James Reston, Jr., will discuss his latest book titled The Accidental Victim: JFK, Lee Harvey Oswald, and the real target in Dallas at a Wilson Center panel on September 26, 2013. In The Accidental Victim, Reston draws upon years of research and interviews to argue that that Texas governor John Connally was the real target on November 22, 1963. The book exposes how ex-Marine Oswald harbored an obsessive grudge against John Conally as early as January 1961 and how this obsession provided the true motivation for his actions in 1963.

 Michael Van Dusen, Executive Vice President and COO of the Wilson Center, will serve as a commentator for the launch.

James Reston, Jr. is a Senior Scholar at the Wilson Center and the author of 15 books, three plays, and numerous articles in national magazines. He was awarded the Prix Italia and the Dupont-Columbia Award for his 1983 90 minute radio documentary on National Public Radio, "Father Cares: the Last of Jonestown." His last four historical books, Galileo: A Life, The Last Apocalypse, Defenders of the Faith, and Warriors of God, have been translated into thirteen foreign languages. In addition to his tenure at the Wilson Center, he has been a fellow at the American Academy in Rome and a scholar in residence at the Library of Congress.

A reception will follow the launch.