED:
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ESSENTIAL LINKS:
http://spot.acorn.net/jfkplace/09/fp.back_issues/24th_Issue/livingst.html
http://www.montereyherald.com/20120506/kennedy-assassination-is-authors-lifes-work
http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/arrb/index51.htm
http://www.amazon.com/Harrison-Edward-Livingstone/e/B001KCEGCA
http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1992-05-24/news/1992145077_1_high-treason-treason-2-livingstone
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/harrison-livingstone
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3046.Harrison_Edward_Livingstone
HARRY LIVINGSTONE RIP- more information on his last years/days and passing
Pamela Brown wrote on Facebook-
Today I got an email from Bob Oliver, a radio talk show host I did an interview with in 2010 Pamela,
I learned yesterday that Harry died sometime in February here in Monterey. He had a large group of followers and did a tremendous good for all of us. I hope you can spread the news wide. I have notified the media locally and was told that the news was not known by the media sources yet.
…
I thought you might reach Judith for me. I did meet her briefly in San Francisco several years ago at a conference she spoke at.
In January of 2014 I helped Harry move. He was ill then and he was difficult. By June he was placed in a facility. He died in February. I’m helping to locate people that need to know, and get some recognition for his works. From our conversations, I know how instrumental he was in yours and my lives. You may want to write again.
Harrison Edward Livingstone, local Monterey author passed away in a convalescent home in February this year. He was under conservatorship monitored by Carl Powers Monterey County Public Guardian Office. Harry was in contact with Mary Duan prior to his medical disability. There was no mention in either the Herald or Coast Weekly. So far I find no mention on the internet. I only learned of his passing today from Carl Powers.
Harry wrote many historical accounts in his Kennedy Assassination books and over the past ten years was concentrating on what he felt were his more creative years of writing. Some of his writing is about local accounts here and in Big Sur. Harry was a best selling and notable author for his book High Treason and series of Kennedy assassination books with leading investigative finding including the Zapruder film hoax and alterations of the Kennedy autopsy photos. He would however, have like to have been remembered for his more recent books and his love of writing. Those who knew him can easily remember him saying as he would finish one of his books “That book almost killed me”.
