Thirteen Days: A Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis

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W. W. Norton & Company, Apr 25, 2011 - History - 192 pages

"A minor classic in its laconic, spare, compelling evocation by a participant of the shifting moods and maneuvers of the most dangerous moment in human history." —Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.

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 behind-the-scenes story as it is told here by the late Senator Robert F. Kennedy. In this unique account, he describes each of the participants during the sometimes hour-to-hour negotiations, with particular attention to the actions and views of his brother, President John F. Kennedy. In a new foreword, the distinguished historian and Kennedy adviser Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., discusses the book's enduring importance and the significance of new information about the crisis that has come to light, especially from the Soviet Union.

 

Contents

DOCUMENTS
FOREWORD BY ARTHUR SCHLESINGER
A majority opinionfor a blockade
The important meeting of the OAS
The danger was anything but over
This would mean war
Some of the things we learned
THE CUBAN MISSILE
ADDRESS BY PRESIDENT KENNEDY
A SHORT BIBLIOGRAPHY
Copyright

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About the author (2011)

Arthur M. Schlesinger (1917 - 2007) was a historian who served as special assistant to President John F. Kennedy. Among his many works are the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Age of Jackson and A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House.

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