Serhii Plokhy

2021

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A revisiting of the Cuban missile crisis from more of a Soviet perspective, which is an interesting twist.

It's a view that focuses on the politics in play rather than on the publicly-visible events, and this radically changes the view of what's important. The confrontation at sea, for example, and the famous tussle at the Security Council between Stevenson and Zorin, barely rate mentions. Instead there's consideration of Kennedy's domestic credibility problem in dealing with Krushchev, as well as Krushchev's problem getting out of the situation in which he found himself. It also shows the influence of Fidel Castro, who was far more willing to get into a nuclear war than either of the main protagonists, in spite of the obvious consequences that would have had for Cuba.

4/5. Finished 12 September 2021.

(Originally published on Goodreads.)