One Hell of a Gamble: Khrushchev, Castro, and Kennedy, 1958-1964

by Timothy J. Naftali, Aleksandr Fursenko

Release Date: August, 1998

Edition: Paperback

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A balanced study of nuclear insanity

Naftali and Fursenko have done a excelent piece of research in this interesting book about the Cuban Missile Crisis. In particular, they highlight the close to insane policies of the Russian Government as they sought to bolster the Cuban regime from US attack. This book gives the whole picture including the bay of pigs and other US misadventures that drove Castro into the Soviet orbit. The most fascinating section for me was the part on Castro and way he was compelled to adopt Soviet style communism. The US simply did not leave him any choice. A balanced look at high powered diplomacy that had gone mad.

One hell of a spotlight on the Cuban Missile Crisis

This is one of those rare historical works where the facts are bolder than any fictional account would dare to be. It is a page turner that puts to rest some of the conventional wisdom of the Khrushchev-Kennedy cold war period. For those of us who lived through those dark days, it is a startling revelation about what really went on behind the scenes and how close we nearly came to total annihilation. For those not yet born, it is an insightful portrait of the times and a microcosm of the cold war. The book never seeks to place blame; its apparent goal is only to reveal as many facts, communications and miscommunications that forrmed the calculus for all the critical decisions of the times. It reads like a good spy novel and has the additional capacity to inform. A great read