Professor White's scholarly account is the closes we have yet come to the full story of the Cuban missile crisis. ... This is the most intimate and authoritative view available. Herbert S. Parmet, Distinguished Professor of History, City University of New York
A masterful history of the events and of the crisis managers who shaped American policy at a crucial juncture. It is a story with grave implications for great power leaders everywhere.Warren F. Kimball, Robert Treat Professor of History, Rutgers University
One of the most written about and discussed foreign policy events in American history, the Cuban Missile Crisis has been viewed as both a foreign policy triumph and a disaster in the years since it occurred. Focusing on the roles of key individuals, such as John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and Nikita Khrushchev, and using recently declassified materials, Mark J. White offers a refreshingly balanced discussion of what precipitated the crisis and how it was resolved.
White presents a cluster of new findings and arguments, including a new interpretation of Khrushchev's motives for putting missiles in Cuba, new information on the mystery surrounding Senator Kenneth Keating's secret sources, and evidence indicating that JFK planned to carry out a military strike on Cuba. This book is a must read for those wishing to see past the mythical representations of the crisis and gain a firm understanding of what actually happened.