Me & Lee: How I Came to Know, Love and Lose Lee Harvey Oswald [Paperback]

As it happens, I have been privileged to know Judyth Vary Baker for several years now. I have interviewed her at least fifteen times on YouTube and featured her in blogs (which are archived at JamesFetzerNews and [...]). I also initiated a thread about her on The Education Forum, which had thousands of posts and became the longest thread in the history of the forum. I am convinced that she is "the real deal", which is also the name of my radio show, which is archived at [...]. But all fifteen can be found at [...].

I have done extensive research on the death of JFK, including editing ASSASSINATION SCIENCE (1998), MURDER IN DEALEY PLAZA (2000), and THE GREAT ZAPRUDER HOAX (2003). My recent publications on JFK include "JFK and RFK: The Plots that Killed Them, The Patsies that Didn't", "The Dartmouth JFK-Photo Fiasco" with Jim Marrs, and "RFK: Outing the CIA at the Ambassador", which has just appeared. (Just google "John F. Kennedy: History, Memory, Legacy", and download Chapter 30, "Revisiting Dealey Plaza: What Happened to JFK?" for an overview.) I am familiar with the twists and turns of assassination research and of the extent of the effort to keep Judyth's story from the American public, which have even forced her to live in exile.

In my opinion, there are three major reasons for these attempts to silence her. The first is that she humanizes the alleged assassin, which makes it more difficult for the government to continue with its charade that he was "a lone, demented gunman". The second is that it exposes methods and techniques employed by the agency to keep its covert activities in the background and away from public scrutiny. The third is that she exposes research to develop a bio-weapon to murder Fidel Castro and make it appear to have been due to "natural causes" under the direction of Alton Ochsner, M.D., Dr. Mary Sherman, David Ferrie, Lee Oswald, and herself. Lee was working for the very agencies that would ultimately frame him.

This is a gripping and absolutely compelling story told with emotional intensity and stunning candor. We already knew that the weapon he was alleged to have used cannot have fired the bullets that killed JFK. We also knew that he was on the 2nd floor in the lunchroom at the time of the shooting. We also know that he admired JFK and bore him no malice. Which means the man who was fingered by the Warren Commission for murdering JFK had neither the means, the motive, or the opportunity to have killed him. Now we know what was happening during the crucial months that Lee was in New Orleans prior to 22 November 1963 through this book, which brings the character and personality of the man who would be cast as "the patsy" to life.

This book ranks among the very best ever written on the assassination, including BLOODY TREASON by Noel Twyman, JFK AND THE UNSPEAKABLE by James Douglass, INSIDE THE ARRB by Douglas Horne, and LBJ: THE MASTERMIND BEHIND JFK'S ASSASSINATION by Phillip Nelson, most of whom I have also interviewed. (See, for example, [...]) ME & LEE belongs in this illustrious collection. Judyth Vary Baker has demonstrated her courage, integrity, and dedication to the truth and has made a major contribution to understanding the plot to kill our 35th president and has earned our admiration.

Me and Lee tells us a story of a man we have all heard about. But we finally get to meet him.
Judyth Vary Baker recalls her relationship with Lee Harvey Oswald from the time they met in New Orleans in the spring of 1963 until their last phone conversation just two days before events in Dallas identified him to the public.

She introduces him as a "good man" and a "patriot." He helped her get a job, he revealed his secret life as a government agent concerned about protecting President Kennedy and consoled her over the turmoil in her life - a bad marriage, a new city to live in and an unknown future.

This refreshing, new look at Oswald will challenge preconceptions many people have had about him. Many will be willing to at least give her story a chance. And that is all that Baker asks for, as she states in the books final line, "I leave my testimony in your hands."

Those who wish to dismiss what she says will have to contend with several factors, among them: Baker's candor, her depth of detail and verification of much of the story.

Judyth Baker never claims to be a saint. She admits to having an affair with Oswald during a time in which both were married to other people. And she acknowledges she spent time with questionable company, including New Orleans mafia boss Carlos Marcello, on a questionable top-secret project designed to develop cancer cells to be used to poison Fidel Castro.

Even though she was only twenty years old during this time, she makes no excuses and allows herself to be seen in a less-than-sympathetic light at times. Her writing thus shows sincerity about herself.

Baker also gives details of her relationship with Oswald. She recounts phone conversations, places the two went and people they met. Her questioning of Oswald about his actions during this time provide a strong picture of what many have suspected all along: he served as an agent during the Cold War, pretending to be a Communist at times so as to provide cover for other activities.

And she provides in her Appendix many details that confirm her story, such as a portion of a tourist visa for Oswald to visit Mexico, her recounting of an interview with Anna Lewis as a person who knew her and Oswald and her conversations with people such as David Ferrie to provide a conclusion for such questions as why Ruby, a friend of Oswald's, would kill him.

The story of Me and Lee is for anyone who wants to learn more about one of the most misunderstood people in our nation's history. It is a story of a flawed man written by a flawed woman who has dealt with the passage of time in recounting it. Their imperfections do not harm the reading of the story: they make it all the more likely to be true.

I am born and raised in the New Orleans area and still reside there. I was a student at Loyola University in the early sixties and used to see this wierd looking guy with painted eye brows hanging around the campus barber shop. I had always bought the idea that Oswald was a nutcake, lone assassin and Jim Garrison's attempted prosecution of Clay Shaw that I followed closely in the news did little to convince me otherwise. I didn't bother to see the JFK movie because I thought Garrison was a a screw ball. A couple of years ago I heard a radio interview of Ed Haslam and read his "Dr. Mary's Monkey". That's when I realized that the wierdo was David Ferrie and he was a friend of Perry Russo who was in some of my classes. I later read "Mafia Kingfish", "JFK and Sam", and now "Me & Lee". I also viewed the JFK movie. Each of these accounts of what happened supports the theories presented in the others. My lone assassin opinion has now been de-railed.

The author spends more time than necessary in the early chapters convincing us of her knowledge and expertise in cancer research. The story got interesting for me when she arrived in New Orleans. I was in the middle of where all this was happening and didn't know it. I really enjoyed the book.

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