The anti-hero of Libra is Lee Harvey Oswald, who is as hauntingly real in the book as he was elusive in reality. Here he is, as large and as small as life?joining the marines, poring over Marxist texts, defecting to Russia, handing out leaflets for the Fair Play Cuba committee, imagining himself as an agent of history. That is, until ?history? presents itself in the form of two disgruntled CIA operatives who decide that an unsuccessful attempt on JFK?s life, one that could be linked to Fidel Castro, is the only way to put Cuba back in geopolitical play?and that Oswald would be the perfect instrument for their plans.