Editorial Reviews:
Imbued with rugged individualism and fierce independence by his youth on the Kansas plains, Arlen Specter became a renowned big-city prosecutor and then a respected, powerful US. senator. His remarkable forty-year career has encompassed such milestones as originating the Single Bullet Conclusion for the Warren Commission, derailing Judge Robert Bork's Supreme Court nomination, interrogating Anita Hill, and playing an important role in President Clinton's impeachment proceedings.In this brutally honest book, Senator Specter analyzes these and other controversies, assessing each through both a legal and a historical lens. Throughout, he tells the truth, naming names identifying where the system worked and where it failed -- and even admitting to his own mistakes. Arlen Specter brings all these events to life, taking the reader into the courtroom, the cloakroom, and the Senate Chamber, and offers a clear and honest vision for reforming the way Main Street and Wall Street are governed.
Few people have been as involved in the major political investigations of the last 40 years as Senator Arlen Specter, the independent and tenacious Republican from Pennsylvania. With the help of his former press secretary Charles Robbins, Specter tells all, beginning with his prosecution of the Philadelphia Teamsters during Robert Kennedy's anticorruption investigations and ending with his role in President Clinton's impeachment proceedings. Specter is perhaps best known for his controversial opinions. As a member of the Warren Commission, he authored the Single Bullet Theory, which supported the charge that JFK was assassinated by a lone gunman. And as Anita Hill's Senate questioner, he declared that Clarence Thomas's accuser had committed "flat-out perjury." But his book presents a picture of an evenhanded man who has merely acted according to his belief that the nation's "political and social health ... rests on government's doggedly following facts to find truth and then acting on that truth to create public policy." In fact, his purpose in publishing the behind-the-scenes activities of the Warren Commission, Robert Bork's Supreme Court nomination, the Ruby Ridge investigation, the Thomas-Hill proceedings, and the presidential impeachment, is to restore the public's faith in government and end conspiracy theories born of incomplete facts. "Had congressional oversight on Waco been as effective as it was on Ruby Ridge," he writes, "the militia movement would have been less motivated to mobilize. It is even conceivable the Oklahoma City bombing could have been avoided." This is not a self-glorifying tale, nor remotely boring. Like the best of books, it opens with a bang: the dramatic re-creation of a little-remembered event--the day General Patton, at the behest of President Hoover, turned his guns on WWI veterans demonstrating for their promised bonus. This was an eye-opening event for Specter, whose family desperately needed the money. Since then, his mission has been to "push government to treat its citizens justly" and to demand the truth. To that end, he sifts the evidence surrounding each controversial event and searches for the lessons to be learned. He makes no demons or heroes out of the actors in these true-life dramas (in fact, he genuinely seems to like most everybody on either side of the aisle). He even acknowledges the ignorance of the "group of aging white males" in the Senate Judiciary Committee (including himself), who, in confronting Anita Hill's allegations, "didn't understand the explosive nature of the [sexual harassment] issue." He writes, "I had not known how painful it was for women who were watching the questioning, so many of whom had been victims of sexual harassment and saw themselves, almost through transference, in Hill's position." While Specter admits his mistakes, he offers no apologies, for it's not forgiveness he holds faith in, but the undying belief that "trust is the glue that holds a democracy together." --Lesley Reed
Customer Reviews:
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 Still Vital and Relevant
Well, it's probably the ultimate in Washington narcissism to review your own work, but it seemed important to note for the record - now six years after initial publication - that Passion for Truth remains vital and relevant. Just last week, The New Yorker magazine quoted and cited the book extensively in a major piece on Sen. Specter, who now chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee. The book, alas, would have drawn far more initial attention if it had come out after the Senator took his larger role on the national stage. But it's still all there, and just as important and insightful.  The Single-Bullet Theory Is As Logical And True Today As It Was In 1963-1964 .... And Everyone Should Know Why
Virtually all conspiracy theorists who are of the opinion that President John F. Kennedy met his violent death on November 22, 1963, as the result of an evil, elaborate plot orchestrated and carried out by _________ (the roster of potential assassins and conspirators is nearly endless to use in this blank space), are also of the opinion that Mr. Arlen Specter and the Warren Commission he worked for in the year 1964 were all wet and/or full of stinky fecal matter when it comes to the three words that have sparked debate the world over since the President's assassination -- the "Single-Bullet Theory".
But if CTers could shake loose the forever-strangling "All Evidence In The JFK Case Must Have Been Faked And/Or Tampered With" albatross that hangs around their necks, they could easily see that any theory that needs to be substituted for the Single-Bullet Conclusion lacks all credibility and can easily be shot full of holes via "common sense" alone.
Forgive the heavy dose of sarcasm that follows, but I think it is appropriate given the subject matter. .... I've put on my Arlen Specter hat when writing the comments below, which are comments that serve as a "faux notebook" of Mr. Specter's in a sense, as Arlen tries to figure out what the devil really occurred on Elm Street in Dallas, Texas, on 11/22/63. (And for the sake of my imaginary "Specter Notes", the dreaded "SBT" is NOT to be considered as an option for even a brief moment.)
I can just hear Mr. Specter now, as he attempts to explain the simultaneous wounding of JFK and Governor John B. Connally in a "Non-SBT" manner -- which, of course, would be in a manner that needs to reconcile an incredible THREE-SHOTS-LOOK-LIKE-ONE shooting that the Houdini-like riflemen seemingly pulled off in Dealey Plaza.
In such a make-believe scenario, Arlen's notebook just might be filled with comments like this (as of early September 1964, just before the Commission hands over its Final Report to President Johnson):
"We here at the Warren Commission have come to the conclusion that President Kennedy and Governor Connally were struck by three separate bullets (not counting the JFK head shot). These three bullets all disappeared...somehow...without a single one being recovered and placed into evidence.
"Re. the subject of bullets -- The Commission discounts Bullet #CE399 as being connected to the actual shooting in any fashion whatsoever....because we've been told by people with far greater minds and resources than that which the Commission possesses that Bullet 399 was "planted" in Parkland Hospital by some unknown conspirator in order to mislead the investigators and in order to falsely implicate one Lee Harvey Oswald in the President's demise.
"Therefore, the Commission has no choice but to accept this rumor of bullet-planting as being an ironclad, undeniable "fact"....even though the Commission has no solid, verifiable evidence to back up such allegations of evidence tampering. But, I'm obliged to go with the flow and just assume that said bullet was a plant. Oh, well. So be it.
"We at the Commission are at a loss to explain where all of these three missing projectiles vanished to. But I guess we'll just have to assume that they all just magically evaporated into a puff of smoke just after the THREE (unknown and unseen) separate gunmen squeezed off these rounds into the two victims.
"We at the Commission are also at a loss to explain just HOW the bullet which entered Mr. Connally's back created a keyhole-shaped, elongated entry wound without having hit President Kennedy (or some solid object) first. But, we'll just have to assume, I guess, that the bullet started tumbling in mid-air after having hit nothing but Dallas, Texas, atmosphere between the rifleman's weapon and the Governor's back.
"Also...we at the WC are somewhat stumped as to WHY two separate bullets completely stopped after striking JFK's neck and back, with neither bullet causing an exit wound after entering, and with neither of these two bullets striking any hard or bony substances within the President's body. Another obligatory "Oh, well" is needed here it would appear. (Along with a vigorous shrugging of the shoulders, signifying complete and utter bewilderment re. this matter, a matter that all CTers think is totally unimportant and, therefore, doesn't mean a darn thing.)
"The rest of the WC staff and I are also unable to explain the fact that the autopsy report (signed by three doctors) unambiguously determined that the bullet which struck JFK in his upper back positively emerged from the front of his neck and then went .... well .... where the hell did it go? It must have gone someplace. But I've been told by CTers that I can't rely on a "Single-Bullet Conclusion"; so the answer must rest elsewhere.
"And we know the bullet did not do any damage to the interior of the limousine, because the FBI's Bob Frazier testified to that fact during our interview with him. (Note -- Check on Mr. Robert A. Frazier's credibility...he may be "in" on the "cover-up" too, just like hundreds of others like him, who are bent on keeping the truth of JFK's death a secret no matter what.)
"Oh well, we'll just leave this additional little problem to greater minds than the WC's in future generations. For right now, I'll just pretend this snafu re. the autopsy report (saying that a bullet exited JFK's throat) doesn't exist at all.
"We at the WC are also a little puzzled as to HOW in the world Governor Connally was struck by a separate shot in the back, even though he was seated directly in front of JFK in the car. Given the bullet's entry point on Mr. Connally's back and its downward and slightly right-to-left course through JBC's body, it would seem to us at the Commission that this bullet would have probably had to have passed through someone sitting behind the Governor prior to striking Mr. Connally. But, CTers have told us that this one-bullet scenario must be impossible...so I guess we'll have to think of a non-SBT way for this bullet to get to Connally by not travelling through the man sitting behind JBC. Oh well...we'll try another theory I guess.
"Another "WC Stumper" for us dumbbells in Washington is the amazing "lining up" of the three wounds on the two victims -- with the back wounds on JFK and JBC, plus the wound on the front of JFK's neck, seemingly lining up pretty doggone close to being at an approx. 17-degree downward angle through the men, which is, as it turns out by gosh, an angle that leads back to a 6th-Floor window in a building where a certain rifle with the serial number "C2766" was found at 1:22 PM on November 22 (just 52 minutes after JFK & JBC were shot by these {at least} three separate gunmen in Dealey Plaza). Oh well, just a pure coincidence I guess. I'll mark it down as such a coincidence...but I want these incredible shooters/marksmen on MY side in the next war, by golly, I'll tell ya that right now!
"We at the Commission, after looking long and hard at the Abraham Zapruder home movie of the assassination, are also a tad bit perplexed at just exactly HOW these THREE SEPARATE (ace) shooters in Dallas were able to fire their respective weapons in perfect, or near-perfect, synchronization from their three separate locations within Dealey Plaza so to have struck the two victims with these three shots/bullets at a point in time (per the Zapruder home movie) to make it appear that both men were struck initially by bullets at an identical point in time.
"Note -- Maybe the Zapruder film has been "altered" in some manner....consult a certain "Mr. Fetzer" for further info on this possibility; because, sans "alteration" of said motion picture and sans a whole bunch of people running around covering up the real evidence, it looks to the Commission as if this 3-bullet scenario is a real turd of an idea.
"The WC is also in a quandary over the NAA analysis, which concluded that the Connally wrist fragments "most likely" came from bullet CE399 found at Parkland. But, if the WC is to believe the words of valid and bona fide CT researchers who have studied this case long and hard, then CE399, as I discussed earlier, was "planted" by evil henchmen in the hospital.
"Note -- Figure out a way to make myself believe that there was ANY way on this Earth that some crazy, suicidal conspirator(s) would have had a desire to risk blowing the conspiracy plot wide open by planting a bullet on a Parkland stretcher before 2:00 PM (CST) on 11/22/63, a time when Governor Connally was still in the operating room and, hence, no "plotters" had the slightest friggin' idea where all the "real" bullets connected with the assassination were located. Then...call Vince Bugliosi in Minnesota or L.A. -- I need to talk to someone with a grip on reality here."*
* = Paraphrased 1964 transcript of Arlen Specter's probable notes re. an SBT alternative. Exact verbiage may vary from any real-life notes of Mr. Specter's....but, rest assured, whatever the final verbatim version of such a notebook would have looked like, the end result would have been undoubtedly just as laughable and impossibly ridiculous.
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The Single-Bullet Theory is so obviously the most logical (and almost certainly correct) version of the wounding of both JFK and John Connally....and for so many different and interconnected reasons (most of which are outlined in tongue-in-cheek style above).
Even the "evidence" which ISN'T present in the JFK murder case (but SHOULD definitely be in existence if the SBT is a false scenario) is telling us that the Commission's single-bullet conclusion almost HAS to be accurate -- e.g., no bullets found in the victims; no other bullets in evidence except CE399; no damage to the limo's back-seat areas; plus: virtually no damage done to the interior portions of JFK's upper back and neck (i.e., no broken bones and no hard, bony structures being struck by either of the TWO projectiles that CTers believe entered these regions of the President's body and failed to exit).
The total absence of injuries within Kennedy's neck and back is enough all by itself to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that just a single bullet made a clean getaway through JFK's body...without pausing to do any substantial damage whatsoever.
It's always been amazing to me that so many people who bash Mr. Specter and the SBT can then seemingly believe in some "alternate" scenario that is far more fanciful and full of implausibilities and complications and vanishing bullets than is the Single-Bullet Conclusion. (And there MUST be a "correct alternate theory" if the SBT is untrue; so what the heck is it?! Conspiracists never say, of course.)
In short, those who disbelieve the SBT are, by default, automatically choosing to believe some OTHER theory re. the wounding of President Kennedy and Governor Connally. And ANY alternate theory in this matter falls way, way short in the common-sense and realistic departments (not to mention in the "physical evidence" category as well).
Only an outright fool could believe in an "alternate" theory to the SBT. Let's face it, the shooting DID occur -- these two men WERE injured on November 22nd in Dallas -- and somebody WAS shooting at them.
And I shall ask again -- Lacking the SBT, what is the correct shooting scenario to account for the seven wounds sustained by JFK and JBC? No CTer ever wants to tackle that perfectly-valid question. Which says a lot, IMO; because no conspiracy theorist can answer that question without making a total goof out of himself.
But even if one day in the year 2099 (when some brave CTer decides to put forth an alternate theory that he/she thinks debunks the SBT once and for all), one thing's still a certainty: No other theory postulated could possibly match the EVIDENCE and, above all, the COMMON SENSE that the SBT matches and possesses.
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"You call it the {Single-Bullet} theory; I call it the 'conclusion'; it was a theory until we found the facts; that's why I refer to it as the 'Single-Bullet Conclusion'." -- Arlen Specter  A passion for Truth?
Just one question/comment.
If Specter has such a "Passion for Truth", why did he knowingly B.S. us with his disgraceful "magic bullet theory"?
He KNEW that Kennedy had a wound in his BACK, yet said it was in his "neck".
If Specter doesnt know a man's back from a man's neck, can we believe that he has any talent for recognizing and telling the "truth"?
After all, Specter helped Ira Einhorn,( a man who killed a woman and left her decaying body in a chest in his apartment) to escape the law....until the law caught up with him (Einhorn).
How funny, (in an unfunny way), that the man who created THE biggest political lie in history (the magic bullet theory), named his book "a passion for TRUTH".
If the title "Passion for truth" and the name "Arlen Specter" arent an oxymoron, I dont know what is.
Mr Specter, "truth" is in the eye of the beholder. And when you worked for the Warren Commission, contact lenses woud have served you well. I mean no disrespect, sir.
I WILL give credit to Mr Specter for being one of the more compassionate Senators, when it comes to protecting the welfare of Animals. For that, I thank Him. And I commend him.
He has done good in that area. Thank you Sir.
God Bless You for caring about Animals. I thank you on their behalf.
 I agree with Senator Spector 81-89.5% of the time ...
I really enjoyed this book ... it was really worth the read ... Arlen the Truthseeker
As a law school grad, political junkie and resident of a Philly suburb, I have watched Arlen Specter with great interest over the years. There was always something intriguing about him, something more that he had as compared to the typical political hack. One would wait for his turn as the questioner in senate hearings. Why? For me, it was to watch a superior intellect at work. Specter is, it seems to me, often ill at ease when playing the politician in public, and far more at home as the truth seeker.
His book is similar. Anyone looking for a Senate veterans personal view of his colleagues or a political manifesto will not find it. What they will find is a bit like Specter himself, a little awkward in personality, but far beyond most in his ability to keep put the political from clouding the facts and evidence. His book shows how this ability, and willingness to seek the truth has at times placed him in the position of being both useful and frustrating to those in his own party with far more strident agendas, but vilified by those who in other camps who "never let the facts get in the way of a good argument".
This book is worth reading if for no other reason than to see the Clarence Thomas hearings and Anita Hill's questioning from Specters' vantage point.
I did feel the treatment of the Clinton Impeachment was disappointing, as I was hoping for a more insightful legal analysis from a former DA and long time Senator. His habit of claiming credit for a host of little occurences seemed disingenuous, but not unlike Arlen in person. I guess one could argue that he was more taking responsibility than taking credit, but I think not.
Specter is a maverick, and it is clear he holds "the Truth" in high regard. How refreshing! His intellect and independence might be welcome on the Supreme Court one day. More Customer Reviews:
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