Missiles in Cuba: Kennedy, Khrushchev, Castro and the 1962 Crisis

By Mark J. White

Book Overview

For many years historians of the Cuban missile crisis have concentrated on those thirteen days in October 1962 when the world teetered on the brink of nuclear war. Mark White's study adds an equally intense scrutiny of the causes and consequences of the crisis. Missiles in Cuba is based on up-to-date scholarship as well as Mr. White's own findings in National Security Archive materials, Kennedy Library tapes of ExComm meetings, and correspondence between Soviet officials in Washington and Havana-all newly released. His more rounded picture gives us a much clearer understanding of the policy strategies pursued by the United States and the Soviet Union (and, to a lesser extent, Cuba) that brought on the crisis. His almost hour-by-hour account of the confrontation itself also destroys some venerable myths, such as the unique initiatives attributed to Robert Kennedy. And his assessment of the consequences of the crisis points to salutary effects on Soviet-American relation and on U.S. nuclear defense strategy, but questionable influences on Soviet defense spending and on Washington's perception of its talents for "crisis management," later tested in Vietnam.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1566631564
• ISBN13: 9781566631563
• Release Date: February 1998
• Publisher: Ivan R. Dee Publisher
• Length: 182 Pages
• Weight: 0.54 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.3" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Clear-headed approach to an interesting topic

In the wake of the Iraq invasion, it is wise to remember an international incident nearly 40 years ago that also involved a third world country with weapons on mass destruction. Professor White shows that both the Kennedy and the Khrushchev adminstrations, after fumbling at the start, were able to balance and sort out a very deadly game of nuclear chess. The recent film Thirteen Days shows the American side, but White expands to show the game being played in the Kremlin as well. Professor White writes in a very lean manner and his conclusions are well grounded. There is no better introduction to the issues behind and the events unfurling during the missile crisis.

missiles in cuba

the other missiles of october: eisenhower, kennedy, and the jupiters, 1957-1963