In October 1962, at the height of the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union came to the brink of nuclear conflict over the placement of ...
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Apr 14, 2009
Alex
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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...
This book is written as a timeline, but it seems like it could have used that framework more effect More...
Feb 09, 2012
Keith
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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 He has made use of many previously unpublished archival materials.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
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Jan 05, 2009
Andy
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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
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Sep 11, 2011
Eduardo
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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...
Dobbs chronicles the crisis, describing the players and what they knew and when they knew it. And what the More...
Jun 11, 2011
Marks54
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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
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Mar 23, 2011
Caroline
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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
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Jan 26, 2011
Darryl
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**** “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
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Jan 04, 2011
Michael
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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
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Feb 05, 2009
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 attachs 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 "
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Jan 19, 2009
Chris
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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
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Jul 25, 2009
Elizabeth
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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
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Feb 22, 2011
Nathan
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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 More...
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 More...
Feb 10, 2011
Dave
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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
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Jul 12, 2009
Eric
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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
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Oct 26, 2010
David
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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...
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...
Apr 26, 2010
David
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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
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Jul 14, 2010
Nathan
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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
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Sep 27, 2009
Lock
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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...
A great read that manages, for the mos More...
Jun 08, 2011
Tom
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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 More...
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 More...
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Feb 03, 2010
James
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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
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Aug 02, 2009
Brian
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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
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Nov 05, 2008
Tony
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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
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Oct 09, 2008
Sheehan
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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...
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...
Oct 17, 2008
Ben
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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
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Mar 29, 2009
Beth/Chuck
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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.
Jul 27, 2011
Bryan
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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!
Sep 11, 2009
Jack
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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.
Jan 09, 2011
Josh
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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...
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...
Aug 11, 2011
Jeff
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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.
Jul 28, 2010
Larry
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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.
