The Kennedy Tapes: Inside the White House During the Cuban Missile Crisis [Anglais] [Relié]

For 13 days in October 1962, the United States and the Soviet Union teetered on the brink of a nuclear exchange after the Soviets placed intermediate-range missiles on the island of Cuba. U.S. forces were poised at red alert while the Soviets pledged to launch nuclear weapons if the island was invaded. As the world watched anxiously, President John F. Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev negotiated a truce that averted disaster. Throughout this tense period, Kennedy and his closest advisors planned their strategy carefully, while--unknown to all but Kennedy, his secretary, and possibly his brother Robert--the historic discussions were being taped by hidden microphones placed in the Oval Office. More than 23 hours of meetings and telephone calls were recorded, all of which have been painstakingly transcribed and documented in The Kennedy Tapes, providing an intimate perspective on the decision- making process and the personalities involved. Enhanced by the commentary and analysis of historians Ernest R. May and Philip D. Zelikow, this volume is the essential reader on the Cuban missile crisis.

The Kennedy Tapes is a splendid achievement, as powerful and exciting a book as one is likely to read this year.... As with any good book about a great event, this one has a little of everything-- suspense, humor, pathos, even darkest-before-the-dawn melodrama. But what one is most likely to take away from it is the image of a Lincolnesque Kennedy, lonely, melancholy, grimly persevering.

The Kennedy Tapes comes as close as most people will ever get to being a fly on the wall during the discussions of leaders caught in a deep and dangerous dilemma.

The glimpse we get into the making of US policy in a crisis-- in this case the Cuban missile crisis--is unique and, in light of the historical and legal problems of the taping of White House conversations by presidents, may well remain so. Which is a great pity, for despite the apparently poor quality of the tapes and various unresolved questions relating to them, the picture of US officials dealing with the most serious crisis of the Cold War is memorable. Although the editors, both scholars at Harvard, rightly remark on the ``inherently disorderly character'' of such meetings, the quality of understanding and analysis the participants brought to the task was high. There are some exceptions: The lack of esteem felt by Kennedy for the Joint Chiefs of Staff seems justified by their performance (General LeMay openly equated Kennedy's actions with ``the appeasement at Munich''); the congressional group brought in to advise was less than helpful, Senator Fulbright, ironically, calling for an immediate all-out invasion. Kennedy privately chews Secretary Rusk out for failing to do contingency planning on the US missiles in Turkey. But the praise given by the editors to Kennedy seems justified, not only for his clear recognition of the awesome responsibilities of his actions, but for asking questions that his advisors had neglected. The editors write of his ``cold analytical mind,'' and indeed he alone notes that US allies think that on the subject of Cuba ``we're slightly demented''; if anything, he tends to be pessimistic (``He'll grab Berlin, of course,'' he says of Khrushchev). But it is particularly impressive when contrasted with the idiosyncratic, unsystematic, and uninformed policymaking of Khrushchev. A remarkable and truly historic record, well analyzed and put in context by May and Zelikow. (20 b&w photos, not seen) (Book-of- the-Month Club/History Book Club selection) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

[A]s close as most people will ever get to being a fly on the wall during the discussions of leaders. --Ce texte fait référence à l'édition Broché .

The closest most of us will ever come to being inside the Oval Office at a moment of crisis. For sheer drama, this work of history may never be duplicated. The events of the Cuban Missile Crisis unfold in the actual words of President John F. Kennedy and his top advisers. Now available in a new, concise edition, this book retains its gripping sense of history in the making. 20 photographs. --Ce texte fait référence à l'édition Broché .

October 2, 1962, the United States and the Soviet Union stood eyeball to eyeball, each brandishing enough nuclear weapons to obliterate civilization in the Northern Hemisphere. It was one of the most dangerous moments in world history . . . documented here by the full and authentic audio transcripts of President John F. Kennedy's National Security Council meetings. These transcripts are a unique window on a drama rarely, if ever, witnessed by those outside the halls of power. 20 photos.

For 13 days in October 1962, the U.S. and the Soviet Union teetered on the brink of a nuclear exchange after the Soviets placed intermediate range missiles on the island of Cuba. This book provides an intimate perspective on the decision-making process and the personalities involved. Softcover. --Ce texte fait référence à l'édition Broché .

Ernest R. May is Charles Warren Professor of American History at Harvard University. Philip D. Zelikow is director of the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. --Ce texte fait référence à l'édition Broché .