Waterstones Liverpool - Martin Fitzgerald Discusses The Umbrella Man

We welcome author and screenwriter Martin Fitzgerald who joins us to discuss his brilliantly conceived book The Umbrella Man - And Other Stories which pulls apart all we think we know about the assassination of John F Kennedy.

Dallas, 22 November 1963. The main event is supposed to be downtown, on Main Street. News footage shows office workers leaning out of windows, peering at the motorcade through a blizzard of ticker tape. On the sidewalks, the crowds are fifty deep, a wall of noise and celebration. Everyone thinks this is the place to be.

A few blocks away, in Dealey Plaza, the air is different. There is no ticker tape here. The crowds are thin. A dressmaker with vertigo films the action while balanced on a concrete plinth. In this quiet corner, there’s a man opening an umbrella even though it isn’t raining, a construction worker in a hard hat who claims he was sent here by God, three tramps who will shortly be arrested, an unidentified witness known only as the Babushka Lady, and many more.

This is not a book about conspiracies or a lone gunman. This is a book about memory, about how we construct our shared history, and about what happens when your life is defined by a single, fleeting moment. It’s about a group of real people who opted out of the main event before John F. Kennedy was assassinated, only to find themselves accidental witnesses to the most scrutinised six seconds of the twentieth century.

“Brilliant, moving and at times funny, this original book reaches far beyond JFK and his tragic death. It’s about history and the way we remember things. Once I started reading, I couldn’t stop.”

“Smart, restrained and refreshingly honest, this book transforms one of the most mythologised moments in modern history into a mediation on memory, chance and the burden of the stories people carry. Whether you think you know everything about the JFK assassination or nothing at all, I can’t recommend it enough.”

“A fascinating and informative look at the most famous assassination of all time, from fresh angles and new grassy knolls. I love it.”

Martin will be in conversation with author and podcaster Neil Atkinson. Their conversation will be followed by an audience Q&A and then a book signing.

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Host or Publisher Waterstones