Dallas Public and Private: Aspects of an American City

First published in 1964, Warren Leslie's penetrating examination of Dallas in the immediate aftermath of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy is being brought back into print because it is one of the few books—then and now—to provide a sustained, coherent, and serious look at what made this city a "logical" place for the murder of a president. Distinguishing itself by its measured approach in which conspiracy theories are notably absent, Dallas Public and Private probes Dallas's political, cultural, and educational institutions, raising questions which Leslie says should also be asked about every American city.

Leslie's book is both a primary source of pre-assassination Dallas life and a serious study of the city at a specific time and place.