"President Gerald Ford suffered two attempts on his life during his term in office: one by a young woman in Charles Manson's Family, Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme; and the other by a far more unlikely candidate - an average-looking, middle-aged mother of five - Sara Jane Moore." "In Taking Aim at the President, journalist Geri Spieler examines Sara Jane Moore's life, tracing a path from her small-town upbringing in West Virginia to that fateful moment when she tried to assassinate the president. Born to strict parents, Moore showed an early love of theater that became a tendency as an adult to obscure her identity and mislead those around her. She was married five times, including twice to a U.S. Air Force Captain, and once to an Academy Award-winning sound designer. Along the way she abandoned her children, faked amnesia, worked as an FBI informant, won the trust of Randolph A. Hearst, and became a double agent between the FBI and the radical underground movement. Sara Jane Moore met many of the major players and was present at a number of the newsworthy events that took place in California in the 1960s and 70s. As such, her story presents a vivid snapshot of those turbulent years." "Drawing from Spieler's prison visits and correspondence with Sara Jane Moore from January 1976 to June 2003 and rigorous independent research, Taking Aim at the President is the compelling, never-before-told story of this elusive character - the only woman to ever fire a bullet at a U.S. president."--Jacket.
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