Acclaimed author reveals the 'bizarre story of Lee Harvey Oswald and his mother'

FALLBROOK – Literary nonfiction author Deanne Stillman will be featured at the Feb. 2 Writers Read, a Fallbrook Library monthly series. The reading begins at 6:30 p.m. with open mic, followed by Stillman in conversation with Writers Read host K-B Gressitt.

They will explore the research and creation of Stillman’s newest book, “American Confidential: Uncovering the Bizarre Story of Lee Harvey Oswald and His Mother,” released on the 60th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination.

While dozens of books have examined Kennedy’s murder and his assassin, this is the first deep dive into Oswald’s sad and disturbing relationship with a resentful mother desperate to ride his coattails to the American Dream – and some ready cash.

Stillman’s eloquent examination of Oswald’s origin story reflects her gift for deep research that produces revelations about her subjects. From Oswald’s damaged childhood, crisscrossing the continent; his Marine Corps training at Camp Pendleton; his defection to the Soviet Union, marriage and return; to his final calamitous act, new details reveal a troubled man and the excruciatingly manipulative parent who helped make him the murderer he became.

Other literary nonfiction books by Stillman include “Twentynine Palms: A True Story of Murder, Marines, and the Mojave;” “Joshua Tree: Desolation Tango;” “Mustang: The Saga of the Wild Horse in the American West;” “Desert Reckoning: A Town Sheriff, a Mojave Hermit, and the Biggest Manhunt in Modern California History;” and “Blood Brothers: The Story of the Strange Friendship Between Sitting Bull and Buffalo Bill.”

Writers Read meets monthly in Fallbrook Library’s community room, at 124 S. Mission Road, between Alvarado and Fig Streets. Local writers are invited to share their original works during open mic.

For more information, contact K-B Gressitt at [email protected] or 760-522-1064.

Submitted by Writers Read.