The abyss : nuclear crisis Cuba 1962 / Max Hastings.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hastings, Max, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963.

Kennedy, John F.

Castro, Fidel, 1926-2016.

Castro, Fidel.

Khrushchev, Nikita Sergeevich, 1894-1971.

Khrushchev, Nikita Sergeevich.

Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962.

Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962--Historiography.

Historiography.

Physical Description:

xxxvii, 538 pages, 32 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color), maps ; 24 cm.

Edition:

First U.S. edition.

Other Title:

Nuclear crisis Cuba 1962

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, [2022]

Summary:

"In The Abyss, Max Hastings turns his focus to one of the most terrifying events of the mid-twentieth century--the thirteen days in October 1962 when the world stood on the brink of nuclear war. Hastings looks at the conflict with fresh eyes, focusing on the people at the heart of the crisis--America President John F. Kennedy, Soviet First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev, Cuban Prime Minister Fidel Castro, and a host of their advisors. Combining in-depth research with Hasting's well-honed insights, The Abyss is a human history that unfolds on a wide, colorful canvas. As the action moves back and forth from Moscow to Washington, DC, to Havana, Hastings seeks to explain, as much as to describe, the attitudes and conduct of the Soviets, Cubans, and Americans, and to recreate the tension and heightened fears of countless innocent bystanders whose lives hung in the balance. Reflecting on the outcome of these events, he reveals how the aftermath of this momentous crisis continues to reverberate today"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: 1. Cuba Libre

1. The American Colony

2. Granma

3. The Liberator

2. Mother Russia

1. Triumph in Space, Hunger on Earth

2. `The Shark'

3. Khrushchev Abroad

3. Yanquis, Amerikantsy

1. American Pie

2. Jack

3. Nukes

4. The Red Gambit: Operation Anadyr

5. The Shock

6. Drumbeat

1. The President is Told

2. The Warmakers

7. `They Think We're Slightly Demented on This Subject'

1. Behind Closed Doors

2. `Iron Ass'

3. The Decision

8. The President Speaks

1. Kennedy Confronts His People

2. Khrushchev Confronts Disaster

9. Blockade

1. High, Confused Sea

2. `Shoot the Rudders Off!'

10. `The Other Fellow Just Blinked'

1. Hair Triggers

2. `Should I Take Out Cuba?'

11. Khrushchev Looks for an Out

1. `Everything to Prevent War'

2. The Kremlin Decision

3. `A Trial of Will'

12. Black Saturday

1. Castro Frightens Khrushchev

2. The Soviets Shoot

13. The Brink

1. Impasse

2. The Hounding of B-59

3. The Offer

14. Endgame

1. Time Runs Out

2. The Cubans Cut Up Rough

15. `This Strange and Still Scarcely Explicable Affair'.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 485-513) and index.

ISBN:

0062980130

9780062980137

OCLC:

1292973362