American Gunfight: The Plot to Kill Harry Truman--and the Shoot-out that Stopped ItSimon and Schuster, 02/11/2005 - 320 من الصفحات A fast-paced, definitive, and breathtakingly suspenseful account of an extraordinary historical event—the attempted assassination of President Harry Truman in 1950 by two Puerto Rican Nationalists and the bloody shoot-out in the streets of Washington, DC, that saved the president's life. Written by Pulitzer Prize-winner and New York Times bestselling novelist Stephen Hunter, and John Bainbridge, Jr., an experienced journalist and lawyer, American Gunfight is at once a groundbreaking work of meticulous historical research and the vivid and dramatically told story of an act of terrorism that almost succeeded. They have pieced together, at last, the story of the conspiracy that nearly doomed the president and how a few good men—ordinary guys who were willing to risk their lives in the line of duty—stopped it. It begins on November 1, 1950, an unseasonably hot afternoon in the sleepy capital. At 2:00 P.M. in his temporary residence at Blair House, the president of the United States takes a nap. At 2:20 P.M., two men approach Blair House from different directions. Oscar Collazo, a respected metal polisher and family man, and Griselio Torresola, an unemployed salesman, don’t look dangerous, not in their new suits and hats, not in their calm, purposeful demeanor, not in their slow, unexcited approach. What the three White House policemen and one Secret Service agent cannot guess is that under each man's coat is a 9mm automatic pistol and in each head, a dream of assassin's glory. At point-blank range, Collazo and then Torresola draw and fire and move toward the president of the United States. Hunter and Bainbridge tell the story of that November day with narrative power and careful attention to detail. They are the first to report on the inner workings of this conspiracy; they examine the forces that led the perpetrators to conceive the plot. The authors also tell the story of the men themselves, from their youth and the worlds in which they grew up to the women they loved and who loved them to the moment the gunfire erupted. Their telling commemorates heroism—the quiet commitment to duty that in some moments of crisis sees some people through an ordeal, even at the expense of their lives. |
من داخل الكتاب
النتائج 1-5 من 54
الصفحة ix
... Trial 289 45 Deep Conspiracy 298 46 Cressie Does Her Duty 308 47 Oscar Speaks 310 48 --R-I-- 317 Epilogue: Destinies 323 Source Notes 327 Bibliography 339 Acknowledgments 349 Index 355 “. . . I found the greatest difficulty . . Contents ix.
... Trial 289 45 Deep Conspiracy 298 46 Cressie Does Her Duty 308 47 Oscar Speaks 310 48 --R-I-- 317 Epilogue: Destinies 323 Source Notes 327 Bibliography 339 Acknowledgments 349 Index 355 “. . . I found the greatest difficulty . . Contents ix.
الصفحة 5
... duty followed hard, and regrets that never pass. But let's begin—arbitrarily, to be sure—at 3:18 P.M., September 23, 1950, in Washington. On that day at that time, a father and a daughter slipped out the back door of their Federal-style ...
... duty followed hard, and regrets that never pass. But let's begin—arbitrarily, to be sure—at 3:18 P.M., September 23, 1950, in Washington. On that day at that time, a father and a daughter slipped out the back door of their Federal-style ...
الصفحة 33
... duty, the taking of notes, the collecting of cartridge casings, the official photography, the identification of the dead, the application of first aid to the wounded. The Nationalists' car, right-hand door open, is parked in the ...
... duty, the taking of notes, the collecting of cartridge casings, the official photography, the identification of the dead, the application of first aid to the wounded. The Nationalists' car, right-hand door open, is parked in the ...
الصفحة 36
... duties. What now? There was nobody to turn to, no leader available, all contacts with the island were cut off. By Don Pedro's edict, he was the leader. He had to decide. But on what basis? There was no news. And on that day, as the FBI ...
... duties. What now? There was nobody to turn to, no leader available, all contacts with the island were cut off. By Don Pedro's edict, he was the leader. He had to decide. But on what basis? There was no news. And on that day, as the FBI ...
الصفحة 37
... duties. It was later testified that Griselio went to someone who had been active in running guns to Puerto Rico for the movement. But why was that necessary? They were again standing on the Willis Avenue Bridge, between the Bronx and ...
... duties. It was later testified that Griselio went to someone who had been active in running guns to Puerto Rico for the movement. But why was that necessary? They were again standing on the Willis Avenue Bridge, between the Bronx and ...
المحتوى
3 | |
5 | |
12 | |
18 | |
36 | |
40 | |
6 Early Morning | 50 |
7 Baby Starches the Shirts | 54 |
28 Oscar Goes Down | 200 |
29 The Second Assault | 203 |
30 Pimienta | 206 |
31 PointBlank | 223 |
32 The Man Who Loved Guns | 228 |
33 The Dark Visitors | 236 |
34 Mortal Danger | 240 |
35 The Neighbor | 243 |
8 Toad | 62 |
9 The New Guy | 74 |
10 The Buick Guy | 83 |
11 The Guns | 86 |
12 The Ceremony | 100 |
13 Indian Summer | 104 |
14 The Big Walk | 109 |
15 Oscar | 113 |
16 It Did Not Go Off | 128 |
17 Pappy | 133 |
18 The Next Ten Seconds | 138 |
19 Resurrection Man | 141 |
20 So Loud So Fast | 152 |
21 Upstairs at Blair | 156 |
22 Downstairs at Blair | 161 |
23 Borinquen | 167 |
24 Oscar Alone | 181 |
25 The Ends Run | 184 |
26 Good Hands | 186 |
27 The Colossus Rhoads | 194 |
36 American Gunfight | 244 |
37 The Good Samaritan | 252 |
38 The Policemens Wives | 258 |
39 The Scene | 260 |
40 Inside the Soccer Shoe | 267 |
41 Who Shot Oscar? | 273 |
42 The Roundup | 278 |
43 Taps | 286 |
44 Oscar on Trial | 289 |
45 Deep Conspiracy | 298 |
46 Cressie Does Her Duty | 308 |
47 Oscar Speaks | 310 |
48 R I | 317 |
Destinies | 323 |
Source Notes | 327 |
Bibliography | 339 |
Acknowledgments | 349 |
Index | 355 |
طبعات أخرى - عرض جميع المقتطفات
عبارات ومصطلحات مألوفة
American arrived assassination Avenue baby Blair House Blanca Blanca Canales bullet called Carmen cartridge Coffelt Cressie daughter didn’t Dilia Don Pedro Donald Birdzell door duty Elio father feet fight figure finally find fingers fire fired firing first five flag flat floor Floyd Boring Griselio Torresola guardhouse gunfight happened Harry Truman Heriberto interviews Janie Jayuya Joe Davidson kill knew later Lebrón Leslie Coffelt living looked loved Luger moved Muñoz Marín Nationalist Party never November office official Oscar Collazo Pedro Albizu Campos Pennsylvania pistol police officer political Ponce president Puerto Rico pulled reload revolver Rhoads Rican San Juan Secret Service Secret Service agents shooting shot Stout street target there’s thing tion Toad took trigger turned United Vince Mroz walked Washington White House White House Police wife window wounded York young Zoraida
مقاطع مشهورة
الصفحة xi - ... the real thing, the sequence of motion and fact which made the emotion and which would be as valid in a year or in ten years or, with luck and if you stated it purely enough, always, was beyond me and I was working very hard to try to get it.
الصفحة 171 - This is not a war of devastation, but one to give all within the control of its military and naval forces the advantages and blessings of enlightened civilization.
الصفحة 7 - We can and we will prevent espionage, sabotage, or other actions endangering our national security. But we would betray our finest traditions if we attempted, as this bill would attempt, to curb the simple expression of opinion. This we should never do, no matter how distasteful the opinion may be to the vast majority of our people. The course proposed by this bill would delight the Communists, for it would make a mockery of the Bill of Rights and of our claims to stand for freedom in the world.
الصفحة 6 - Some day I hope to meet you. When that happens you'll need a new nose, a lot of beefsteak for black eyes, and perhaps a supporter below!
الصفحة 167 - ... building. Everybody picked up the beat and it seemed a crazy, good idea. If everybody took turns beating on the radiators, everybody could keep warm from the exercise. We drank hot cocoa and talked about summertime. Momma talked about Puerto Rico and how great it was, and how she'd like to go back one day, and how it was warm all the time there and no matter how poor you were over there, you could always live on green bananas, bacalao, and rice and beans. "Dios mio, " she said, "I don't think...
الصفحة 102 - Medal with* one Gold Star, the American Defense Service Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal 'with three bronze stars, the World War II Victory Medal, the National Defense Service Medal with one bronze star, the Korean Service Medal.
الصفحة 11 - You know I have a valet, four ushers, five butlers, seven or eight secretaries, a dozen or so executive assistants, an assistant president — three of 'em in fact — and I can't open a door, get my hat, pull out my chair at the table, hang up my coat or do anything else for myself— even take a bath! I won't be worth a damn when I come out of here — if I ever do.
الصفحة 101 - Colonel Chambers (then Lieutenant Colonel) landed immediately after the initial assault waves of his battalion on D-day to find the momentum of the assault threatened by heavy casualties from withering Japanese artillery, mortar, rocket, machinegun, and rifle fire. Exposed to relentless hostile fire, he coolly reorganized his battle-weary men, inspiring them to heroic efforts by his own valor and leading them in an attack on the critical, impregnable high ground from which the enemy was pouring an...
الصفحة 7 - I return herewith, without my approval, HR 9490, the proposed "Internal Security Act of 1950." I am taking this action only after the most serious study and reflection and after consultation with the security and intelligence agencies of the Government. The Department of Justice, the Department of Defense, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the Department of State have all advised me that the bill would seriously damage the security and intelligence operations for which they are responsible.
الصفحة 41 - Dying and killing seem easy when they are part of a ritual, ceremonial, dramatic performance or game. There is need for some kind of make-believe in order to face death unflinchingly. To our real, naked selves there is not a thing on earth or in heaven worth dying for. It is only when we see ourselves as actors in a staged (and therefore unreal) performance that death loses its frightfulness and finality and becomes an act of make-believe and a theatrical gesture.