William F. Pepper, in Orders to Kill
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William F. Pepper, in Orders to Kill, presents the argument that the United States government conspired to assassinate Martin Luther King, Jr. and to cover up the plot afterwards by framing James Earl Ray for the murder. Although such a conspiracy may be difficult to accept for those readers who believe that the government of the United States would never commit such a horrible act, Pepper presents his case step by step and detail by detail until the open-minded reader slowly begins to see that the case was not the simple matter that the government has tried to say it was. Basically, Pepper argues that King was assassinated by a conspiracy which included the military of the United States, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, members of organized crime, members of the executive branch of the government, as well as the heavy involvement of local leaders in Memphis. Clearly, the conspiracy, as portrayed in Pepper's book, was not a matter of "renegade" or "fringe" groups of individuals. This was a coordinated conspiracy involving some of the top civilian and military leaders in the country. The reason for the conspiracy to assassinate King is presented in this summary: The popularity of Dr. King with urban blacks, his opposition to the Vietnam War, and his determination to bring impoverished masses to the nation's capital all contributed to the sealing of his fate (Pepper 511). Another important point argued by Pepper is that the assassination of King was not an isolat
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hool of Economics and Political Science, and having graduated from Columbia University, the University of Massachusetts, and Boston College. His association with the case preceded his interview with Ray, for he was an associate of King himself in the year before the civil rights leader's murder. Therefore, he is qualified to write the book on both a personal and a professional basis.
If there is a problem with the book, it is in the failure of the author to provide enough footnotes for his claims. Footnoting is an important part of any non-fiction work, and in the case of such a sensational story as he presents in this work (with respect to a governmental conspiracy to murder a national leader), it is absolutely necessary that he document everything that he claims, except for clearly marked statements of speculation.
Pepper provides only 72 footnotes for a 500-page book. This is simply not adequate. Although he does often list the source from which he draws information within the text itself, these semi-cited statements are not sufficient for a researcher who wishes to check the author's sources. Such detailed sourcing is especially necessary in a field (conspiracy and assassinations) in which such scorn and ridicule has been
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Vietnam War, Earl Ray, Boston College, Principal Players, Bureau Investigation, King Alpha, Pepper Pepper, Ray Ray, Pepper Ray's, Basically Pepper, james earl, civil rights, james earl ray, earl ray, pepper ray's lawyer, assassinate king, dr king, trust pepper, pepper wrong, wrong details, vietnam war, fairness accuracy book, pepper wrong details, accuracy book,
Approximate Word count = 1622
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)
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