The Cuban Missile Crisis: A History from Beginning to End

by Hourly History

Discover the remarkable history of the Cuban Missile Crisis... Free BONUS Inside! The Cold War between the United States of America and the Soviet Union lasted for more than 40 years. In general, this was a war of spies and subterfuge, of covert action and espionage. There was always a danger, however, that an error of judgment on either side could suddenly cause the Cold War to turn red-hot with an exchange of nuclear weapons. On many occasions, tensions between the countries increased, but the prospect of all-out nuclear war between America and Russia was never closer than during a two-week period in October of 1962. In response to the placement of American nuclear missiles in Turkey, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev secretly ordered the transport of Russian nuclear missiles to the island of Cuba in the Caribbean. These were capable of reaching and destroying almost all American cities in a matter of minutes. When this was discovered, the U.S. administration under President John F. Kennedy decided that the threat had to be removed, even if this meant risking war with Russia. The Americans set up a blockade of the island and considered air strikes and even a full-scale invasion of Cuba. Forty thousand heavily armed Russian and Cuban troops supported by tanks, aircraft, and even tactical nuclear weapons stood by to do anything required to repel an American attack. It was clear that the United States refused to accept the presence of Russian nuclear missiles less than one hundred miles from the coast of Florida. It was equally clear that Russia was determined not to remove the missiles and desert its Cuban ally. An armed confrontation between the two superpowers appeared inevitable, and there seemed a very strong possibility that the world was on the brink of full-scale nuclear war. Discover a plethora of topics such as From World War to Cold War Mutually Assured Destruction Revolution in Cuba The Missile Gap American Build-up and Provocation Russian Missiles Arrive in Cuba Kennedy Speaks to America And much more!So if you want a concise and informative book on the Cuban Missile Crisis, simply scroll up and click the "Buy now" button for instant access!

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Military History, Historical

120 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 19, 2018

About the author

At Hourly History, we focus on publishing history books that are concise, straightforward and take no longer than one hour to read.

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Reviews

[Murray · Rating 3 out of 5]

a second look

🇨🇺 🇺🇸 🇷🇺 Most of us have read or watched something about the Cuban Missile Crisis. But new information is available to fill in some of the blanks you may not have known were there. I was surprised at how much responsibility the US bears for matters escalating to the dangerous level they did.

The book lost one of its stars because it insisted on pedaling the well-refuted theory that Oswald acted alone in the assassination of JFK. I’d like to know how Oswald, shooting from behind, managed to place a head shot that came in from the front. This sort of offset conspiracy theory nonsense makes me wonder how objective other books in this series are or are not.

So far as that goes, the research directly to do with the missile crisis seemed authentic. That part of the book merits 4 stars.

[TAP · Rating 3 out of 5]

Every man, woman and child lives under a nuclear sword of Damocles, hanging by the slenderest of threads, capable of being cut at any moment by accident or miscalculation or by madness.

—President John F. Kennedy

[RM(Alwaysdaddygirl) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice!

4 stars:
- A wealth of information. This is a short book.
Not boring. It has been awhile since I read this subject.
-Recommend to history lovers and those wanting to learn more about the subject.

[LR · Rating 4 out of 5]

Turns out there’s a lot I didn’t know about the Cuban missile crisis. This was very interesting to see how close to nuclear war they were and how this was resolved. Always enjoy these short history overviews.

[Ron Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This short story is different from almost everything I have read because it almost occurred in my lifetime. I had just begun high school, and my father had fear that the United States was going to war with the use of nuclear weapons. Dad avoided discussing the missile crisis in front of his children. I didn't realize the severity of the crisis until years later and how many officials in Washington, DC thought that they would wake up to the carnage of nuclear weapons. This short story goes into great detail and details the timeline to prevent war. This was an important event in my life when we would have air-raid drills in grade school and were still buying war bonds. This is great reading 📚.

[Bettye McKee · Rating 5 out of 5]

The inside story

This Hourly History contained much information I never knew about the Cuban Missile Crisis. I didn't know who to ask, and those I did ask didn't know any more about it than I did.

I knew it was an important event and that no one really knew how it would end. When it was over, it seemed that no one wanted to talk about it. Now I understand why tensions were running so high and how close we came to world-wide annihilation.

[Anil Swarup · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fascinating tale of what could have been the end of the world and how it was saved by the sagacity of a couple of seasoned politicians. The narration is crisp and without bias.

[Mike Briley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This little book concisely filled in gaps in my knowledge of this event that could have changed (or ended) the world we live in.

[Matthew Ewoldt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another great book that provides an excellent overview of a critical moment in our country's history. For those of us that lived during that turbulent era, this book provides a succinct overview of the entire history of this event, For those of us whom this is ancient history, this book is a good reminder that our country ended the crisis and ensured the safety of our country because our president chose to negotiate from a position of strength while staying true to the values of the founding fathers. It is also a warning that in this case, both leaders were not hemmed in by a dogma or tenet but had the freedom to be pragmatic. Our future leaders may not be so fortunate if the have to face Islamic leaders under similar conditions.

[Gyau Kumi · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE COLD WAR: REFLECTIONS ON NUCLEAR WAR TENSIONS

The COLD WAR had its negative sides and positive aspects. The competition between the superpowers, USA and Russia, in some cases led to the advancement in technology, however, certain times the world was plunged into serious conflict. In the case of the Cuban Missile Crisis, a nuclear war.

I enjoyed reading the book for drawing out these nuances and shedding light on the political connections and developments. Especially, how each superpower tried to look stronger in the face of tensions. However, this also was sometimes a distraction from the main issue at hand. Much was not said about Cuba to help the reader appreciate the context for the Cuban missile crises.

[Dale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Published in 2018 by Hourly History.

Hourly History is a publisher that specializes in short histories and biographies in e-book form that are designed to be read in about an hour.

Sometimes, an hour is not long enough to explain a topic, but in this case an hour is just about right.

Since the Cuban Missile Crisis is a pretty well known historical event, just let me say that this short e-book delivers a concise, well-paced history. It also manages to present a balanced history that spreads the blame for the crisis and somehow keep up a sense of tension even though the reader knows for a fact that the Cuban Missile Crisis did not actually cause a worldwide global thermonuclear war in 1962.

I rate this e-book 5 stars out of 5.

[Marg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thorough summary of main events

This summary of the missile crisis was an absolute easy read and thoroughly covered all the important steps as they unfolded. I was in my first year at secondary school when this event took place and our Science teacher had been in WW1 (yes, he was 75). He was very emotional and distracted by the developing situation that was really too much for our 13 year-old minds to comprehend. After reading this account I can understand how dear old Mr Shackelton with his shellshock from the WW1 trenches must have been utterly terrified at the prospect of nuclear war. Thank you to the author for such a tidy summary of the facts.

[Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great refresher of the crisis and so much more terrifying than I thought at the time. I was in South Florida and saw an enormous amount of military activity but as a naive, high school senior it did not scare me as it should have. This summary really shows how close we were to nuclear war with Russia. Have to say that we were very lucky that JFK and Khrushchev realized the potential end of the world/civilization as we know it and Khrushchev took some huge political lumps for his actions; I have real fear that there are no cool heads that would prevail today.

[Jane S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I read this, I relived every minute of it. We were a Navy familty, stationed in Florida, I was a young mother and a married women of 3 years
I knew my husband was acting strange, he had is duffer bag packed and by the door. My television all of a sudden didn't work, my radio also was not working, I had always had music on, never in a million years did I think we were on the verge of war
When I ask what was going on, he said he may be called to the base suddenly, so I let it go.just memories of life of a.navy wife.

[Thomas Elliott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read of those perilous days in October 1962 when the U.S. A
and Russia (USSR) came so very close to nuclear warfare which would have devastated our planet. All due to Russians putting nuclear missiles on Cuba. A thriller read. Kennedy was cool and professional throughout this ordeal. Castro was wild; Kruschev though bellicose, backed down. I was in junior high school at the time and remember practicing bomb drills. Nostalgic read. Great for everyone to read.

[Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

We Were on the Eve of Destruction.

I remember this incident, but not so much as I was 10 years old. Apparently, my teachers and parents did much to shelter us children from what was an extremely tense few days in our history, because I don't remember having any feelings of fear or panic. Cuba was a long way off and the only thing I knew about nuclear war was that getting under my little wood desk at school was suppose to save me! It seriously was a MAD, mad world then.

[William O. Robertson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pivotal time in modern U.S. history was the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis between the U.S. And U.S.S.R. A true moment in brinkmanship as to who would back down and save face. In the end it was a draw since the Americans gave up missile bases in Turkey aimed at Russia and the Russians agreed to disassemble medium range missiles aimed at the U.S. mainland from Cuba. It is interesting to note that the U.S. State Department and intelligent agencies then (as now) misrepresented the gravity of world conflicts.

[Neera Kapahi · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Cuban missile crisis was a confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union. The book gives us plenty of information about the background and the tensions between the two superpowers due to the construction of nuclear missile sites being built in Cuba by the Soviet Union.

I really enjoyed the book because it was very informative and had me on edge even though I knew the outcome!

[Ashwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mutually assured destruction and the naval blockade let to non proliferation treaty.

The two weeks in October 1962 led to a series of mishaps which could have resulted in a nuclear war. The planting of nuclear warheads in Cuba by the soviets, led to the naval blockade of Cuban territory. Eventually sanity prevailed and the crisis was averted.

[Randolph Rossi · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 1962, the USA and the USSR Came Very Close to Ending Life on Earth

I was ten years old when the Cuban Missile Crisis occurred which scared the heck out of me and my family and friends. I didn’t fully understand the situation but we all had great faith in President Kennedy’s leadership.

[Rubin Carpenter · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Cuban missile crisis

This book has some statements that I didn't agree with while it's true American cities were not destroyed during WW 2 to me had no relevance to the Cuban missile crisis however there are some interesting facts from the interactions between The leaders I found very interesting
Overall though

[Denis Adshead · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clear, concise and a great overview of the subject matter

This book was clear and concise and gives a very good overview of the Cuban Missile Crisis; both good enough for the casual observer to feel they have a better understanding of what happened and also a great starting point for anyone with more than a passing interest in the subject.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A perfect read for someone who slept through history cladd

The book was well written and concise. It was a perfect length for a person wanting to learn history without having to read text books.

[vicki hartung · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now I understand

Now I understand what actually happened during the Cuban Missile crises. I was only 6 years old when it happened; but I've heard about it for most my next 50 years! Concise read with the facts. Now I have a better understanding.

[James Atwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful resolution

The history of the Cuban missile crisis is an extremely insightful look at the nuclear arms race between the Soviet union and the United States. Mutually assured destruction is a good reason not to go to war. A good read.

[Wendy Mui · Rating 4 out of 5]

Concise and easy to read

A nice format that breaks down an event from beginning to end. The presentation and writing flows well. Easily covers a topic in less then an hour. Would recommend this for anyone, not just history buffs.

[Douglas Ian · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read

This book is a must read reality check to anyone who believes or thinks that nuclear war could not happen.

God bless our countries. May we all take a peaceful path and we should never resort to war.

[Michael]

Concise and to the point.

The brief history provided by Hourly History gives the salient facts and that's all you need. I really enjoy being able to become informed on almost any historical event, in a short time. Great job Hourly History!

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

closer than we thought

In many ways war was closer than Americans thought. The tension was real at the time but could have been avoided if government had been more transparent regarding America’s lead in the arms race.

[Cheri Tewksbury · Rating 5 out of 5]

A MUST READ

I remember the crisis as a teen but never realized at the time how very close we came to nuclear destruction. This should be read by young people in particular because history can be repeated if nothing is learned.