Ian’s Reviews > One Minute to Midnight: Kennedy, Khrushchev, and Castro on the Brink of Nuclear War > Status Update
Ian
is on page 96
That eyeball to eyeball moment in the film? Was not quite as stressful as you might think because it did not happen as portrayed in the film. The popular historical record gets it wrong too. Those Soviet freighters had already turned back. So, what is the rest of the book about?
— Nov 03, 2025 12:40PM
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Ian’s Previous Updates
Ian
is on page 172
It feels like this is right around where this case starts - or at least picks up - in an IR course. Ultimatums and Stevenson at the UN and Krushchev's missives...
— Nov 17, 2025 01:43PM
Ian
is on page 152
One rolls one's eyes at Khrushchev calling the US regime "piratical" and then reads that RFK instructed the CIA to secretly blow up Cuban ships. Food for thought.
— Nov 11, 2025 04:28AM
Ian
is on page 136
It is too easy to forget the politics of the situation. I think Dobbs does a good job of keeping politics in mind. US electoral politics, sure, though other works include this. I mean politics in the sense of symbolism and signaling between various actors. The historical detail allows for contingency as well, though I never feel swamped by the details. I wish I had this book when I was an undergrad.
— Nov 10, 2025 02:06PM
