One Minute to Midnight - Digest

Reading • One Minute to Midnight

In Churchillian terms, this was Kennedy’s finest moment. By most accounts, his handling of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis was a judicious and even-handed bit of brinksmanship. Of course it probably would not have been necessary had Kennedy impressed Krushchev as a strong and forceful leader in their meeting in 1961. In any case, nuclear war was averted and 30-plus years of the Cold War continued. Journalist Michael Dobbs updates this riveting episode in recent history with gleanings from new source material. It may even inspire an updated docudrama and/or a video game for those generations who may be unaware of this critical historical moment. —Robert Birnbaum, Jun. 30, 2008