From Library Journal
Two newsworthy 1987 conferences on the Cuban Missile Crisis are the focus of Blight and Welch's extraordinary piece of scholarship. The volume contains an edited transcript of the Hawk's Cay (Florida) Conference, which brought together many of the key participants from the Kennedy White House; additional interviews with Dean Rusk, Robert McNamara, Douglas Dillon, and Paul Nitze; and an edited transcript of the Cambridge (Massachusetts) Conference, in which there were several Soviet participants. The authors supplement this text with insightful analysis and commentary and include biographical sketches of the 31 participants, extensive notes, and a chronology of the crisis. This is an essential resource for academic collections and has great potential for classroom use. Divine's anthology offers 17 ideologically balanced opinions of the crisis and its handling. This is an expanded version of his 1971 volume ( LJ 7/71), with three new papers reflecting the "scholarly reassessment" of the 1970s and 1980s. Two papers from the first edition were dropped; the rest of the material is the same in both editions. Divine has revised his introduction to include a brief discussion of the Hawk's Cay Conference, although he does not include any material from the conference. His opening chapter stands on its own as an excellent overview of the crisis, supported by lengthy excerpts from first-hand accounts and public documents. This is a convenient source book for students, and the new edition should be added to academic and public library collections.
- Thomas A. Karel, Franklin & Marshall Coll. Lib., Lancaster, Pa.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
- Thomas A. Karel, Franklin & Marshall Coll. Lib., Lancaster, Pa.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
