His life was straight out of a storybook, and storybooks are supposed to have happy endings—not leave the world in shock and tears. That is what happened on Nov. 22, 1963, when the legend of John Fitzgerald Kennedy came to an abrupt end in Dallas, Texas. His death was a pivotal turning point of the 1960s. Nothing would be the same after Kennedy’s murder—yet the years leading up to it were also tumultuous, and the United States was filled with internal strife. But no matter how tough things seemed, Kennedy pointed to better times ahead—a vision that included the triumph of American values, opportunity for all, and a walk on the moon. Most people wanted those things to come true, and were willing to believe that somehow they might with Kennedy leading the way. The idea that a bullet could end all that was disillusioning, demoralizing and terrifying. It took years to come to terms with what actually happened, let alone put the pieces back together. And even today, people obsessively wonder two things about the Kennedy assassination: Why? And what would the world be like if it never happened?
