Pictures of the Pain: Photography and the Assassination of President Kennedy

This major work displays the history of the photography of the President John F. Kennedy assassination. Written by historian and archivist Richard B. Trask, the book is the result of 10 years' research. The volume's 638 pages and over 360 illustrations, many never before published, reveal in detail the November 22, 1963, assassination in Dallas, Texas, as recorded by numerous photographers who were present in Dealey Plaza at the time of the shooting.

These on-scene photographers included professional photojournalists and rank amateurs who captured on film in a form truer than any person's memory, relevant and dramatic slices of the reality of the event.

This Point-In-Time history combines photographic sources, numerous revealing, first-time interviews and a wealth of primary source documentation, including many Freedom of Information Act requests, which display from a multi-perspective view how this event was personally experienced by these picture-takers and others. The narration gathers multiple strands of information which, when woven together, create a broad tapestry of truths and perspectives never before revealed concerning one of the most shocking events of the 20th century.

Also examined is the story of how these images, including the famous Zapruder film, were used, and sometimes abused, by the news media and government investigations, as well as by assassination critics who distrusted the government's conclusions in the case. The beliefs of a number of researchers who have discovered assassins within some of these images are also examined.

This is a limited, acid-free, sewn, hard-cover edition of 638 pages divided into 26 chapters and includes over 360 photographs, maps, diagrams and drawings, and is footnoted throughout. Included are notes, various appendices, a bibliography and index.