The most useful part of the book is the account of anastas mikoyans discussions with castro in october and november 1962. Prior to the cuban missile crises of 1962, a series of threats between the soviet union and the united states created distrust and fear between the two countries. As we come up towards the 50th anniversary of the cuban missile crisis, there are several new books coming out commemorating the crisis, adding new information and interpretation, and taking fresh looks at what history remembers as the most dangerous crisis of the nuclear age. Every sentence in the above paragraph describing the cuban missile crisis is misleading or erroneous. List of books and articles about cuban missile crisis. One hell of a gamble the secret history of the cuban missile crisis anglais. It was a proxy conflict around cuba it began when the soviet union ussr began building missile sites in cuba in 1962. Belfer centers top 10 books on the cuban missile crisis belfer centers catalog of reading on nuclear danger today john f. One hell of a gamble the secret history of the cuban. This book rewrites the conventional history of the 1962 cuban missile crisis by drawing on secret transcripts of toplevel diplomacy undertaken by anastas mikoyan, the numbertwo soviet leader under nikita khrushchev. Kennedy called together a group of his closest advisers at the white house. Soviet perspective on the cuban missile crisis from nikita. The cuban missile crisis edinburgh university press.
This is not just one more book on cuba, for as specialist jorge dominguez argues in the excellent introduction, this work records the interactions of crucial actors in the 1962 cuban missle crisis. Asw forces and soviet submarines during october and november 1962, only in recent months has the hidden history of soviet submarine operations during the crisis become more widely known. Castro, mikoyan, kennedy, khrushchev and the missiles of november, by sergo mikoyan and edited by svetlana savranskaya, draws on neverbeforeseen soviet documents that record the struggle between moscow and havana over withdrawing those cruise missiles, and other battlefield. The missiles of october and days were only half the story. Kruschev, the son of nikita kruschev, who was soviet premier during the cuban missile crisis, provided the soviet perspective on the crisis. Late the night before, the cia had produced detailed photo intelligence identifying soviet nuclear missile installations under construction on the island of cuba, some ninety miles off the florida coast. Michael dobbs has pored over previously untapped american, soviet and cuban sources to provide the most authoritative book yet on the cuban missile crisis. The confrontation is often considered the closest the cold war came to escalating into a fullscale nuclear war. At the time of the cuban missile crisis in october 1962, the united states had decisive nuclear superiority over the soviet union.
A few days after the cuban missile crisis was resolved, the new york times ran this extensive piece that chronicled the events of the days up to and during the crisis. He also took audience calls, faxes and electronic mail. The documents are being published for the first time in english in the book by sergo mikoyan, edited by svetlana savranskaya, the soviet cuban missile crisis. Soviet submarine officer who averted nuclear war honoured. By focusing on the activities of the american, soviet and cuban militaries. Thirteen days a memoir of the cuban missile crisis. This book tells the story of the cuban missile crisis in 1962, the struggle that president kennedy and his advisers including the author, who was head of intelligence at the state department went through to try to understand why the soviet union had put nuclear missiles in cuba, the alternative policies they debated to deal with the presence of the missiles, the aftermath of the crisis, and. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. The cuban missile crisis was the signature moment of john f. Kennedy was alerted to the secretlyinstalled soviet mediumrange ballistic missile threat on oct. The cuban missile crisis involved a single discrete set of circumstances. Castro, mikoyan, kennedy, khrushchev and the missiles of november stanford university presswoodrow wilson center press, 2012.
Not wanting to expose what he already knew and to avoid panicking the american public,kennedy did not reveal that he was already aware of the missile buildup. The documents published here today are the first part of. In response to the bay of pigs invasion and other american actions against cuba as well as to president kennedy s buildup in italy and turkey of u. He shared his impressions of that showdown from a soviet perspective and the. Chertoks career encompassed both military and spaceexploration projects, and in late october 1962 he. But this was the rendition of events that the kennedy administration fed to a credulous press. At midday, and again in the early evening of october 16, 1962, john f. The cuban missile crisis, also known as the october crisis of 1962, the caribbean crisis, or the missile scare, was a day confrontation between the united states and the soviet union initiated by the american discovery of soviet ballistic missile deployment in cuba. Here are the books that were most helpful to me in writing my narrative history of the days that brought the world to the the brink of nuclear war.
Reading lists cuban missile crisiscuban missile crisis. On october 18, kennedy met with soviet minister of foreign affairs, andrei gromyko, who claimed the weapons were for defensive purposes only. The huge strategic advantage also included the sophisticated polaris submarines with a devastating nuclear punch cuban missile crisis. What are some of the best nonfiction books on the cuban. Kennan 1982 it is a book replete with wisdom, learning and, in its more recently composed essays, uncharacteristically sharp condemnations of the diplomatic uses of american power. Cuban missile crisis for thirteen days in october 1962 the world waitedseemingly on the brink of nuclear warand hoped for a peaceful resolution to the cuban missile crisis. Based on secret transcripts of toplevel diplomacy undertaken by the numbertwo soviet leader, anastas mikoyan, to settle the cuban missile crisis in 1962, this book. The cuban missile crisis at 55 national security archive.
Myth and reality in foreign policy analysis soviet views on the cuban missile crisis. Khrushchevs secret dispatch of nuclear missiles to fidel castros revolutionary cuba and us president john f. Based on secret transcripts of toplevel diplomacy undertaken by the numbertwo soviet leader, anastas mikoyan, to settle the cuban missile crisis in 1962, this book rewrites conventional history. The cuban missile crisis was a time of heightened confrontation between the soviet union, the united states, and cuba during the cold war. Barrett and max holland challenge the popular perception of the kennedy administrations handling of the soviet. While experts on the missile crisis, as well as the participants themselves, have been long aware of the catandmouse game between u. This is a pro soviet history the soviets are the good guys and the americans are the bad guys. Cuban missile crisis simple english wikipedia, the free.
If you want a more tacticallevel perspective on the cuban missile crisis, check out blue moon over cuba. Aerial reconnaissance during the cuban missile crisis by capt. In october 1962, an american u2 spy plane secretly photographed nuclear missile sites being built by the soviet. Lets begin with rfk, who has been lionized as a clever statesmen, partly due to his own posthumous 1969 book on the crisis. There is really nothing in this book that is inconsistent with what khrushchev wrote in his memoirs dictated in the late 1960s. The expectation was a military confrontation by tuesday, robert kennedy would later write in his book, thirteen days. It played a key role near cuba during the cuban missile crisis, when senior officersout of contact with moscow and the rest of the world, believing they were under attack and possibly at warconsidered firing a t5 nuclear torpedo at us ships.
Cuban missile crisis, 1962, major cold war confrontation between the united states and the soviet union. This month marks the 57th anniversary of the cuban missile crisis, which brought the world dangerously close to thermonuclear war. The placing of soviet nuclear missiles in cuba, aimed at the united states, could have escalated into a full scale war between the united states and the soviet union. The forgotten missiles of the cuban missile crisis usni news. The cuban missile crisis, also known as the october crisis of 1962 spanish.
A whatif history of the cuban missile crisis potomac, 2010, as well as nine other books, and is an associate professor of history at. New books on the cuban missile crisis the fourteenth day. The cuban missile crisis, as viewed from a soviet launch. Sergo mikoyan and svetlana savranskaya rewrite conventional history based on secret transcripts of toplevel diplomacy undertaken by the numbertwo soviet leader, anastas mikoyan, to settle the cuban missile crisis in 1962. Another book published this fall, the soviet cuban missile crisis. The possible magnitude of the worldwide destruction can scarcely be overstated. Cuban missile crisis, major confrontation at the height of the cold war that brought the united states and the soviet union to the brink of a shooting war in october 1962 over the presence of soviet nucleararmed missiles in cuba. Most of what you know about the cuban missile crisis is. The claim in the dust jacket that this book rewrites the conventional history of the 1962 missile crisis is simply. An interesting book giving a good account of the cuban missile crisis from the standpoint of those making the decisions at the time. After two nearly apocalyptic crises, kennedy and his advisor lost all faith that the cuban missile crisis would end in anything other than a disaster. The book does provide some useful additional detail on. He shared his impressions of that showdown from a soviet.
This country had more than 400 intercontinental ballistic missiles icbms compared to 78 icbms in the soviet arsenal. Garthoff, a participant in the cuban missile crisis deliberations of the u. The cold warcuban missile crisis wikibooks, open books. In russia, it is known as the caribbean crisis russian.
The claim in the dust jacket that this book rewrites the conventional history of the 1962 missile crisis is simply false. The soviet cuban missile crisis stanford university press. This book provides a lucid and uptodate introduction to the crisis, including. The cold war between the united states of america and the soviet union lasted for. The cuban missile crisis was a sixday clash in october 1962 between the united. The cuban missile crisis, in october 1962, was probably the closest the united states and the soviet union came to initiating nuclear war. In october 1962, at the height of the cold war, the united states and the soviet union came to the brink of nuclear conflict ove the deployment of soviet missiles to cuba. Hundreds of books have been written about the cuban missile crisis. The cuban missile crisis october 1962 cuban studies.
Sergei khrushchev is the son of nikita khrushchev, the premier of the soviet union during the cuban missile crisis. This account is now available for the first time in paperback, on the 40th anniversary of the cuban missile crisis. Cuban missile crisis world history free pdf download. In response to the failed bay of pigs invasion of 1961 and the presence of american jupiter ballistic missiles in ita. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. The meeting brought together participants in the cuban missile crisis from the former soviet union, cuba, and the u. During the thirteen days in october 1962 when the united states confronted the soviet union over its installation of missiles in cuba, few people shared the. List of books and articles about cuban missile crisis online. Discover delightful childrens books with prime book box, a subscription that delivers new. Additionally, a large imbalance in power contributed to soviet feelings of vulnerability which led to khrushchevs decision to employ missiles in.
Discover the remarkable history of the cuban missile crisis. Soviet american relations in the atomic age by george f. Click download or read online button to get the cuban missile crisis book now. The cuban missile crisis download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl. Kennedy presidential library and museum the cuban missile crisis, october 1962. Cover of the soviet cuban missile crisis by sergo mikoyan edited by svetlana. This book rewrites the conventional history of the 1962 cuban missile crisis by drawing on secret transcripts of toplevel diplomacy undertaken by anastas. In response to the bay of pigs invasion and other american actions against cuba as well as to president kennedys buildup in italy and turkey of u.
Rational choice theory of the cuban missile crisis bartleby. The crisis of the missiles of october actually stretched beyond the. Soviet submarine officer who averted nuclear war honoured with prize. The crisis was a defining moment in the presidency of john f. The most dramatic moments of that crisis the famed thirteen dayslasted from october 16, 1962, when president kennedy first learned that the soviet union was constructing missile launch sites in cuba, to october 28, when soviet premier nikita khrushchev.
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