One Minute to Midnight: Kennedy, Khrushchev, and Castro on the Brink of Nuclear War
by: Michael Dobbs
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In October 1962, at the height of the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union appeared to be sliding inexorably toward a nuclear conflict over the placement of missiles in Cuba. Veteran Washington Post reporter Michael Dobbs has pored over previously untapped American, Soviet, and Cuban sources to produce the most authoritative book yet on the Cuban missile crisis. In his hour-by-hour chronicle of those near-fatal days, Dobbs reveals some startling new incidents that illustrate 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 accidental overflight of the Soviet Union by an American spy plane; the movement of Soviet nuclear warheads around Cuba during the tensest days of the crisis; the activities of CIA agents inside Cuba; and the crash landing of an American F-106 jet with a live nuclear weapon on board.
Dobbs takes us inside the White House and the Kremlin as Kennedy and Khrushchev—rational, intelligent men separated by an ocean of ideological suspicion—agonize over the possibility of war. He shows how these two leaders recognized the terrifying realities of the nuclear age while Castro—never swayed by conventional political considerations—demonstrated the messianic ambition of a man selected by history for a unique mission. As the story unfolds, Dobbs brings us onto the decks of American ships patrolling Cuba; inside sweltering Soviet submarines and missile units as they ready their warheads; and onto the streets of Miami, where anti-Castro exiles plot the dictator’s overthrow.
Based on exhaustive new research and told in breathtaking prose, here is a riveting account of history’s most dangerous hours, full of lessons for our time.
In October 1962, at the height of the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union appeared to be sliding inexorably toward a nuclear conflict over the placement of missiles in Cuba. Veteran Washington Post reporter Michael Dobbs has pored over previously untapped American, Soviet, and Cuban sources to produce the most authoritative book yet on the Cuban missile crisis. In his hour-by-hour chronicle of those near-fatal days, Dobbs reveals some startling new incidents that illustrate 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 accidental overflight of the Soviet Union by an American spy plane; the movement of Soviet nuclear warheads around Cuba during the tensest days of the crisis; the activities of CIA agents inside Cuba; and the crash landing of an American F-106 jet with a live nuclear weapon on board.
Dobbs takes us inside the White House and the Kremlin as Kennedy and Khrushchev—rational, intelligent men separated by an ocean of ideological suspicion—agonize over the possibility of war. He shows how these two leaders recognized the terrifying realities of the nuclear age while Castro—never swayed by conventional political considerations—demonstrated the messianic ambition of a man selected by history for a unique mission. As the story unfolds, Dobbs brings us onto the decks of American ships patrolling Cuba; inside sweltering Soviet submarines and missile units as they ready their warheads; and onto the streets of Miami, where anti-Castro exiles plot the dictator’s overthrow.
Based on exhaustive new research and told in breathtaking prose, here is a riveting account of history’s most dangerous hours, full of lessons for our time.
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - Many minutes past midnight
The reason I selected this title for my review is that is was VERY early in the morning before I put down this book.It is one of those rare books that you wish just went on and on because almost each page has a fresh revelation about the subject covered.
I do have a couple of problems with it though.One is that Mr. Dobbs seems to have a limited knowledge of aircraft and ships.For instance, airplanes don't have "steering columns" and ship speeds are not noted in "knots per hour." ... Read More
Rating: - Your no JFK
As I was reading this book, the chilling thought constantly occurred to me:what would W (or Cheney) have done.The answer is to that question is what is so compelling about this book.Dobbs has some answers to this question in the afterword, which should not be skipped. Also, it turns out that Krushchev was pragmatic man who was unwilling to risk nuclear war for the glory of the USSR (Russia).Looks like maybe Putin is no Krushchev either.
Rating: - "Some Sonfabitch Doesn't Get The Word
This book is an excellent piece of historical writing, well-documented and well-illustrated with pertinent maps and photographs.The author relies upon recently accessable material from Soviet and American archives, as well as interviews with personnel in America and Russia.Until Cuban archives are open, this work will be the last word on the topic.Most popular accounts seem to have been based on the "Excomm Tapes"; but these are replete with inaccuracies amd can be misleading.To be useful, ... Read More
Rating: - Well-researched history in page-turner packaging
Dobbs book succeeds in three important ways: First, it uncovers many previously unknown facts about the Cuban missile crisis. Some of these facts should change the way we view the crisis and the lessons we draw from it. Second, the book shows how chaotic the event were, how little the actors knew, and how the crisis took on a life of its own. This is quite sobering and not a little scary. Third, Dobbs tells the well-researched story as a journalist would, skipping between Washington DC, Havana, and ... Read More
Rating: - One Minute to Midnight
Michael Dobbs gets you right into the Ex-Comm meetings with a dialog technique that makes you feel like a fly on the wall. He does this with Khruschev and Castro as well. As a naval aviator seving during the time frame of the crisis, some of the side stories made me feel like I was in the cockpit of one those RF-8's, U-2's or BUFF's. His descriptions were right on. I think I'll go back and read it again!
- Many minutes past midnightThe reason I selected this title for my review is that is was VERY early in the morning before I put down this book.It is one of those rare books that you wish just went on and on because almost each page has a fresh revelation about the subject covered.
I do have a couple of problems with it though.One is that Mr. Dobbs seems to have a limited knowledge of aircraft and ships.For instance, airplanes don't have "steering columns" and ship speeds are not noted in "knots per hour." ... Read More
- Your no JFKAs I was reading this book, the chilling thought constantly occurred to me:what would W (or Cheney) have done.The answer is to that question is what is so compelling about this book.Dobbs has some answers to this question in the afterword, which should not be skipped. Also, it turns out that Krushchev was pragmatic man who was unwilling to risk nuclear war for the glory of the USSR (Russia).Looks like maybe Putin is no Krushchev either.
- "Some Sonfabitch Doesn't Get The WordThis book is an excellent piece of historical writing, well-documented and well-illustrated with pertinent maps and photographs.The author relies upon recently accessable material from Soviet and American archives, as well as interviews with personnel in America and Russia.Until Cuban archives are open, this work will be the last word on the topic.Most popular accounts seem to have been based on the "Excomm Tapes"; but these are replete with inaccuracies amd can be misleading.To be useful, ... Read More
- Well-researched history in page-turner packagingDobbs book succeeds in three important ways: First, it uncovers many previously unknown facts about the Cuban missile crisis. Some of these facts should change the way we view the crisis and the lessons we draw from it. Second, the book shows how chaotic the event were, how little the actors knew, and how the crisis took on a life of its own. This is quite sobering and not a little scary. Third, Dobbs tells the well-researched story as a journalist would, skipping between Washington DC, Havana, and ... Read More
- One Minute to MidnightMichael Dobbs gets you right into the Ex-Comm meetings with a dialog technique that makes you feel like a fly on the wall. He does this with Khruschev and Castro as well. As a naval aviator seving during the time frame of the crisis, some of the side stories made me feel like I was in the cockpit of one those RF-8's, U-2's or BUFF's. His descriptions were right on. I think I'll go back and read it again!
