Oswald's ghost

At Borders, Mailer had begun answering an audience member by saying, "Knowing him..."--that is, knowing Oswald. The phrase contains the sort of intimacy one might use when speaking of a friend. Knowing him. Sitting in his hotel room, Mailer says that yes, he does know Oswald now. But by no means does he completely understand the man--a brave admission for a writer who often attempts to get inside Oswald's head, to explain why he was driven to some sort of long-lasting fame and power, why he thought of himself as a true hero.

"I don't know that I understand Oswald. I think I understand him to a degree, but I know him better. I spent all that time on him and had all these witnesses talking about what he would do, there's a sense of...of...how can I put it?...there's a great sense of what he's going to do next in small matters. But that doesn't mean I comprehend him profoundly.