During thirteen tense days in October 1962, and only ninety miles from the coast of Florida, the Soviet Union constructed nuclear missile silos and shipped nuclear warheads to Communist Cuba bringing both superpowers to the brink of a nuclear war. This volume examines the missile crisis from the perspective of U.S. citizens and includes articles that highlight the public response. It includes primary documents such as a letter from Krushchev, and speeches by Kennedy, Castro and Adlai Stevenson
Includes bibliographical references and index
Official statements on the crisis: President Kennedy addresses the Nation / John F. Kennedy -- Debating the existence of nuclear missiles in Cuba / Valerian Zorin; Adlai Stevenson -- U.S. accusations are an open act of aggression / Fidel Castro -- Photographic evidence of missiles in Cuba / Adlai Stevenson -- Thirteen days in October: crisis unfolds: U.S. policy on the eve of the crisis / Bertram B. Johansson -- U.S. quarantine of Cuba raises the stakes / Robert R. Brunn -- View of the blockade from the air / J. Frank Diggs -- Secret letter from Khrushchev to Kennedy / Nikita Khrushchev -- Kennedy offers Khrushchev a deal / Robert T. Hartmann -- Perspectives on the crisis: Khrushchev and Kennedy acted cautiously to preserve peace / Sergei Khrushchev -- How the crisis strengthened America's credibility / James N. Wallace -- Crisis reveals the aggressive intentions of the Soviet Union / Barry Goldwater -- International and national commentary on the crisis / U.S. News -- Challenge of Castro's Cuba remains -- Mishaps during the Cuban crisis could have caused a Nuclear War / Alan F. Phillips
