One Minute to Midnight: Kennedy, Khrushchev and Castro on the Brink of Nuclear War by Michael Dobbs

Apr 14, 2009

Alex rated it

· review of another edition

We were dang close to nuclear war. I guess I knew that, but this book really drove that point home to me. Basically, humans were just lucky. We were apparently lucky that for one thing Kennedy and Khrushchev were the leaders in power at that moment (they were both gone in two years). Certainly, there were those in positions of influence on both sides who wanted to escalate the conflict.

This book is written as a timeline, but it seems like it could have used that framework more effect...more

like 1 like

· see review

Feb 09, 2012

Keith rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: history-and-biography, military-history, political-science, 2012

After a certain age when we read history we generally know the broad outlines, we more or less know how it came out in the end. What we don't often know are the details, the stories of how things came to end up in a particular configuration. In One Minute to Midnight: Kennedy, Kruschchev and Castro on the Brink of Nuclear War Michael Dobbs accurately fills in the details of the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962. He has made use of many previously unpublished archival materials. He has arrang...more

like 1 like

· see review

Jan 05, 2009

Andy rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: History buffs, military history buffs, anti-nuclear folks, my mother.

Dobb's effectively argues that once the Cuban missile crisis was set in motion, the difficulty for the two leaders was not deciding to prevent an escalation (which would almost surely have lead to nuclear war), but rather preventing the situation from spiraling out of control despite their wishes. The terrible timing of many smaller events during the crisis could have easily turned any one of them into a match for nuclear war. Most disturbing were the many descriptions of single low ranked ind...moreDobb's effectively argues that once the Cuban missile crisis was set in motion, the difficulty for the two leaders was not deciding to prevent an escalation (which would almost surely have lead to nuclear war), but rather preventing the situation from spiraling out of control despite their wishes. The terrible timing of many smaller events during the crisis could have easily turned any one of them into a match for nuclear war. Most disturbing were the many descriptions of single low ranked individuals, both American and Soviet, who were directly responsible, and capable of launching or detonating, nuclear weapons during the crisis. These individuals through misinformation, accident, insanity, lack of sleep or any other reason could have solely obliterated hundreds of thousands of people and sparked WWIII. Ultimately, Dobb's led me to the conclusion that a nuclear war was just as likely to be caused by accident as by any intentional action on the part of Kennedy or Kruschev.

Dobb's also persuasively argues that the peaceful outcome was due to the fact that both Kennedy and Krushchev were intelligent, reasonable and good human beings and he points out that not all leaders are. Despite this, Dobb's relegates the human aspect of the leaders to a roll of partial importance, highlighting the many powerful (but less critiqued) forces at work during the crisis. Among these are the political tug-o-war between the Pentagon and the White House, those within the cabinet itself, Krushchev's struggles with the Communist party, basic problems of military protocol and chain of command, communications (or lack thereof), bad military intelligience, and even small players trying to make a name for themselves.

"One Minute To Midnight" left me with a strong sense that even in the best of times, the strongest governments are held together by string. Nukes were always a bad idea, but in this context and in a world with an increasing number of nuclear armed countries, the future looks grim.(less)

like 1 like

· see review

Sep 11, 2011

Eduardo Santiago rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: history buffs, anyone who has ever had an opinion (pro or con) about war

Recommended to Eduardo by: Natali

Forces beyond their control. Kennedy and Khrushchev had both served in the armed forces, during wartime, during a bad war. Both were acquainted with Murphy, even if they didn't know his name. Both were personally aware of the suffering war causes. Both were fighting desperately, within the confines of their political frameworks, to avoid war. Especially to avoid this kind of war.

Dobbs chronicles the crisis, describing the players and what they knew and when they knew it. And what the...more

like

· see review

Jun 11, 2011

Marks54 rated it

· review of another edition

This is an updated history of the Cuban Missile Crisis based on the addition of documents recently made public in the former Soviet Union. The story is well known from numerous prior accounts of Kennedy's crisis management approach. The new information in this book shows how close the world came to nuclear war during that crisis. In particular, the Russians had unloaded and deployed hundreds of tactical battlefield nuclear weapons and their operational orders suggest that they would have been...more

like

· see review

Mar 23, 2011

Caroline rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: american-history, kennedy-family

The title of this book refers to the Doomsday Clock, a symbolic clock which charts how close mankind is to global catastrophe, which is obviously 'midnight'. The clock was never adjusted during the Cuban Missile Crisis, the events of which took place over too short a period for the clock to be 'officially' adjusted, but had it been one minute is probably a pretty accurate adjustment. This book takes an hour-by-hour overview of the thirteen days of the Missile Crisis, from the American, Soviet an...more

like

· see review

Jan 26, 2011

Darryl Mexic rated it

· review of another edition

**** “One Minute to Midnight” by Michael Dobbs: In this non-fiction, minute by minute account of the few weeks of October, 1962, that is known by Americans as the Cuban Missile Crisis, the author brings back to life the time when the world stood closer to thermonuclear Armageddon than at any time in our history. All of us who lived through the event know the basics; those who have read the numerous books on the subject know a little more. But Michael Dobbs has plumbed all the sources now ava...more **** “One Minute to Midnight” by Michael Dobbs: In this non-fiction, minute by minute account of the few weeks of October, 1962, that is known by Americans as the Cuban Missile Crisis, the author brings back to life the time when the world stood closer to thermonuclear Armageddon than at any time in our history. All of us who lived through the event know the basics; those who have read the numerous books on the subject know a little more. But Michael Dobbs has plumbed all the sources now available in Cuba and Russia, as well as in the United States, and has interviewed just about all the players still living to come up with additional material, not previously published, yet possibly critically important to the history of the Crisis. Moreover, in a brilliant afterword to the story, he provides an analysis which may be the most interesting and thought provoking part of the book. Although Castro would have sacrificed humanity on the altar of his ideology, and although Khrushchev made a complete miscalculation in placing nukes in Cuba, the world was fortunate that the two leaders who had the final say in launching a winless war were determined from the start of the crisis to find a way to defuse it. The implosion of the Soviet Union during the last part of the twentieth century, makes it even more astonishing that only a few decades earlier, the U.S. joint chiefs of staff, as well as some brilliant civilian advisers to Kennedy were willing to risk the killing of tens of millions to avoid humiliation of the United States, the weakening of NATO, or the defeat Soviet communism. The first half of the book may seem a bit weighed down by the technical details of the types and numbers and power of the nuclear missiles, the surface ships and submarines involved in the naval blockade, the U-2 flights, and the various Soviet and American units positioned for war, the second half more than makes up for it in readability and suspense (even though we know the outcome).
Thank you, Barry, who was shipped to Guantanamo with the marines to prepare for the fight, and who would have been one of the first to die by a tactical nuclear missile, for recommending and loaning me the book. (less)

like

· see review

Jan 04, 2011

Michael rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: People interested in politics, foreign affairs, 20th century history

Some reviewers have faulted the book for not being written in an exciting enough style, but for those of us old enough to remember living through the Cuban missile crisis, this was spine tingling stuff. I found it hard to put the book down. With unprecedented access to Russian and American sources, Dobbs shows how we came even closer to nuclear war than the public in its worst fears imagined at the time. He blows up many of the myths that have surrounded the crisis and replaces them with even...more

like

· see review

Feb 05, 2009

Bookmarks Magazine added it · review of another edition

In this acclaimed history, Dobbs goes beyond a tale of high-level pressure and emergency phone calls and throws in tales of crisis at the lowest levels, making Tom Clancy look tame in comparison. Critics loved the new details on the U2 pilots, the attach��s to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the missile operators who decided to fire (without orders) if the United States attacked. Many reviewers pointed out that Dobbs moves rather quickly through the opening stages of the crisis to focus on "

...more

like

· see review

Jan 19, 2009

Chris G rated it

· review of another edition

maybe a bit more information on the cuban missile crisis than i really wanted, but it was still well researched, with new, never before published revelations. like the presence of nuclear tipped cruise missiles on cuba that the u.s. never even knew about, and the lone u.s. bomber that strayed into the soviet union at the height of the conflict. lots of good interviews with the russians who were there on the ground, etc. the only problem i really had with it was that it focused on the strategic m...more

like

· see review

Jul 25, 2009

Elizabeth K. rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: 2009-new-reads

I'm woefully ignorant of much of 20th century history, so occasionally I make tepid attempts to shore that up. This was a fairly comprehensive review of the Cuban Missile Crisis, following an hour by hour format that covered events in Washington DC, Moscow, and Cuba. As one would expect, there is a lot of very specific information about types of missiles and where they were moving to and from. I, um, skimmed over much of this. There was plenty of focus on Kennedy and his administration and h...moreI'm woefully ignorant of much of 20th century history, so occasionally I make tepid attempts to shore that up. This was a fairly comprehensive review of the Cuban Missile Crisis, following an hour by hour format that covered events in Washington DC, Moscow, and Cuba. As one would expect, there is a lot of very specific information about types of missiles and where they were moving to and from. I, um, skimmed over much of this. There was plenty of focus on Kennedy and his administration and how they were dealing with the situation as it unfolded. One key difference between this book and the way the Cuban Missile Crisis is often presented is that Dobbs gives a much more evolving, collaborative picture of how the President and his advisers developed their responses, and in particular, highlights RFK's changing views between the initial discovery of the missiles and the ultimate resolution. Overall, the author credits both JFK and Khrushchev with being thoughtful, responsible leaders who approached their duties to their nations and the international community with gravitas.

It also ends with an extremely chilling foreshadowing of the Kennedy assassination (there's no way that's a spoiler, right?) that was probably a little maudlin but really effective anyway. Here I am, reading this entire book and it's the last paragraph that grabs me.

There was also an afterword that compares the leadership during the crisis with the Bush administration's actions in the Middle East, and it is not favorable. I could have done without this. I agree, actually, with the assessment but the tone was too shrill and scolding and I felt it took away from the book overall.

Grade: B
Recommended: It's certainly comprehensive and successfully organizes a great deal of information into a reasonable narrative. People interested in military history will no doubt appreciate the level of detail more than I was able to. There were only a few, very scant, accounts of the response of the general public -- the focus was almost entirely on the military and the political players.(less)

like

· see review

Feb 22, 2011

Nathan rated it

This book is a fantastic all inclusive look at the Cuban Missile Crisis. The attention given to all three actors (the Soviet Union, the United States, and Cuba), the leaders involved, and the individual souls caught up in and affecting the crisis is enlightening. As a comprehensive history of the crisis, this book has much to offer.

Further, it is exquisitely written (much more elegantly than this brief review, I must say). At points it reads much more like a novel than a historical acc...moreThis book is a fantastic all inclusive look at the Cuban Missile Crisis. The attention given to all three actors (the Soviet Union, the United States, and Cuba), the leaders involved, and the individual souls caught up in and affecting the crisis is enlightening. As a comprehensive history of the crisis, this book has much to offer.

Further, it is exquisitely written (much more elegantly than this brief review, I must say). At points it reads much more like a novel than a historical account. The characters jump off the page. And in part this helps the reader understand the forces and emotions driving each and thus gain a greater understanding of the entire path of the crisis.

This is not the first book I have read on the crisis, nor the second; and I'm sure it will not be the last. But it may well be the most complete.

I came away from the historical account thanking God that the Kennedy brothers were in charge of our government when the crisis broke. They were brilliant and intelligent and without them, most of us would not be here today. It is hard to read the account of those thirteen days and not wonder what might have been for the U.S. if JFK had not been struck down merely a year later. So many of the country's problems could have benefited from the unique leadership abilities he possessed. The Crisis may also be when Bobby Kennedy changed from his brother's right hand man to the man who had so much to offer in 1968.

The book did not just delve into the members of ExComm, as I also came to understand (though not condone) and feel some sympathy for Khrushchev and what drove him in this occurrence and in general. The book also introduced me to the full unadulterated megalomania of Fidel Castro, who would have burned the entire Earth to the ground for the sake of his own pride. Genocidal insanity was not, however, the sole possession of Castro, as the Air Force's own General Curtis LeMay rivaled Castro in presenting himself as one of the great threats to the survival of the human race.

These are just a few of the gems to be found in this book. I could offer much more, if I had gotten more than 4 hours of sleep the night before. Simply put, it is a fantastic and riveting account of the events of those thirteen days.

So why, after I've gushed about it for all this time, did I only give it 4 stars? Mainly because Dobbs, at the closing of the book, offers in the afterword, his own analysis of the history he has provided. Unfortunately, in his desire to prove his book as something more important and accurate than anything published to date (he actually mentions this at times throughout the book...a few moments of unabashed hubris that leave the reader with a very bad taste in what was otherwise a perfect meal), he smears his book with petty and shallow observations that fail to fit the 340 plus pages he offered before that.

His history shows clearly the brilliance of JFK's work during the crisis, yet he hacks at the legacy of Kennedy in the crisis repeatedly in the afterward. He brings up the many times that the work of individuals could have driven the crisis over the precipice to war, yet fails to acknowledge the leadership that both JFK and Khrushchev exerted in maintaining peace despite those events. He glosses over many of the achievements made, and attempts to debunk the successes of Kennedy during the crisis by pointing out that similar policy attempts by his advisers in Vietnam failed spectacularly. Never mind that Kennedy was dead, didn't participate in the Vietnam policies, had ordered a draw down of troops in Vietnam that was reversed after his death, and that the men who made decisions in that situation were all people who needed Kennedy's leadership during the Crisis in Cuba.

Further, it does at times seem that Dobbs has an axe to grind with the Kennedys. There are times in the book, where offers items that seem to be there only to smear JFK and RFK. The one that sticks out the most is the account of JFK's womanizing and the possibility that JFK may have spent the night with one of his mistresses at the height of the crisis. The short account offers nothing more than to remind the reader that JFK slept around, and at the same time is complete conjecture. This, combined with Dobbs' analysis that attempts to downplay the role played by JFK and RFK in resolving the crisis, makes it seem like Dobbs is either working an anti-Kennedy angle, or trying to gain publicity for his work by challenging the accepted history that views the work of the two brothers as the masterpiece that it was.

Regardless of what Dobbs' motivations were, these defects are unattractive, the antithesis of the unbiased history he otherwise offers, and a blemish of an otherwise pristine volume.

I will not attempt to refute the entirety of Dobbs' afterword here, but I will say it is a black mark on his spectacular work. It is as if a great chef concocted a gourmet meal, and then served it with a side of SPAM. Dobbs should stick to historical accounts, and leave the analysis to others. (less)

like

· see review

Feb 10, 2011

Dave rated it

· review of another edition

There's no better history book than the one in which you think you know the story, but you find out so many new facts that you realize you didn't really know it at all. The author combines the skills of a journalist with the chops of a top-notch historian to write a first-rate read. Forget eyeball-to-eyeball confrontations, forget the myths created by Arthur "Hack" Schlesinger, the story told in the pages of this book is far more fascinating because we re-learn one of the most importan...more

like

· see review

Jul 12, 2009

Eric Bittner rated it

Easily one of the best books that I've read in the last 5 years, and by far the best book I've read on the Cuban Missile Crisis (and I've read at least 5 others). The author demolishes a lot of the mythology and conventional wisdom surrounding the events of October 1962. What emerges is an even more frightening account of just how close we came to a nuclear holocaust. Among the frightening revelations that are made in this book for the first time, the Soviets were prepared to strike the US ba...more

like

· see review

Oct 26, 2010

David Roche rated it

· review of another edition

Surprised by how bored I was during parts. it's a fascinating topic, and I love the movie Thirteen Days... which, appearently, is more fictitious that I'd thought.
The human elements are the strongest parts of the book. What went on, as best we can tell, in the minds of leaders like JFK and Kruschev. How both men clearly understood that going to war could mean the end of the world, and how both did their best to make sure that didn't happen.
Oh, and my Dad's in his mid-60's and lived...more

like

· see review

Apr 26, 2010

David Malament rated it

Told in a "24" real-time style, this account of the Cuban Missile Crisis is exciting and eye-opening. This was my first in-depth exposure to this event, and I was amazed at how easily we could have ended up in a nuclear war. As exciting as the story is, the author gives very convincing evidence that many of the dramatic "facts" of the crisis never actually happened. His challenges of these long-held beliefs are very well-presented and convincing. He also presents information ...more

like

· see review

Jul 14, 2010

Nathan rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: franklin-library, history

A behind-the-scenes look at the political machinations behind the Cold War. It's an intriguing story, with some important parallels to be drawn with recent political currents, especially concerning WMDs, and the research is truly remarkable, informing an often minute-by-minute account. If Dobbs were anything more than a hard-bitten reporter, his book could have been truly significant. It's fortunate that the events were so momentous, because the narrative is a drag. It's drab, utilitarian prose...more

like

· see review

Sep 27, 2009

Lock Lockamy rated it

Recommends it for: anyone with any interest in history

Few people outside those who are in or have read this book probably realize how easily we could be living in a post-apocalyptic nuclear wasteland. Even if you think you know, you should read this book to learn that no, you didn't really know. Frightening, all the more so for the pure veracity of the tale. Presented well, chronologically, which fits the situation well as there was rarely a moment that didn't have an impact on the final outcome.

A great read that manages, for the mos...more

like

· see review

Jun 08, 2011

Tom Carrico rated it

Shelves: non-fiction

Book Review
One Minute to Midnight
By Michael Dobbs

The death of Osama Bin Laden was met with many emotions and prompted much rhetoric in the press. One of the commentaries which I found quite compelling was one by a talking head on CNN who spoke of “the children of 9/11.” He was not referring to the children of victims of that tragic day’s attacks, but the children who have grown up under the specter of terrorism. He wondered how growing up in an “unsafe and unpredictable wo...moreBook Review
One Minute to Midnight
By Michael Dobbs

The death of Osama Bin Laden was met with many emotions and prompted much rhetoric in the press. One of the commentaries which I found quite compelling was one by a talking head on CNN who spoke of “the children of 9/11.” He was not referring to the children of victims of that tragic day’s attacks, but the children who have grown up under the specter of terrorism. He wondered how growing up in an “unsafe and unpredictable world” would affect these kids as adults. That got me thinking back to my childhood and the specter of nuclear annihilation which my generation grew up with. I was ten years old during the Cuban Missile Crisis and I lived and went to school 3.8 miles from the Pentagon. We had a Civil Defense air raid siren on the corner of our playground. We were made to bring bottled water and canned goods to school in case we were trapped. We practiced getting under our desks during a nuclear strike. Who were we kidding? We knew we were toast. I have recollections of John Kennedy appearing on TV that fateful Sunday to inform the American people that the U.S. had discovered Russian missiles on the island of Cuba. I remember the Naval embargo and watching the TV with bated breath as Soviet ships approached the embargo line in the Caribbean. Then my recollections get a bit fuzzy, but I remember that it seemed like it was quickly all over: the Russians backed off, Kennedy had prevailed and the world was sort of safe again. That was not exactly the case.

Michael Dobbs has written what is probably the definitive book about the Cuban missile crisis. He uses recently declassified American and Soviet documents and photos. He also interviewed many of the key players (American, Soviet and Cuban) who were part of the Russian weapons deployment, the United States’ response and the Cubans who were ostensibly the pawns in this whole nuclear showdown chess match. He has written a minute by minute narrative of every detail of the crisis which reads with more spell binding, fear inspiring, trembe inducing terror than any Ludlum, Clancy or Le Carre novel.

The opening of the book recreates the political atmosphere which created the crisis. America was feeling technologically inferior to the Russians and the common thinking (albeit false) was that the US lagged the Russians badly in the production of nuclear weapons. This supposed “missile gap” was, in fact one of the major issues which got John Kennedy elected in the first place. The US had also been embarrassed by the loss of a U2 spy plane shot down over the Soviet Union and Dwight Eisenhower’s obfuscation of the plane’s mission (he claimed it was on a weather data collection flight over Turkey, when in fact, the Russians proved it was taking photos of military installations while flying over the Soviet Union). Castro, not long in power and paranoid of an American led counter-revolution, was in fear of a more organized Bay of Pigs style invasion of his island country. The Soviet Union felt besieged by NATO (i.e., American) nuclear weapons deployed in Europe. This led to the unlikely alliance of Castro and Nikita Kruschev and the placement of Soviet nuclear weapons in Cuba.

What the US was unaware of then and until recently, was that the Soviets also had battlefield or “tactical” nuclear weapons in Cuba which would have easily annihilated an American invasion force. The US was also unaware of the number of Soviet troops in Cuba and the fact that there were longer range missiles there which could have easily reached New York, Washington and many other Southeastern American cities. There were, indeed, preparations in place (code named “Operation Mongoose”, organized by the CIA and under the control of Robert Kennedy) for an invasion of Cuba. The American leadership was also under the impression that there were no nuclear warheads in Cuba yet, but this, again, has been proven to be false.

The American people had no idea of the division of opinion in the upper levels of government regarding how to respond to this Soviet nuclear threat in our own back yard. The author makes it painfully clear that there were many who advocated a “first strike” approach with a pre-emptive nuclear attack on the Soviet Union. Air Force General Curtis LeMay, the commander of the Strategic Air Command and future Vice Presidential candidate with George Wallace (1968), when asked what he would do about the Cubans, replied “Fry ‘em.” (Incidentally, LeMay was the inspiration for the crazed Air Force General Buck Turgidson in Stanley Kubrick’s classic movie “Dr. Strangelove.”) Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara and others felt that Kruschev could not be trusted and that an aggressive first strike was the only acceptable response. Fortunately, or we all would not be alive to learn about this, cooler heads prevailed. The Naval blockade was implemented after much debate, and, after much wringing of hands, Bobby Kennedy met with the Soviet ambassador late on “Black Saturday”, October 27, 1962, the day which nuclear war seemed imminent. He proposed the exchange of aging American weapons in Turkey and a promise of no American invasion for the removal of the nuclear weapons from Cuba.

While debate was raging in Washington, Castro became furious that the Soviets were backing down from their commitment to defend his island from America. He demanded a Soviet first strike on the United States, anticipating an imminent invasion (which was, in fact, scheduled for the following Tuesday if talks broke off between the Americans and Soviets). His willingness to die for his cause and take his island nation into nuclear holocaust with him is unbelievable.

The author also writes of many inadvertent events, any of which could have triggered a nuclear holocaust. Another U2 wandered off of its flight path over the North Pole and mistakenly entered Russian airspace just as Kennedy and Kruschev were exchanging the beginnings of what became the ultimate compromise. American ships dropped dummy depth charges on four Soviet submarines (armed with nuclear tipped torpedos) in the Caribbean to try to pinpoint their location. These subs had lost communication with Moscow and they were uncertain as to whether they were actually at war or not. One of the subs came incredibly close to firing its nuclear torpedoes which would have taken out an entire carrier group and, obviously, triggered a nuclear response. Another U2 was shot down over Cuba, despite orders from Moscow to the contrary. Any or all of these events could have triggered nuclear war.

This book is packed with facts and documented like an academic treatise. It is suspenseful and terrifying at the same time. It is an event which seems almost anecdotal nearly sixty years later, but had one small decision or event gone differently and the world as we know it would not exist.
So, this gets me back to my original question? Do the “children of 9/11” have more uncertainty and lack of safety than previous generations? I think not. I think that, unfortunately, every generation has had its 9/11, its Cuban Missile Crisis, its Pearl Harbor, its near-Apocalyptic event. This age of information may make us more aware of our dire straits, but they have always been there. Awareness of these historical events is prudent, though, because as was stated by Samuel Taylor Coleridge:
“If men could learn from history, what lessons it might teach us! But passion and party blind our eyes, and the light which experience gives is a lantern on the stern, which shines only on the waves behind us.”
(less)

like 1 like

· see review

Feb 03, 2010

James Murphy rated it

I was in school during the Cuban missile crisis. I was living alone off campus and remember going to bed one night with uncertainty and fear of what events might unfold while I slept. I don't remember the date but think it must have been 27 Oct 62, the day Dobbs calls Black Saturday. He's written a gripping account of those days at the edge of nuclear war. He lays his narrative out in day-by-day and hour-by-hour detail told from the perspective of all 3 players, America, the Soviet Union, an...moreI was in school during the Cuban missile crisis. I was living alone off campus and remember going to bed one night with uncertainty and fear of what events might unfold while I slept. I don't remember the date but think it must have been 27 Oct 62, the day Dobbs calls Black Saturday. He's written a gripping account of those days at the edge of nuclear war. He lays his narrative out in day-by-day and hour-by-hour detail told from the perspective of all 3 players, America, the Soviet Union, and Cuba. It's a terribly interesting history, both in terms of point of view and motives of the 3 leaders and in the revelation of developments we the public weren't aware of. The issue, as Dobbs tells it, was more dangerous than I'd suspected while at the same time less than an eyeball to eyeball confrontation because the moment Khrushchev was aware we'd discovered the missiles he knew he'd have to withdraw them. Because Kennedy and Khruschev immediately began to seek ways to resolve and compromise, the danger wasn't that one of them would overreact and start the war but that the military forces facing each other would create a shooting incident that would lead to a nuclear exchange. Amazingly, both the Soviet and American forces had nuclear weapons which could have been fired at the discretion of local small unit commanders. And Dobbs discusses at length the fact that, as the U. S. learned later, Soviet forces in Cuba were in possession of tactical nuclear weapons they'd have used against an invading force as well as in destroying Guantanamo. Reading the book I realized an element of good luck was involved in finding ways to solve the standoff without an underling firing a hasty shot which would propel the leaders into "spasm responses." I found it amazing, too, that Castro urged the Soviets to make a first strike against the U. S. As fascinating as the book itself is, the "Afterword" is even more so. In it the author discusses the consequences of the Cuban missile crisis. Dobbs emphasizes that we interpret history in the light of present day events, politics, and foreign policy. I've long felt that we can't understand our involvement and conduct of the Vietnam War without first understanding the events of October 1962. Dobbs confirms this but also goes further to explain how the crisis influenced the missteps in Iraq 41 years later. The crisis contributed, as well, to the collapse of Soviet communism by encouraging the Soviet Union to escalate the arms race in an attempt to keep up with American military might. Ironically, they developed a sophisticated and powerful military but couldn't in the end provide the Russian people with the basic material prosperity and spiritual fulfillment enjoyed in the west and so lost the war of ideas. I once heard someone describe the Soviet Union as being like a midget with the right arm of a normal man, strong militarily but ideologically bankrupt. The "Afterword" is filled with interesting material such as this. In the closing pages Dobbs is careful to assign credit for avoiding a 1962 nuclear exchange to the strong character of Kennedy and Khruschev. He's convinced that the character of leaders is instrumental in crisis management. And his comment that had a man of different character been in the White House on 9/11 the progress of foreign policy 2, 3 and 4 years later would've been different is a sobering one.(less)

like

· see review

Aug 02, 2009

Brian rated it

· review of another edition

Like many accounts of the Cuban Missile Crisis, this book reads like a novel. However, I commend this book even to readers who don't think they have the stomach for one more book about humanity's closest pass by extinction. For one, new research by Dobbs exposes many of the myths that pervade popular accounts of the episode, including RFK's Thirteen Days. Second, Dobbs triangulates key events through the eyes of Krushchev and Castro, in addition to the Kennedy brothers. This technique de-emp...more

like

· see review

Nov 05, 2008

Tony rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: history

Dobbs, Michael. ONE MINUTE TO MIDNIGHT: Kennedy, Khrushchev, and Castro on the Brink of Nuclear War. (2008). *****. This is probably the best account I have ever read of the Cuban Missle Crisis. The author has used recently declassified sources to explore the actual events that occurred in October of 1962 and gone back to original sources and new interviews to characterize the personalities involved. The book reads like a top-notch spy novel by LeCarre or Furst, but is unbelievable based ...more

like 1 like

· see review

Oct 09, 2008

Sheehan rated it

· review of another edition

A great piece of research journalism. Dobbs does a great job of integrating new Freedom of Information Act docs from the era to present a compelling narrative of the events from the Cuban Missile crisis.

Having been born after the whole affair it is surreal to read how close I came to never existing. It was as though technology had almost finally bested its creators, with systems so vast and regulation so nascent that anything could have gone wrong, and plenty did...and yet still hu...more

like

· see review

Oct 17, 2008

Ben rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: recentreads

I picked this book up because I had very little knowledge of the events that comprised the Cuban Missile Crisis. I really was only expecting a well-written history lesson. What I got was an emotionally engaging and dramatic re-enactment of those thirteen days. Michael Dobbs does an excellent job of creating and maintaining suspense while conveying fact after fact after fact. Sometimes the facts alone sufficed to establish drama, especially where, for example, Dobbs described the amount of fi...moreI picked this book up because I had very little knowledge of the events that comprised the Cuban Missile Crisis. I really was only expecting a well-written history lesson. What I got was an emotionally engaging and dramatic re-enactment of those thirteen days. Michael Dobbs does an excellent job of creating and maintaining suspense while conveying fact after fact after fact. Sometimes the facts alone sufficed to establish drama, especially where, for example, Dobbs described the amount of firepower available to the United States on the second Sunday of the standoff. "By midday Sunday, [the U.S. Strategic Air Command] would have a 'cocked'--meaning 'ready to fire'--nuclear strike force of 162 missiles and 1,200 airplanes carrying 2,858 nuclear warheads." Add to this the fact that a single warhead carried by a B-52 bomber had a destructive power that was seventy times that of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima and the drama is set.

The most valuable aspect of the book, and clearly the author's purpose in writing it, was the frequent portrayal of both Krushchev and Kennedy as seeking a peaceful resolution, but clearly and knowingly dealing with problems beyond their immediate control. The description of the hugely inflated times that it took messages to travel through diplomatic channels (many, many hours) demonstrated the point. How were Krushchev and Kennedy going to avoid nuclear war when diplomatic messages took so long to be received, yet missiles were on 15 minute alert? The smallest screw-up by anyone, even down to a soldier or pilot, could ignite the flame that began World War III.

The "Afterword" alone is worth reading. In it, Dobbs persuasively argues that many American military decisions since the Cuban Missile Crisis have been premised on a mis-reading of its lessons. According to conventional wisdom, Kennedy's cool, clear decision-making strategy and strong showing of military might forced Krushchev to back down. As the book demonstrates, however, nothing was further from the truth. Yet, we can see remnants of that popular belief in the Vietnam War and even in Iraq.

While One Minute to Midnight is not perfect (at times the level of detail is overwhelming and a bit gratuitous), it is an entertaining and eye-opening read about a series of events that brought us one small accident away from nuclear devastation. (less)

like

· see review

Mar 29, 2009

Beth/Chuck rated it

· review of another edition

Gave accounts from all three sides involved. Brought to light a lot of events that happened differently than what was originally reported. Also many events brought out that were just recently declassified from the American side and through interviews with some of the Russians who were involved both in Cuba and also back in the Soviet Union. The entire book covers events from a timespan of less than two weeks. There was plenty going on. I remember it as a scared 13 year old.

like

· see review

Jul 27, 2011

Bryan Mcwhite rated it

· review of another edition

This was a very good read. The best piece of history I've read since "John Adams." Gives big-picture, as well as good detailed explanations of the factors that contributed to the escalation and de-escalation of nuclear hostilities. Could have done without the CIA sabotoge sub-plot, which really added nothing to the story. You could skip those sections without losing anything. Overall a great read, though. Highly recommended beach and before-bed reading!

like

· see review

Sep 11, 2009

Jack rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: history, nonfiction, politics, presidents

Great book about an important 13 days in American history. There are many legitimate areas in which one can criticize JFK, but I am certainly glad that, for those 13 days anyway, he was president, and not any of the many folks around him. Also, Kruschev was, again at this moment anyway, a leader who worked hard to avoid world destruction. Finally, thankfully Castro had no more power than he did. It would have been better if he had much less, better yet none.

like

· see review

Jan 09, 2011

Josh rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: american-history, politics, military, cold-war

Recent book on the Cuban Missile Crisis that makes good use of newer information. There was much going on that might agitate the situation. The book feels a little "busy" at times but I think that's part of the author's point. Well written.

The events of this book repeatedly made me think about the events that started World War I, to the point where I felt motivated to move "Guns Of August" up near the top of my To Read list. Perhaps not coincidentally, the aut...more

like

· see review

Aug 11, 2011

Jeff rated it

· review of another edition

I found it to be a very interesting book about the Cuban Missile Crisis, even for people who aren't interested in that period in American history. Well researched and written. The stories in the book that show how much the USA and the USSR misunderstood each other were very enlightening...you can't help but wonder if that is still the case today with international relations.

like

· see review

Jul 28, 2010

Larry rated it

· review of another edition

After reading 3-4 other books lately on this period of Cold War history, I have to call this the best of the ones I've seen. It's literally a minute by minute account of the week. It calls for the reader to have some beginning background into the historical background of the era, but if you have that, this book is terrific in capturing details, nuances and the tone of the crisis itself.

like

· see review

title link	preview: One Minute to Midnight: Kennedy, Khrushchev and Castro on the Brink of Nuclear War
avg rating	preview: One Minute to Midnight: Kennedy, Khrushchev and Castro on the Brink of Nuclear War Goodreads rating: 4.05 (345 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6481016-one-minute-to-midnight?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1322675823m/6481016.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6481016-one-minute-to-midnight?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]One Minute to Midnight: Kennedy, Khrushchev and Castro on the Brink of Nuclear War by Michael Dobbs[/url]

One Minute to Midnight: Kennedy, Khrushchev and Castro on the Brink of Nuclear War

Friend Reviews

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topic
Discuss This Book

combine
Other Editions (7)

Videos About This Book

Genres

Readers Also Enjoyed

About Michael Dobbs

Books by Michael Dobbs

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website

Trivia About One Minute to Mid...

Quotes from One Minute to Midnight...