One Minute to Midnight
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4.4 • 31 Ratings
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
In October 1962, at the height of the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union came to the brink of nuclear conflict over the placement of Soviet missiles in Cuba. In this hour-by-hour chronicle of those tense days, veteran Washington Post reporter Michael Dobbs reveals just how close we came to Armageddon.
Here, for the first time, are gripping accounts of Khrushchev's plan to destroy the U.S. naval base at Guantánamo; the handling of Soviet nuclear warheads on Cuba; and the extraordinary story of a U-2 spy plane that got lost over Russia at the peak of the crisis.
Written like a thriller, One Minute to Midnight is an exhaustively researched account of what Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. called “the most dangerous moment in human history,” and the definitive book on the Cuban missile crisis.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Washington Post reporter Dobbs (Saboteurs) is a master at telling stories as they unfold and from a variety of perspectives. In this re-examination of the 1963 Bay of Pigs face-off between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R., Dobbs combines visits to Cuba, discussions with Russian participants and fingertip command of archival and printed U.S. sources to describe a wild ride that contrary to the myth of Kennedy's steel-nerved crisis management was shaped by improvisation, guesswork and blind luck. Dobbs's protagonists act not out of malevolence, incompetence or machismo. Kennedy, Khrushchev and their advisers emerge as men desperately seeking a handle on a situation no one wanted and no one could resolve. In a densely packed, fast-paced, suspenseful narrative, Dobbs presents the crisis from its early stages through the decision to blockade Cuba and Kennedy's ordering of DEFCON 2, the last step before an attack, to the final resolution on October 27 and 28. The work's climax is a detailed reconstruction of the dry-mouthed, sweaty-armpits environment of those final hours before both sides backed down. From first to last, this sustains Dobbs's case that "crisis management" is a contradiction in terms.
Customer Reviews
Must read
I have not read the ebook yet, so I cannot speak to the layout or design of this version. But as far as content goes, this is a pretty fascinating book. I'm about halfway through it. It's my first book on the Cuban Missile Crisis. I highly recommend it to anyone. Great read.
Page Turner
The ultimate page turner thriller about what has correctly been called the most dangerous moment in human history. Outstanding!
Hopefully cooler heads will prevail by then...
This is such a wonderful book! I absolutely loved it! Michael Dobbs goes into really great detail to almost every hour of each day of the Cuban Missile Crisis from nearly every viewpoint. From Kennedy to Khrushchev to Castro and more! Anyone who is interested in history or just want to know more about the Crisis, this is the book for you! I