THE MARTYRED PRESIDENTS AND THEIR SUCCESSORS

The connection with President Kennedy's assassination is obvious; the purpose of the book is not. Given the accidental circumstances of each man's death, the very different experiences of their successors, no lesson can be gleaned from studying the successive administrations in each case. As brief biography and more detailed examination of accomplishments and problems in office, this is handicapped by a style which exhibits the repetitious structure, appeals to emotion, and oratorical cliches of a sermon. The flow of the narrative is impeded by a combination of hindsight and foresight: backward glances and visions of the future. And for the intended age group, the quotations seem excessively long and all too frequent. The most original element-- the attempt to rescue Garfield from oblivion--errs somewhat on the side of generosity, and the rest of the book is just another warmed-over serving of familiar ingredients which takes advantage of recent events.