The Umbrella Man and Other Stories What We Talk About When We Talk About the JFK Assassination
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. The only person filming is a dressmaker 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 stand on the verge of becoming suspects, an unidentified witness known only as Babushka Woman, 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.
Reviews
“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.”
Daniel Finkelstein, columnist at The Times
“A fascinating and informative look at the most famous assassination of all time, from fresh angles and new grassy knolls. I love it.”
David Quantick, Emmy Award-winning screenwriter, novelist and critic
“Brilliantly conceived! An anti-whodunnit that turns this case inside and out.”
Chris Chibnall, Sunday Times bestselling author of Death at the White Hart, BAFTA-winning screenwriter and creator of Broadchurch
“I have given over 1,000 interviews and trust me, no one thinks about this subject like Martin Fitzgerald.”
Dr Toni Glover, JFK assassination witness
“The shots that rang out in Dallas on 22 November 1963 didn’t only echo around the world and down the years, they also left behind a slain President, a traumatised First Lady and countless others whose lives had become for ever entangled in that moment of history. Those others are Fitzgerald’s subject and their stories make his book an original and enthralling contribution. In a crowded field, it stands above the rest.”
Peter J. Ling, author of John F. Kennedy and Emeritus Professor of American Studies at the University of Nottingham
“The JFK assassination – we all know about it. Or do we? In this brilliant book, Martin Fitzgerald explains that things are not what they seem. He is our tour guide to a special chapter of history, which begins on that fateful day in Dallas, weaves through the present and ends in the future. Fitzgerald guides with a voice that ranges from raconteur to cultural critic to expert historian. He’s interviewed witnesses and studied all the famed conspiracy theories, and he expertly explains the intricacies in an eminently readable narrative. Anything you need to know about the JFK assassination and our memory of it, you’ll find in Fitzgerald’s superb book.”
Gautham Rao, Associate Professor of History at American University
“The Umbrella Man and Other Stories brings wit, warmth and perspective to one of the most studied events of the last 100 years, reminding us that history’s most famous moments are often experienced by ordinary individuals who never asked to be part of them. This is a valuable and refreshing contribution to the JFK assassination literature – thoughtful, humane and unexpectedly disarming.”
Ian Sanders, host of the award-winning Cold War Conversations podcast
“I’ve been a fan of Martin’s writing for a long time now, and here he brings his customary wit, insight and pathos to a fascinating subject. This isn’t a conspiracy compendium but a captivating examination of time, circumstance and human nature.”
J. Willgoose, Esq., Public Service Broadcasting
“Whether you thought you knew all there was to know about the JFK assassination or never knew how much there was to know about it, you will love this book. Fitzgerald uses one moment in Dealey Plaza to bring together diverse strands of American history, politics and culture. From the use of umbrellas to protest Kennedy’s apparent ‘appeasement’ of communism to the Queen Mother accosting Larry Hagman at Royal Ascot to get the inside scoop on who shot J. R. Ewing, this book masterfully analyses the context of the Kennedy assassination and reveals its multifaceted and complex legacy.”
David Swift, historian and author of Scouse Republic
Share this book
Buy this book
- Hardback, 320 pages
- ISBN: 9781837360253
-
14 April 2026
Available to pre-order - £20.00
- eBook
- ISBN: 9781837360680
-
14 April 2026
Available to pre-order - £14.99