The Zapruder film is the most graphic official record of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and while the camera never blinks, we continue to debate what it shows us as well as what it doesn’t show us (as disclosed in new a chapter 7).

It is the most famous and controversial 26-second home movie ever taken, a film Abraham Zapruder and his family sold twice – first to Life Magazine for $150,000 on the night of the assassination, which he then bought back for $1.

His heirs then sold his famous footage for $16 million to the U.S. government to preserve as a national treasure.

Yet, for every dollar the recording grossed for the Zapruder family, it spawned as many conspiracy theories and points of discussion about what actually takes place on those 486 frames of film.

While Chapter 9 of Through The ‘Oswald’ Window discloses two bizarre happenings caught on the film, one of which remains unresolved all these years later, Chapter 6 presents an in-depth discussion about the most controversial moments captured by Zapruder’s 8 mm Bell & Howell camera.

THE HOTLY DEBATED HEAD SHOT

The Warren Report claims all shots struck President Kennedy from above and behind him, so then why does Zapruder’s film show JFK’s head snap violently ‘backward’ upon impact?

Another critical point of debate germane to the lone assassin theory is the Report’s conclusion that both JFK and Governor John Connally sustained all of their non-fatal wounds from one shot.

If this is not true, then the two men were hit by separate shots fired from different locations, thus demanding two shooters and a conspiracy.

The film taken by Zapruder shows both men reacting to their survivable wounds before the Oswald rifle could be fired twice, hence giving birth to the ‘Single Bullet Theory’ that causes heated debate to this day.

Without this ‘theory’ being true, the lone assassin scenario loses all credibility.

In addition to these two major issues depicted on the film, Zapruder’s movie features several other ‘WOW’ moments that continue to enthrall us, such as:

• The Fatal Head Shot – Shown at right, the moment is painful to watch, but so is what happens to the truth in the stunning seconds that follow.
• Saving The First Lady – We are aghast to see Jackie Kennedy climb out on the trunk of the limousine to retrieve a piece of her husband’s head as the car speeds away.

We gasp as we watch Secret Service agent Clint Hill climb onto the back of the car, clutch Mrs. Kennedy and somehow force her back into her seat, possibly saving her from being thrown onto the street.

Chapter 6 in Through the ‘Oswald’ Window gives you a look at a rare version of the Zapruder film as shown by the author to audiences at his JFK assassination seminars in Canada.