John F. Kennedy, Gunslinger

Throughout the Dark Tower series, John F. Kennedy is mentioned as a modern-day gunslinger. You can imagine my surprise when I read the following footnote in Vincent Bugliosi's "Four Days in November", an in depth look at Kennedy's assassination:

"There was one red rose from (Jackie Kennedy's) the bouquet that did not make it into the hospital. Stavis Ellis, one of the Dallas police cyclists who had led the close-tailing presidential limousine to Parkland (Hospital) is among the large crowd of people who have swarmed around the emergency area in back of the hospital. After President Kennedy and Connally have been removed from the limousine, he can't resist the temptation to look inside the car. He sees several puddles of blood on the rear seat and floorboard. Right in the middle of one of those puddles lay a beautiful red rose."

Coincidence? I'm not sure I believe in random coincidences anymore ...

"The Man in Black Fled Across the Desert and the Gunslinger Followed"

"The man in black fled across the desert and the gunslinger followed."

This sentence is a hook to end all hooks. After all, the questions are endless. Who is the man in black? Who is the gunslinger? What is a gunslinger, anyway? Why a desert? Why is the man in black fleeing? What does the gunslinger want from him? Have the two met before? Is this just a game? What the heck genre does this book fit into, anyway?

Having read the line (and the book and the series) probably at least a hundred times, I know the answers to most of those questions (well, I know my answers ... whether or not those are correct ... who am I to judge?).

If you have read the book before, what stood out to you the most about it? What made you decide to keep reading?

If you have never read the book, does it make you want to head to the library or bookstore and pick up a copy?