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The Shadow of War: A Novel of the Cuban Missile Crisis
From the bestselling author comes the story of rising conflict between the super-powers that gripped the world, a global war that almost happened: The Cuban Missile Crisis.
In 1961, the new president John F. Kennedy, inherited an ill-conceived, poorly executed invasion of Cuba that failed miserably and set in motion the events that put the U.S. and the Soviet Union on a collision course that nearly started a war that would have enveloped much of the world.
Extensively researched and vividly imagined, The Shadow of War brings to life the many threads that lead to the building crisis between the Soviet Union and the United States in 1962.
Told from a multitude of perspectives and voices, from the Russian engineer attempting the near impossible task of building the missile launch facilities in Cuba, to the U.S. Navy commanders who ships are sent to "quarantine" Cuba, to the Soviet Premier, Nikita Khrushchev, desperately trying to maintain a challenging balancing act between the conflicting demands of various powerful forces, to the brothers Kennedy (Bobby and JFK) who can't allow Russia to land nuclear missiles in Cuba, or to appear weak in confronting Khrushchev, but keenly understand how close they are dancing to the edge of war.
Shaara brings to life all the action and actors, famous and little known, that embodied a war that almost happened, the Cuban Missile Crisis.
In 1961, the new president John F. Kennedy, inherited an ill-conceived, poorly executed invasion of Cuba that failed miserably and set in motion the events that put the U.S. and the Soviet Union on a collision course that nearly started a war that would have enveloped much of the world.
Extensively researched and vividly imagined, The Shadow of War brings to life the many threads that lead to the building crisis between the Soviet Union and the United States in 1962.
Told from a multitude of perspectives and voices, from the Russian engineer attempting the near impossible task of building the missile launch facilities in Cuba, to the U.S. Navy commanders who ships are sent to "quarantine" Cuba, to the Soviet Premier, Nikita Khrushchev, desperately trying to maintain a challenging balancing act between the conflicting demands of various powerful forces, to the brothers Kennedy (Bobby and JFK) who can't allow Russia to land nuclear missiles in Cuba, or to appear weak in confronting Khrushchev, but keenly understand how close they are dancing to the edge of war.
Shaara brings to life all the action and actors, famous and little known, that embodied a war that almost happened, the Cuban Missile Crisis.
368 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 14, 2024
327 people are currently reading
12112 people want to read
About the author
Jeff Shaara
60 books2,160 followersJEFF SHAARA is the award-winning, New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of seventeen novels, including Rise to Rebellion and The Rising Tide, as well as Gods and Generals and The Last Full Measure—two novels that complete his father's Pulitzer Prize-winning classic, The Killer Angels. Shaara was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, grew up in Tallahassee, Florida, and lives in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 335 reviews
April 5, 2024
Shaara has written a well done historical fiction that tackles the Cuban Missile Crisis. This is the first book I’ve read that focused on this event. Shaara starts over a year in advance giving us the background to see it wasn’t a singular event, but one more block in the Cold War. It follows from The Bay of Pigs to the building of the wall in Berlin and on. And it wasn’t the only issue Kennedy was managing, as Civil Rights confrontations were heating up across the south.
Alternating between the US and Russian perspectives, we often see the same event from both sides and from those in a position of power right down to the common man.
It doesn’t paint Jack Kennedy as an accomplished president from the get go. He is having to learn on the job and knows it. He recognizes that he makes mistakes. Meanwhile, Khrushchev is trying not to repeat the mistakes of Stalin while still maintaining a firm grip on power.
Even knowing how this ultimately played out, that we averted a disaster, I was surprised at how well Shaara conveyed the sense of tension and how caught up in it I was. I really appreciated how detailed the discussions and thought processes were. The characters are all names I knew, but this was the first time I got a real sense of who they were and what stance they took. It was interesting to see how both Khrushchev and Kennedy had to be the calm in the center of the storm, as many on both sides were ready to begin WWIII. I was so impressed by the ability to foresee how the dominoes would fall.
I couldn’t help but be impressed by the difference between the news realm of then and now. I can’t imagine the various news outlets of today agreeing to hold off on reporting until after a president had spoken to the American people.
This is a deep dive into the situation and how it played out. This ticks off all my desires for good historical fiction - to teach me something, to tell a good story and give me an insight into those involved.
My thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance copy of this book.
Alternating between the US and Russian perspectives, we often see the same event from both sides and from those in a position of power right down to the common man.
It doesn’t paint Jack Kennedy as an accomplished president from the get go. He is having to learn on the job and knows it. He recognizes that he makes mistakes. Meanwhile, Khrushchev is trying not to repeat the mistakes of Stalin while still maintaining a firm grip on power.
Even knowing how this ultimately played out, that we averted a disaster, I was surprised at how well Shaara conveyed the sense of tension and how caught up in it I was. I really appreciated how detailed the discussions and thought processes were. The characters are all names I knew, but this was the first time I got a real sense of who they were and what stance they took. It was interesting to see how both Khrushchev and Kennedy had to be the calm in the center of the storm, as many on both sides were ready to begin WWIII. I was so impressed by the ability to foresee how the dominoes would fall.
I couldn’t help but be impressed by the difference between the news realm of then and now. I can’t imagine the various news outlets of today agreeing to hold off on reporting until after a president had spoken to the American people.
This is a deep dive into the situation and how it played out. This ticks off all my desires for good historical fiction - to teach me something, to tell a good story and give me an insight into those involved.
My thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance copy of this book.
July 31, 2025
“One thing I’ve learned about the military. Those brass hats have one great advantage. If we listen to them, and do what they want us to say, none of us will be alive later to tell them they were wrong.” John F. Kennedy
“That this was the most dangerous crisis of the nuclear age does not tell us how dangerous it was.” McGeorge Bundy, JFK’s National Security Advisor
“American history books are full of praise for presidents who win great wars. A word should also be said for those who prevent them.” Theodor Sorenson
By now author Shaara has honed his skills at historical fiction and we know what to expect: The focus will be on conflicts and the interactions of individuals that illuminate the historical moment. Here, he turns to the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Shaara opens with the failed Bay of Pigs invasion that occurred soon after John F. Kennedy took the reins of the United States Presidency.
Sorenson said, “Sir, what now? We can’t hide from the facts, not any longer.”
Kennedy stood now, paced slowly before the windows of his office. “I’m not allowed to be the new kid on the block, no one’s excusing me for being wet behind the ears. People died, and I approved the plan. No blame can be fixed, no matter how tempting it is to hang those damn CIA people out to dry. They know they’re through, especially Bissell. Dulles too, I suppose. The head man can’t be immune. But that won’t satisfy anyone else. It sure as hell won’t satisfy me, or the American public. I’d like to go over to CIA, and smash their damned offices to splinters.” He looked at Taylor now. “The damned Joint Chiefs, you sons of bitches who wear all that fruit salad on your shoulders, just sat there and accepted what the CIA told you. You treat me like I’m five years old, that you have to explain the simplest facts to me. But this time, when all of you should have been throwing cold water on the CIA, you sit back with your oh-so-superior smiles, and sign off on an operation none of you would have dared to approve on your own. You patronized your greenhorn president … and went along with what little the CIA told you, knowing none of this would fall on your heads. As pissed off as I am at all the counsel I received, I will not hide from it. No, gentlemen, this is my doing. It’s my fault, and the blame rests right here in this office. The quicker I own up to that, the quicker we can move forward, put it behind us.”
Sorenson said, “Own up to it publicly? A full statement to the press?”
“A full statement to everyone, the press, the public, the government, and even the damn Russians."
The book moves through the year and a half between this event and the missile crisis. Shaara tells his story, shifting among various personae, but concentrating on three: Robert Kennedy, the President’s brother and, also, Attorney General of the United States; Nikita Krushchev, Joseph Stalin’s successor as head of the U.S.S.R.; and, Joseph Russo, a professor of English at Florida State University with liberal leanings in a conservative district that is trying to understand “a world where nuclear missiles are an everyday fact of life.”
As the months roll by, Shaara dramatizes two themes: the USA’s domestic focus brought on by the civil rights movement; and, the psychological impact upon the USSR of the presence of American missiles “on their border” in Turkey, etc.
Most every character is “real” but their actual words in private discussions are likely entirely invented by Shaara. The author adroitly builds the tensions with both major cultural clashes and rivalries built upon ambition. There is rarely a false note in the novel and, though we know how it turns out, it is a very satisfactory effort.
A fast and thrilling read. 5*
“That this was the most dangerous crisis of the nuclear age does not tell us how dangerous it was.” McGeorge Bundy, JFK’s National Security Advisor
“American history books are full of praise for presidents who win great wars. A word should also be said for those who prevent them.” Theodor Sorenson
By now author Shaara has honed his skills at historical fiction and we know what to expect: The focus will be on conflicts and the interactions of individuals that illuminate the historical moment. Here, he turns to the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Shaara opens with the failed Bay of Pigs invasion that occurred soon after John F. Kennedy took the reins of the United States Presidency.
Sorenson said, “Sir, what now? We can’t hide from the facts, not any longer.”
Kennedy stood now, paced slowly before the windows of his office. “I’m not allowed to be the new kid on the block, no one’s excusing me for being wet behind the ears. People died, and I approved the plan. No blame can be fixed, no matter how tempting it is to hang those damn CIA people out to dry. They know they’re through, especially Bissell. Dulles too, I suppose. The head man can’t be immune. But that won’t satisfy anyone else. It sure as hell won’t satisfy me, or the American public. I’d like to go over to CIA, and smash their damned offices to splinters.” He looked at Taylor now. “The damned Joint Chiefs, you sons of bitches who wear all that fruit salad on your shoulders, just sat there and accepted what the CIA told you. You treat me like I’m five years old, that you have to explain the simplest facts to me. But this time, when all of you should have been throwing cold water on the CIA, you sit back with your oh-so-superior smiles, and sign off on an operation none of you would have dared to approve on your own. You patronized your greenhorn president … and went along with what little the CIA told you, knowing none of this would fall on your heads. As pissed off as I am at all the counsel I received, I will not hide from it. No, gentlemen, this is my doing. It’s my fault, and the blame rests right here in this office. The quicker I own up to that, the quicker we can move forward, put it behind us.”
Sorenson said, “Own up to it publicly? A full statement to the press?”
“A full statement to everyone, the press, the public, the government, and even the damn Russians."
The book moves through the year and a half between this event and the missile crisis. Shaara tells his story, shifting among various personae, but concentrating on three: Robert Kennedy, the President’s brother and, also, Attorney General of the United States; Nikita Krushchev, Joseph Stalin’s successor as head of the U.S.S.R.; and, Joseph Russo, a professor of English at Florida State University with liberal leanings in a conservative district that is trying to understand “a world where nuclear missiles are an everyday fact of life.”
As the months roll by, Shaara dramatizes two themes: the USA’s domestic focus brought on by the civil rights movement; and, the psychological impact upon the USSR of the presence of American missiles “on their border” in Turkey, etc.
Most every character is “real” but their actual words in private discussions are likely entirely invented by Shaara. The author adroitly builds the tensions with both major cultural clashes and rivalries built upon ambition. There is rarely a false note in the novel and, though we know how it turns out, it is a very satisfactory effort.
A fast and thrilling read. 5*
April 9, 2024
This exhaustively researched historical novel looks at the Cuban missile crisis from three points of view. We are inside the White House, the Kremlin, and an American living in Florida. It begins with the Bay of Pigs fiasco, where the US was supposed to train Cubans to depose Castro. When the Soviet Union started to put nuclear missiles in Cuba, things got serious quickly, and fortunately nuclear war was averted. I had never read any of Shaara's historical fiction. I was impressed by how accessible and interesting he made this historical event, so I will definitely be looking for more of his books. Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for the ARC.
May 7, 2024
First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley, Jeff Shaara, and Macmillan Audio for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.
A long-time fan of Jeff Shaara, I was quite eager to get this ARC audio of his latest novel. Those familiar with the author will know that he mixes historical accounts of some military or political situation with varied perspectives of the event, both well-known players and civilian. Shaara tackles the Cuban Missile Crisis in this book, which explores the heightened tensions between the Kennedy Administration and Soviet Premier Khrushchev, pushing the world to the brink of nuclear war. Told with intensity on all sides and keeping the reader on edge throughout, Shaara shows once more why he is at the top of the genre.
As the pressures of the Cold War mount, US President John F. Kennedy seeks to quell the communist sentiment in the Americas. His plan, led by a overly confident CIA, is to invade Cuba and take out its leader, Fidel Castro. When the Bay of Pigs turns out to be a massive failure, Kennedy is left wth egg on his face and trying to recover, as the CIA distances itself from its bad intel.
Focussing on the weakness of their mortal enemy, the Soviets look to take advantage and heighten their power base. Premier Nikita Khrushchev seeks to make a radical move by placing nuclear missiles in Cuba, pointed at America. This mirrors the placement of nuclear missiles in Turkey by the Americans years before. This move will have to be secretive and completely off the radar, so as to keep the Americans from reacting until it is too late. Khrushchev tries to entice the Cuban leader by showing that this will be a protection for his small island nation.
When news of the missile building makes its way to the Kennedy Administration, they are livid and demand that. the missiles be removed. Khrushchev refuses to stand down, citing the need and threatening to use force to show his power. The Kennedy-Khrushchev showdown over a period of thirteen days leads to what would almost certainly have been nuclear war and disaster.
All the while, American professor Joseph Russo watches through news coverage how the US tumble in Cuba, but turn things around during the standoff. Russo explores his own views, as well as those around him, to better understand the civilian angle to the Cuban Missile Crisis. While there is no clear knowledge of the intensity of the events between Kennedy and Khrushchev at the time, Russo offers up the naïveté of public sentiment until everything was done and the missiles left the Cuban territory. A gripping story told from many angles, Jeff Shaara leaves the reader in awe at how history took such a turn over such a short period of time.
Jeff Shaara is a master at the unique narrative presentation that fuels all of his books. Exploring a historical event with political and military undertones and providing views from many sides, Shaara tries to offer a complete story. His narrative is fueled by fact and uses direct quotations to add depth and the fiction flavouring of the story. As the story gains momentum, there is a push to discover unknown aspects to the Cuban Missile Crisis, found in the research aspect and civilian perspective of the story. Shaara’s strong storytelling brings the book to life and keeps the reader enthralled.
While books based on historical events make it harder to develop plot points that have surprises, Shaara does not fail here. He does well to build up the tension and keeps the reader wondering by added lesser-known storylines in the larger piece, as well as grounding things through the civilian aspect. Shaara’s able to keep the surprises and the unique angles while also making sure that he sticks to the history and leaves the soap box preaching for others.
While I do not usually comment on the narrator of audiobooks, I would be remiss if I did not mention Paul Michael’s work on this piece (and all other Shaara novels I have listened to over the years). Michael breathes life into the story with the accents, clear narrative delivery, and strong variety of pacing. I love Shaara books even more because Paul Michael is at the helm, leading me through the story.
Kudos, Mr. Shaara, for another stunning piece of history that comes to life.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
A long-time fan of Jeff Shaara, I was quite eager to get this ARC audio of his latest novel. Those familiar with the author will know that he mixes historical accounts of some military or political situation with varied perspectives of the event, both well-known players and civilian. Shaara tackles the Cuban Missile Crisis in this book, which explores the heightened tensions between the Kennedy Administration and Soviet Premier Khrushchev, pushing the world to the brink of nuclear war. Told with intensity on all sides and keeping the reader on edge throughout, Shaara shows once more why he is at the top of the genre.
As the pressures of the Cold War mount, US President John F. Kennedy seeks to quell the communist sentiment in the Americas. His plan, led by a overly confident CIA, is to invade Cuba and take out its leader, Fidel Castro. When the Bay of Pigs turns out to be a massive failure, Kennedy is left wth egg on his face and trying to recover, as the CIA distances itself from its bad intel.
Focussing on the weakness of their mortal enemy, the Soviets look to take advantage and heighten their power base. Premier Nikita Khrushchev seeks to make a radical move by placing nuclear missiles in Cuba, pointed at America. This mirrors the placement of nuclear missiles in Turkey by the Americans years before. This move will have to be secretive and completely off the radar, so as to keep the Americans from reacting until it is too late. Khrushchev tries to entice the Cuban leader by showing that this will be a protection for his small island nation.
When news of the missile building makes its way to the Kennedy Administration, they are livid and demand that. the missiles be removed. Khrushchev refuses to stand down, citing the need and threatening to use force to show his power. The Kennedy-Khrushchev showdown over a period of thirteen days leads to what would almost certainly have been nuclear war and disaster.
All the while, American professor Joseph Russo watches through news coverage how the US tumble in Cuba, but turn things around during the standoff. Russo explores his own views, as well as those around him, to better understand the civilian angle to the Cuban Missile Crisis. While there is no clear knowledge of the intensity of the events between Kennedy and Khrushchev at the time, Russo offers up the naïveté of public sentiment until everything was done and the missiles left the Cuban territory. A gripping story told from many angles, Jeff Shaara leaves the reader in awe at how history took such a turn over such a short period of time.
Jeff Shaara is a master at the unique narrative presentation that fuels all of his books. Exploring a historical event with political and military undertones and providing views from many sides, Shaara tries to offer a complete story. His narrative is fueled by fact and uses direct quotations to add depth and the fiction flavouring of the story. As the story gains momentum, there is a push to discover unknown aspects to the Cuban Missile Crisis, found in the research aspect and civilian perspective of the story. Shaara’s strong storytelling brings the book to life and keeps the reader enthralled.
While books based on historical events make it harder to develop plot points that have surprises, Shaara does not fail here. He does well to build up the tension and keeps the reader wondering by added lesser-known storylines in the larger piece, as well as grounding things through the civilian aspect. Shaara’s able to keep the surprises and the unique angles while also making sure that he sticks to the history and leaves the soap box preaching for others.
While I do not usually comment on the narrator of audiobooks, I would be remiss if I did not mention Paul Michael’s work on this piece (and all other Shaara novels I have listened to over the years). Michael breathes life into the story with the accents, clear narrative delivery, and strong variety of pacing. I love Shaara books even more because Paul Michael is at the helm, leading me through the story.
Kudos, Mr. Shaara, for another stunning piece of history that comes to life.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
February 13, 2024
Jeff Shaara brings to life one of the most explosive events from the 1960s, the Cuban missile crisis. He tells the story mainly through three sets of eyes. The first is Robert F Kennedy, Attorney General of the United States and brother to the president. The second is the Nikita Khrushchev, the first secretary of the communist party better known as the leader of the Soviet Union. The third is Joseph Russo, an English professor at Florida State University and a Kennedy supporter in a state of Republicans. Mr. Shaara weaves the events of the Cuban missile crisis so well, that you actually feel you are reading a nonfiction book.
The book was well written, and the characters seem very believable as to how they could’ve been in real life. My only complaint on this book is that it didn’t have that edge of your seat feeling to the read, This could partly be due to the fact that the events of what took place are already well known. That was the only thing I didn’t overly enjoy about this novel though. Mr. Shaara did an excellent job giving you a sense of how all the main players felt, as well as, using Joseph Russo to convey some of the thoughts and feelings of every day of Americans during this crisis.
Overall, this book is well worth your time. Especially if you are a fan of history and a good fiction novel. This book is worth picking up when it releases on May 14, 2024. Thank you to Jeff Shaara,, NetGalley, and St. Martin’s press for a free advance copy for an honest review.
The book was well written, and the characters seem very believable as to how they could’ve been in real life. My only complaint on this book is that it didn’t have that edge of your seat feeling to the read, This could partly be due to the fact that the events of what took place are already well known. That was the only thing I didn’t overly enjoy about this novel though. Mr. Shaara did an excellent job giving you a sense of how all the main players felt, as well as, using Joseph Russo to convey some of the thoughts and feelings of every day of Americans during this crisis.
Overall, this book is well worth your time. Especially if you are a fan of history and a good fiction novel. This book is worth picking up when it releases on May 14, 2024. Thank you to Jeff Shaara,, NetGalley, and St. Martin’s press for a free advance copy for an honest review.
November 23, 2024
After many volumes in which Jeff Shaara added a personal touch to almost every war that the United States ever participated in, he has now told another story, the story of what was almost the last war we were a party to. Although the events of October 1962 are now fading into obscurity, for a few days the earth was the closest it had ever come to what the pundits call Mutually Assured Destruction. A single rash act by a Russian or American military officer could easily have triggered a chain reaction that ended in a global catastrophe.
It is easy to joke about in-home bomb shelters and duck-and-cover drills sixty years after the fact but these things actually existed. I was born in DC and attended elementary school in nearby Bethesda, and I still recall the air raid drills. Later, when we moved to Colorado, our next-door neighbors had a bomb shelter. It’s ridiculous to think that any of these would have provided any protection but people were terrified and felt that doing something, anything, was preferable to doing nothing.
If the Cold War really was a war, then the Cuban Missile Crisis is the closest we came to turning it into a hot war. As Shaara ably portrays, a young and relatively inexperienced President John Kennedy went head-to-head with the wily and pugnacious Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev in the most consequential game of chicken ever played. Kennedy, still smarting from the Bay of Pigs debacle, was considered by many on both sides to be unqualified for the kind of brinksmanship that was needed in dealing with the Soviets. Khrushchev wanted to support Cuba, their new ally in the Western Hemisphere and also, by installing nuclear missile batteries on our doorstep, achieve parity with the missiles that we had installed on the Russian border with Turkey. He gambled that if the Americans learned about the project, Kennedy would take no actions other than complain loudly. It’s what the Americans had done in the past and likely would do again.
This is where Sharra’s skillset is so valuable. Although much information can now be gleaned with serious research of memoirs, presidential archives and other sources, no transcripts existed of what was actually said. Almost everything that happened in this story happened behind closed doors and in the highest levels of secrecy. I know this because at the time this was happening my father was a deputy director of a certain ‘Agency’ and for several days he didn’t come home from work. No reasons or excuses were given, just a call to say he wouldn’t be home.
Bottom line: Shaara’s exhaustive research combined with his ability to turn historical documents into human drama. I particularly enjoyed his interpretation of Nikita Khrushchev, one of the most entertaining premiers that the Soviet Union produced. Not only is this a well-written, compelling story, it should remind us today of the perils of inept statesmanship.
*Quotations are cited from an advanced reading copy and may not be the same as appears in the final published edition. The review was based on an advanced reading copy obtained at no cost from the publisher in exchange for an unbiased review. While this does take any ‘not worth what I paid for it’ statements out of my review, it otherwise has no impact on the content of my review.
FYI: On a 5-point scale I assign stars based on my assessment of what the book needs in the way of improvements:
*5 Stars – Nothing at all. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
*4 Stars – It could stand for a few tweaks here and there but it’s pretty good as it is.
*3 Stars – A solid C grade. Some serious rewriting would be needed in order for this book to be considered great or memorable.
*2 Stars – This book needs a lot of work. A good start would be to change the plot, the character development, the writing style and the ending.
*1 Star – The only thing that would improve this book is a good bonfire.
It is easy to joke about in-home bomb shelters and duck-and-cover drills sixty years after the fact but these things actually existed. I was born in DC and attended elementary school in nearby Bethesda, and I still recall the air raid drills. Later, when we moved to Colorado, our next-door neighbors had a bomb shelter. It’s ridiculous to think that any of these would have provided any protection but people were terrified and felt that doing something, anything, was preferable to doing nothing.
If the Cold War really was a war, then the Cuban Missile Crisis is the closest we came to turning it into a hot war. As Shaara ably portrays, a young and relatively inexperienced President John Kennedy went head-to-head with the wily and pugnacious Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev in the most consequential game of chicken ever played. Kennedy, still smarting from the Bay of Pigs debacle, was considered by many on both sides to be unqualified for the kind of brinksmanship that was needed in dealing with the Soviets. Khrushchev wanted to support Cuba, their new ally in the Western Hemisphere and also, by installing nuclear missile batteries on our doorstep, achieve parity with the missiles that we had installed on the Russian border with Turkey. He gambled that if the Americans learned about the project, Kennedy would take no actions other than complain loudly. It’s what the Americans had done in the past and likely would do again.
This is where Sharra’s skillset is so valuable. Although much information can now be gleaned with serious research of memoirs, presidential archives and other sources, no transcripts existed of what was actually said. Almost everything that happened in this story happened behind closed doors and in the highest levels of secrecy. I know this because at the time this was happening my father was a deputy director of a certain ‘Agency’ and for several days he didn’t come home from work. No reasons or excuses were given, just a call to say he wouldn’t be home.
Bottom line: Shaara’s exhaustive research combined with his ability to turn historical documents into human drama. I particularly enjoyed his interpretation of Nikita Khrushchev, one of the most entertaining premiers that the Soviet Union produced. Not only is this a well-written, compelling story, it should remind us today of the perils of inept statesmanship.
*Quotations are cited from an advanced reading copy and may not be the same as appears in the final published edition. The review was based on an advanced reading copy obtained at no cost from the publisher in exchange for an unbiased review. While this does take any ‘not worth what I paid for it’ statements out of my review, it otherwise has no impact on the content of my review.
FYI: On a 5-point scale I assign stars based on my assessment of what the book needs in the way of improvements:
*5 Stars – Nothing at all. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
*4 Stars – It could stand for a few tweaks here and there but it’s pretty good as it is.
*3 Stars – A solid C grade. Some serious rewriting would be needed in order for this book to be considered great or memorable.
*2 Stars – This book needs a lot of work. A good start would be to change the plot, the character development, the writing style and the ending.
*1 Star – The only thing that would improve this book is a good bonfire.
September 5, 2024
A few years ago I attended a Shaara book signing for whatever his current book may have been. I believe this was before Covid so that would have been some time ago and I am not sure what that book may have been. During the Q&A session I asked him what he might be writing about now that he had exhausted nearly all the wars and battles the U.S. had been involved in. Jeff responded that he had always wanted to write a book about the Cuban Missile Crisis. I didn't say anything but I silently groaned. Having read all of his books and as a true fan I understood how he created the fiction for his histories. Shaara's history is entirely accurate and he uses real people that were either key players in the depicted history or were ordinary people that lived through the storied events. The Cuban Missile Crisis occurred during the Kennedy Administration which was probably the first truly modern presidency. Since this crisis was a major event and was certainly one that would be of historic importance it was inconceivable to me how every detail wouldn't have been recorded and memorialized to the nth degree. Assuming this to be true I couldn't see how Shaara would be able to fictionalize anything to the same extent as he had done in his previous works. I left the signing with a signed copy of his new book and hoped he'd rethink this desire. He didn't.
When this book came out I was reluctant to purchase a copy. I really like Shaara's books and I didn't want to be disappointed by reading a dud. Nevertheless, as a fan I couldn't put off the inevitable purchase and bought a signed copy directly from Shaara's Gettysburg HQ. I can now report that my assumptions and fears were entirely unfounded and completely wrong. In actuality this is probably one of his best books. While the outcome is well known that didn't prevent Jeff from creating a tension usually found in books of the thriller genre. I have never been a Kennedy fan and while his assassination was tragic I always wondered that had he lived would he have been held as responsible for Viet Nam as LBJ? However, the depiction in this book paints JFK and RFK in an entirely different light. Both of these men and those around them were truly scared that they were making decisions that could start WWIII. Both sides of this crisis had their war hawks and their diplomats but the ultimate decisions were to be made by only two men, one on each side of the world. Fortunately for all of us each of these men seemed to find their better angels and found a path to preserving peace.
This is an excellent retelling of a nearly forgotten chapter of Cold War History though I suspect it is rather a simplified retelling. Considering the people involved in this event I would expect there is plenty of published documentation to fill in details that some might be interested in learning. If this book sparks a reader's desire to learn more wouldn't that be to the author's credit? Enjoy.
When this book came out I was reluctant to purchase a copy. I really like Shaara's books and I didn't want to be disappointed by reading a dud. Nevertheless, as a fan I couldn't put off the inevitable purchase and bought a signed copy directly from Shaara's Gettysburg HQ. I can now report that my assumptions and fears were entirely unfounded and completely wrong. In actuality this is probably one of his best books. While the outcome is well known that didn't prevent Jeff from creating a tension usually found in books of the thriller genre. I have never been a Kennedy fan and while his assassination was tragic I always wondered that had he lived would he have been held as responsible for Viet Nam as LBJ? However, the depiction in this book paints JFK and RFK in an entirely different light. Both of these men and those around them were truly scared that they were making decisions that could start WWIII. Both sides of this crisis had their war hawks and their diplomats but the ultimate decisions were to be made by only two men, one on each side of the world. Fortunately for all of us each of these men seemed to find their better angels and found a path to preserving peace.
This is an excellent retelling of a nearly forgotten chapter of Cold War History though I suspect it is rather a simplified retelling. Considering the people involved in this event I would expect there is plenty of published documentation to fill in details that some might be interested in learning. If this book sparks a reader's desire to learn more wouldn't that be to the author's credit? Enjoy.
November 14, 2024
Enthralling, enjoyable, and thought-provoking
What an enthralling and enjoyable and thought-provoking book! The publisher’s writeup describes it as a novel set in the days and nights of the Cuban Missile Crisis. I think it would be more accurate to describe it as narrative history; it succeeds both as a gripping read and as an insight into a truly scary time in US history.
The three main viewpoint characters are all real people: Bobby Kennedy, who was President Kennedy’s highly trusted advisor as well as Attorney General, Nikita Khrushchev (!), and Joseph Russo, an English professor in Florida who later wrote a bestselling book on the Civil War. Each of these men struggles with the potential effects of decisions on how to treat the issue of weaponry in and around Cuba. The book details multiple meetings among the US decisionmakers and their advisors. We hear the arguments for various paths of action or inaction and the dangers of each. As someone who lived during that era, I certainly was aware of the news reporting on the subject but never really thought of what it would be like actually to be involved in making the decisions that would affect the destiny of the countries involved and potentially the world. The inclusion of Russo’s struggles as a member of the public was also helpful, perhaps especially for those who did not live though that time. Seeing his interactions with and worries about his family as he responded emotionally to the news broadcasts brought the problem alive in a different way. All the protagonists emerge as real people with personalities, which we often forget when we only encounter them on screen or in the news reports and trust that the author made those personalities as true-to-life as possible based on information available.
Shaara does a nice job of evoking the era. He brought smiles to my face when I read details like Russo’s family enjoying a TV dinner and a frown at the description of Russo’s neighbor building a bomb shelter.
Speaking of smiles, there are a surprising number of “Ha ha” reactions on my kindle at the often sardonic comments the decisionmakers make while they deliberate.
This was the first book I have read by Jeff Shaara. I don’t know if the quality of this book is typical of his writing, but I certainly am going to find out!
I received an advance review copy of this book from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press.
Reread for Sunday Philosophers November 2024. Just as good the second time around. This time I think I was even more impressed by how the people came to life and how much I empathized with the decisions they had to make.
What an enthralling and enjoyable and thought-provoking book! The publisher’s writeup describes it as a novel set in the days and nights of the Cuban Missile Crisis. I think it would be more accurate to describe it as narrative history; it succeeds both as a gripping read and as an insight into a truly scary time in US history.
The three main viewpoint characters are all real people: Bobby Kennedy, who was President Kennedy’s highly trusted advisor as well as Attorney General, Nikita Khrushchev (!), and Joseph Russo, an English professor in Florida who later wrote a bestselling book on the Civil War. Each of these men struggles with the potential effects of decisions on how to treat the issue of weaponry in and around Cuba. The book details multiple meetings among the US decisionmakers and their advisors. We hear the arguments for various paths of action or inaction and the dangers of each. As someone who lived during that era, I certainly was aware of the news reporting on the subject but never really thought of what it would be like actually to be involved in making the decisions that would affect the destiny of the countries involved and potentially the world. The inclusion of Russo’s struggles as a member of the public was also helpful, perhaps especially for those who did not live though that time. Seeing his interactions with and worries about his family as he responded emotionally to the news broadcasts brought the problem alive in a different way. All the protagonists emerge as real people with personalities, which we often forget when we only encounter them on screen or in the news reports and trust that the author made those personalities as true-to-life as possible based on information available.
Shaara does a nice job of evoking the era. He brought smiles to my face when I read details like Russo’s family enjoying a TV dinner and a frown at the description of Russo’s neighbor building a bomb shelter.
Speaking of smiles, there are a surprising number of “Ha ha” reactions on my kindle at the often sardonic comments the decisionmakers make while they deliberate.
This was the first book I have read by Jeff Shaara. I don’t know if the quality of this book is typical of his writing, but I certainly am going to find out!
I received an advance review copy of this book from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press.
Reread for Sunday Philosophers November 2024. Just as good the second time around. This time I think I was even more impressed by how the people came to life and how much I empathized with the decisions they had to make.
June 8, 2024
"In Europe and America
There's a growing feeling of hysteria
Conditioned to respond to all the threats
In the rhetorical speeches of the Soviets
Mr. Khrushchev said, "We will bury you"
I don't subscribe to this point of view
It would be such an ignorant thing to do
If the Russians love their children too
How can I save my little boy
From Oppenheimer's deadly toy?
There is no monopoly in common sense
On either side of the political fence
We share the same biology
Regardless of ideology
Believe me when I say to you
I hope the Russians love their children too... "
Sting "Russians"
I went into this book knowing two things: 1. that I love Jeff Shaara's books/writing, and 2. that I knew *ALL* about the Cuban Missile Crisis. By the end, I again knew two things: 1. I still 100% love Mr. Shaara's writing, and 2. I knew close to *NOTHING* about the Cuban Missile Crisis [think 1%]. Unfortunately for me, that made some of this book difficult to understand as I had no frame of reference and wished I had read, at the very least, Robert F. Kennedy's book "Thirteen Days", if not other books from this time frame as well. There were definite moments where I felt completely out of my depth.
That said, this is still a stellar book, with detailed writing and impeccable research [I'd expect nothing less from this author], and I am left , amazed at 1. just how close we came to nuclear war with the [former] Soviet Union, 2. how diplomacy and a firm hand CAN work in one's favor when dealing with someone [even a world "leader"] who is acting like a petulant child, and 3. how thankful I am for the level heads that prevailed over the course of those thirteen days [given how fraught things eventually got and how much some really wanted war].
This read has really sparked an interest [for me] in this time period, and I will be reading RFK's book [a long with whatever else I can find] sooner rather than later.
Very well done: I highly recommend this book!
I received an audiobook ARC for this book and it was narrated by one of my favorite narrators, and he did an excellent job telling this story [I give him a billion stars for capturing the unique voices of both JFK and RFK so well]. I highly recommend this awesome audiobook.
Thank you to NetGalley, Jeff Shaara, Paul Michael - Narrator, St. Martin's Press, and Macmillan Audio for providing the eBook and audiobook ARC's in exchange for an honest review.
There's a growing feeling of hysteria
Conditioned to respond to all the threats
In the rhetorical speeches of the Soviets
Mr. Khrushchev said, "We will bury you"
I don't subscribe to this point of view
It would be such an ignorant thing to do
If the Russians love their children too
How can I save my little boy
From Oppenheimer's deadly toy?
There is no monopoly in common sense
On either side of the political fence
We share the same biology
Regardless of ideology
Believe me when I say to you
I hope the Russians love their children too... "
Sting "Russians"
I went into this book knowing two things: 1. that I love Jeff Shaara's books/writing, and 2. that I knew *ALL* about the Cuban Missile Crisis. By the end, I again knew two things: 1. I still 100% love Mr. Shaara's writing, and 2. I knew close to *NOTHING* about the Cuban Missile Crisis [think 1%]. Unfortunately for me, that made some of this book difficult to understand as I had no frame of reference and wished I had read, at the very least, Robert F. Kennedy's book "Thirteen Days", if not other books from this time frame as well. There were definite moments where I felt completely out of my depth.
That said, this is still a stellar book, with detailed writing and impeccable research [I'd expect nothing less from this author], and I am left , amazed at 1. just how close we came to nuclear war with the [former] Soviet Union, 2. how diplomacy and a firm hand CAN work in one's favor when dealing with someone [even a world "leader"] who is acting like a petulant child, and 3. how thankful I am for the level heads that prevailed over the course of those thirteen days [given how fraught things eventually got and how much some really wanted war].
This read has really sparked an interest [for me] in this time period, and I will be reading RFK's book [a long with whatever else I can find] sooner rather than later.
Very well done: I highly recommend this book!
I received an audiobook ARC for this book and it was narrated by one of my favorite narrators, and he did an excellent job telling this story [I give him a billion stars for capturing the unique voices of both JFK and RFK so well]. I highly recommend this awesome audiobook.
Thank you to NetGalley, Jeff Shaara, Paul Michael - Narrator, St. Martin's Press, and Macmillan Audio for providing the eBook and audiobook ARC's in exchange for an honest review.
July 28, 2024
3.75/5. My mom somehow got an Advanced Copy of this *from a Little Free Library* before it even came out, because she’s a magician like that. Overall, I enjoyed the overview of one of the most dangerous times in world history, and also learned some new details despite reading numerous nonfiction books that subject. Speaking of nonfiction, the novel aspect of this one seemed to be a thin veneer for what was basically a nonfiction book with dialogue. And there was *lots* of dialogue; I’d estimate that it made up over 85% of the text.
November 19, 2023
This author is my favorite writer of historical fiction. He has the unique way of bringing the past to light through the individuals involved. This time he devotes this narrative to the Cuban missile crisis. He explores all the well known characters involved in this tense time in our nation’s history and brings them to life as they grapple with a situation that may destroy the world. He also includes regular people and reveals their feelings about this dangerous time.
As always, he includes a biographical section at the end about all the ones mentioned. I was delighted to find someone well known to the author included.
How close did we get to total annihilation in those late days of October? Please read this book and come to your own conclusion.
As always, he includes a biographical section at the end about all the ones mentioned. I was delighted to find someone well known to the author included.
How close did we get to total annihilation in those late days of October? Please read this book and come to your own conclusion.
March 21, 2024
This book is part history and part historical fiction. It is well written and engaging read. The author presents both sides of the conflict and incorporates individual characters who would have been impacted by the events. These include a college professor in Florida, a Soviet submarine crew and the Russian general in charge of missile sites in Cuba. It was particularly interesting to me as I lived through the crisis and often found the duck and cover under our desks at school as particularly useless in the event of a nuclear explosion.
I received a free Kindle copy of this book courtesy of publisher with the understanding that I would post a review on Goodreads, Net Galley, Amazon, Facebook and my nonfiction book review blog.
I received a free Kindle copy of this book courtesy of publisher with the understanding that I would post a review on Goodreads, Net Galley, Amazon, Facebook and my nonfiction book review blog.
April 27, 2024
For someone who doesn't know much about the Cuban Missile Crisis, this might be a fine book. However, I found that it didn't really evoke the panic and fear that accompanied the crisis. One of the reasons I read the book is because I love The Killer Angels, written by the author's father, did such a great job of portraying key players in a crisis as humans with real personalities and feelings. I did not get that same feeling with this book. It seemed more like a history book retelling with some dialogue than really getting to know the people involved as human beings with real thoughts and feelings and lives outside the conflict. There were times I could see the author try to bring those things in, but they fell flat for me.
September 7, 2024
Ever since reading Michael Shaara’s “Killer Angels” following personalities involved in all aspects of the Battle at Gettysburg, I was hooked on his and his son’s historical fiction. Jeff Shaara follows his father’s blueprint and has introduced readers to much of U.S. History. His latest novel takes on the Cuban Missile Crisis starting with he tragic “Bay of Pigs” failure of April 1962 concluding with epic Soviet - USA showdown directed by American President John F Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev in October 1962.
I was an eighth grader that year, and like his young character Danny Russo, practiced getting under my little desk to protect me against a nuclear attack which is about all I knew of the crisis and the difficult decisions made by both JFK and Khrushchev as senior officials from both powerful countries counseled both hostility and/or peace. Cooler heads prevailed and the confrontation avoided as both nations continued the nuclear defense policy of Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD).
It’s difficult at tires for the baby boomer generation to realize that we actually lived what is now studied as ‘ancient’ history by our grandchildren. Eighth graders look back 62 years to the Cuban Missile Crisis and when baby boomers looked back 62 years from that event you arrive at 1900 - the Spanish American War (1898) had elevated Theodore Roosevelt and his rough riders ; the Wright Brothers had not yet flown an airplane, and an epic depression and two world wars as well as a "police action" were still in the future.
Shaara’s books serve as an easy introduction of US history especially for youngsters and those adults who were too busy making a living and raising families to realize that history has been surrounding them. Reading a Shaara novel propels a desire to dig deeper into non-fiction books of the events he shares with his readers and is worth the time invested.
October 17, 2025
I will certainly admit to some bias in this review. Jeff's father's Pulitzer Prize winner "The Killer Angels" is on my top 10 list, primarily because it made me aware of the differences in the thought processes of the people involved. I had always assumed that more intelligent simply meant faster mental processing speed but the book showed me it is not only speed but depth and breadth of the mental process. He shows this by telling the tale of Gettysburg from the viewpoint of numerous participants from slaves and infantrymen through sergeants and generals, Union and Confederate.
Jeff continues this type of powerful narrative, finishing the trilogy his father started on the Civil War, moving on to the other wars our country has been involved in, the Revolution, WWI and WWII, Korea, Vietnam, additional Civil War works and a biography of Teddy Roosevelt. I have met Jeff several times at book signings and talks at a local college and am impressed with the scholarly effort he brings to his work. They may be novels but they are firmly grounded in actual events.
This book especially appealed to me since for the first time it deals with people I have actually met and had discussions with, namely John and Robert Kennedy. My father helped run Jack's campaign and I met both of them in New Hampshire and later in DC. What I know of them through their own writings and the historical record indicates to me that Shaara is spot on in his portrayal. Interestingly, to demonstrate the impact on civilians during this crisis, he uses a character called Russo, a thinly disguised tip of the hat to his father.
If you have an interest in historical fiction, you will enjoy this and it might even tempt you to get lost in his 18 other novels as well.
Jeff continues this type of powerful narrative, finishing the trilogy his father started on the Civil War, moving on to the other wars our country has been involved in, the Revolution, WWI and WWII, Korea, Vietnam, additional Civil War works and a biography of Teddy Roosevelt. I have met Jeff several times at book signings and talks at a local college and am impressed with the scholarly effort he brings to his work. They may be novels but they are firmly grounded in actual events.
This book especially appealed to me since for the first time it deals with people I have actually met and had discussions with, namely John and Robert Kennedy. My father helped run Jack's campaign and I met both of them in New Hampshire and later in DC. What I know of them through their own writings and the historical record indicates to me that Shaara is spot on in his portrayal. Interestingly, to demonstrate the impact on civilians during this crisis, he uses a character called Russo, a thinly disguised tip of the hat to his father.
If you have an interest in historical fiction, you will enjoy this and it might even tempt you to get lost in his 18 other novels as well.
December 22, 2024
This book took me quite by surprise, as I did not expect to like it so much. As a student of American history, I was quite familiar with much of the contents of this book. But truthfully, I did not know what to expect to read "a novel of the Cuban Missile Crisis," told from the perspectives of both Kennedy brothers, Khrushchev, and a motley assortment of other characters, including an officer aboard a US vessel, a Russian operative, and others. The novel imagines the conversations of these people, beginning with the embarrassing Bay of Pigs fiasco. Interspersed among these imagined conversations are real accounts, drawn from newspapers, televised speeches, and other sources. The book is impressively detailed and researched.
My favorite character was Russo, a professor of English in Tallahassee, Florida, who witnesses much of these famous events on television with his wife and children. They watch the special news broadcasts of JFK, of Adlai Stevenson in front of the UN, while eating tv dinners and discussing the local issues with the ongoing civil rights movement in the south. These NPC interactions to me were the best parts of the book.
I also really liked Khrushchev's folksy personality.
My thanks to Netgalley, the author, and the publishers, for allowing me an arc of this book. My apologies that my review is so untimely.
My favorite character was Russo, a professor of English in Tallahassee, Florida, who witnesses much of these famous events on television with his wife and children. They watch the special news broadcasts of JFK, of Adlai Stevenson in front of the UN, while eating tv dinners and discussing the local issues with the ongoing civil rights movement in the south. These NPC interactions to me were the best parts of the book.
I also really liked Khrushchev's folksy personality.
My thanks to Netgalley, the author, and the publishers, for allowing me an arc of this book. My apologies that my review is so untimely.
February 21, 2025
If you are a fan of Sahara I think you will enjoy this as much as I did. I was fairly young during the time of the Cuban missile crisis but I was aware of the problem as I lived on a military base with my parents. Even still I learned a lot about the crisis and how it was handled. As most Shara fans are aware that while he writes novels the books are very well researched. All characters are real people, no fictional characters.
The hardest part for me was seeing the approach of the Kennedy's and the other people involved in the government as they addressed the issue and comparing it to the impulsive man child in chief we have now.
The hardest part for me was seeing the approach of the Kennedy's and the other people involved in the government as they addressed the issue and comparing it to the impulsive man child in chief we have now.
August 12, 2024
Enjoyed the book. Brought back childhood memories as well as my mother's memories of my dad's explanations and fears. Had not thought about the bay of pigs or the Cuban missile crisis in many years.
July 11, 2025
One of Jeff's better novels, in my opinion. It's difficult to produce tension when an informed reader knows the eventual outcome. I think Jeff did a good job with this one. Definitely a page-turner. I greatly appreciated the variety of perspectives offered in the novel. It's helpful to see the event from all the different vantage points.
August 22, 2024
Add another wonderful historical novel to the great works of Jeff Shaara...Love his stuff...Meticulously researched and the only thing that makes his work fiction, is his added dialogue and this dialogue, is usually based on the research...So, I always treat his work as more nonfiction than historical fiction..."The Shadow of War," tells the story of the Cuban missile crisis from various points of view. We are inside the White House, the Kremlin, the Russian Command in Cuba and an American family living in Florida, under the threat of nuclear Armageddon...Just great stuff!!!
March 22, 2025
Cuban Missile Crisis novel sounds so promising, but this was weirdly boring. Much more exciting nonfiction on this out there!!
May 29, 2024
I have to admit that I am pleasantly surprised by this novel. When I first saw that Shaara's next novel was going to be about the Cuban Missile Crisis, I was not that excited. It just wasn't a story that I thought I would be interested in. I was wrong.
This was a masterclass in historical fiction. It clips along and a great pace and there is never a dull moment. Shaara masterly conveys the escalation, stress and anxiety of all the parties involved from both the American and Soviet points of view. I found the chapters from the POV of the regular American family particularly compelling (and the twist about them in the aftermath was perfect).
This novel was a lesson for me. Don't under estimate Jeff Shaara. He delivers every single time.
This was a masterclass in historical fiction. It clips along and a great pace and there is never a dull moment. Shaara masterly conveys the escalation, stress and anxiety of all the parties involved from both the American and Soviet points of view. I found the chapters from the POV of the regular American family particularly compelling (and the twist about them in the aftermath was perfect).
This novel was a lesson for me. Don't under estimate Jeff Shaara. He delivers every single time.
August 5, 2024
This is not really a criticism of the book, but what has Shaara got against the use of conjunctions?
November 20, 2024
Although I remember the tension in our home, and the stark black and white images on TV of a serious man my parents said was "my president", it was brought back to life with Jeff Shaara's book
The Shadow of War: A Novel of the Cuban Missile Crisis
. Having been a kidlet at the time, this visit back through the pages Shaara provides makes it very plain there was every reason to be scared and concerned. What is even more dismaying is how much the public didn't know - how much was kept tight and quiet amongst a very few decision-makers. What came across in this book were the deliberations tested and weighed by an overriding need for what would be best for not just the US, but what would be best for the entire world. A scale of right and wrong was constantly being considered, discussions and debates engaged in, counsel from experienced others actively sought. That gave me comfort.
What followed was my utter terror as to how similar decisions will be made now - when there are only parties whose interests are wrapped around themselves and their self-interested acolytes who pander. Who's listening to counsel, hearing other perspectives or seeking wisdom that goes beyond ego and flattery?
These days are full of some of the self-same dangers the world faced in 1961. It would behoove us to read with teachable hearts.
*A sincere thank you to Jeff Shaara, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and review independently.*
What followed was my utter terror as to how similar decisions will be made now - when there are only parties whose interests are wrapped around themselves and their self-interested acolytes who pander. Who's listening to counsel, hearing other perspectives or seeking wisdom that goes beyond ego and flattery?
These days are full of some of the self-same dangers the world faced in 1961. It would behoove us to read with teachable hearts.
*A sincere thank you to Jeff Shaara, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and review independently.*
July 11, 2024
Another excellent work by Jeff Shaara. Normally, the author of excellent historical fiction on the battlefield now turns to a different sort of battlefield. This battle wasn't fought with bullets but was fought with words and minds. Just like the battlefields of Europe and Asia, Shaara in this work masterfully portrays the drama and intensity that was the Cuban Missile Crisis. Americans today don't know how close our nation came to nuclear war at that time and Shaara brings that crisis to life. His ease of reading and ability to combine so many different perspectives to the history makes it an entertaining read and that difficult to put down. "The Shadows of War" should be placed as one of his best works!
April 21, 2024
The Shadow of War by Jeff Shaara is a well-researched novel and accurate account of the events comprising the Cuban Missile Crisis. More than that, it also supplies a version of the possible motivations, machinations, and strategies of superpowers, and the effects of those politics on the people governed by these superpowers.
It is fascinating reading, as Shaara personalizes JFK, RFK, Khrushchev, and even some of the lesser players and advisors. He provides the reader insight into the past history of WWII, Khrushchev’s tactics to eventually gain power after Stalin, and the bungling of the aborted Bay of Pigs invasion. Adlai Stevenson’s dramatic portrayal of Zorin lying to the UN is well-described.
Perhaps some of the most crucial insights are scenes depicting the effects of the drama of the Cuban Missile Crisis as portrayed, and hyped, by the media. As a high school student, I was one of the millions who lived through the Crisis, glued to the nightly news broadcasts and the multiple presidential addresses to the nation, watching history play out each night. To illustrate the effects of the broadcasts and media coverage, Shaara inserts scenes of the ordinary Russo family and neighbors as they experience civilian angst.
More than 60 years later, in retrospect, it is apparent that both Khrushchev and Kennedy were heroes who made the peaceful disengagement possible.
I found the author’s tendency to use sentence fragments and run-overs a bit distracting, but the overall dramatic delivery and compelling storyline overcame the distraction.
This is an excellent historical fiction account of the Cuban Missile Crises, and I recommend it to readers interested in this time of US history.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC. This is my honest review.
It is fascinating reading, as Shaara personalizes JFK, RFK, Khrushchev, and even some of the lesser players and advisors. He provides the reader insight into the past history of WWII, Khrushchev’s tactics to eventually gain power after Stalin, and the bungling of the aborted Bay of Pigs invasion. Adlai Stevenson’s dramatic portrayal of Zorin lying to the UN is well-described.
Perhaps some of the most crucial insights are scenes depicting the effects of the drama of the Cuban Missile Crisis as portrayed, and hyped, by the media. As a high school student, I was one of the millions who lived through the Crisis, glued to the nightly news broadcasts and the multiple presidential addresses to the nation, watching history play out each night. To illustrate the effects of the broadcasts and media coverage, Shaara inserts scenes of the ordinary Russo family and neighbors as they experience civilian angst.
More than 60 years later, in retrospect, it is apparent that both Khrushchev and Kennedy were heroes who made the peaceful disengagement possible.
I found the author’s tendency to use sentence fragments and run-overs a bit distracting, but the overall dramatic delivery and compelling storyline overcame the distraction.
This is an excellent historical fiction account of the Cuban Missile Crises, and I recommend it to readers interested in this time of US history.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC. This is my honest review.
May 26, 2024
I got a sneaking suspicion that Mr. Shaara wrote himself and his father into this story 😏
This was a good one -- I'll admit, I knew next to nothing about the Cuban missile crisis before reading this book. In fact the only aspect I knew of Kennedy was of his assassination, and of his brother, the push for civil rights. So this book provided to me a vital history lesson.
Lastly, I enjoyed the character in this story named Jerry. Unfortunately, we have too many Jerrys around these days. He's fun to laugh at, but he's hard to tolerate...
This was a good one -- I'll admit, I knew next to nothing about the Cuban missile crisis before reading this book. In fact the only aspect I knew of Kennedy was of his assassination, and of his brother, the push for civil rights. So this book provided to me a vital history lesson.
Lastly, I enjoyed the character in this story named Jerry. Unfortunately, we have too many Jerrys around these days. He's fun to laugh at, but he's hard to tolerate...
March 20, 2024
Prolific biographer and historical fiction writer Jeff Shaara, whose previous novels have covered many American wars, takes readers inside the events of October 1962 to see how nuclear war was prevented. His book “Gods and Generals“ is a favorite of mine, and I was happy to receive an advance copy of his latest book.
In “The Shadow of War,” Shaara takes us through the dangerous days which pitted the Soviet Union against the U.S. over the discovery of Soviet missiles in the too-close- for comfort country of Cuba. Events of this monumental time are seen primarily through the eyes of U.S. President Kennedy, Kennedy’s brother and close confidant Robert Kennedy, and Soviet Premier Khrushchev. The narrative alternates among the three men as they seek to avoid nuclear war and save face. Kennedy and Khrushchev are surrounded by advisers, some of whom seek peace and some who want to march toward war.
Representing everyday Americans we meet the Russo family as they react to the alarming events of the day, neighbors building home fallout shelters and their children practicing duck and cover drills at school. I identified with the Russos, going back to my 9-year-old self hearing news reports about missiles in Cuba and possible nuclear war. Daily air raid drills at school scared me; I remember looking up the words “blockade” and “quarantine” in my Dad’s dictionary.
“The Shadow of War” is an informative and entertaining book about a dangerous time of our recent history.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for a copy for review.
In “The Shadow of War,” Shaara takes us through the dangerous days which pitted the Soviet Union against the U.S. over the discovery of Soviet missiles in the too-close- for comfort country of Cuba. Events of this monumental time are seen primarily through the eyes of U.S. President Kennedy, Kennedy’s brother and close confidant Robert Kennedy, and Soviet Premier Khrushchev. The narrative alternates among the three men as they seek to avoid nuclear war and save face. Kennedy and Khrushchev are surrounded by advisers, some of whom seek peace and some who want to march toward war.
Representing everyday Americans we meet the Russo family as they react to the alarming events of the day, neighbors building home fallout shelters and their children practicing duck and cover drills at school. I identified with the Russos, going back to my 9-year-old self hearing news reports about missiles in Cuba and possible nuclear war. Daily air raid drills at school scared me; I remember looking up the words “blockade” and “quarantine” in my Dad’s dictionary.
“The Shadow of War” is an informative and entertaining book about a dangerous time of our recent history.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for a copy for review.
November 25, 2024
In October 1962, the increasing tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States bring the world to the brink of destruction.
Riveting historical fiction, told through multiple perspectives, that serves as a stark reminder of the importance of wise and compassionate leadership.
Riveting historical fiction, told through multiple perspectives, that serves as a stark reminder of the importance of wise and compassionate leadership.
May 31, 2024
I enjoyed this so much more than I thought I would. The author includes voices from all sides of the Cuban Missile Crisis, greatly adding to my understanding of the event. It wasn’t simply the “dad fiction” I was anticipating. There was a great deal of personal detail and drama showing that events with tremendous international impact often come down to the very human decisions of a few individuals. This was fascinating and involving historical fiction, and i would recommend it to anyone with an interest in the Cold War.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
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