Customer Reviews

Thirteen Days: A Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis

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1 star:		(5)

 

 

Robert Kennedy wrote "Thirteen Days" a short time before his death in 1968. He never had the chance to rewrite and add additional material to his book; but as written it is a riveting account of the Cuban missile crisis in 1962. In the Autumn of 1962 the Soviet Union was placing nuclear missiles in Cuba. President Kennedy had to respond to that imminent threat, and the question was what course to take about the dangerous situation in Cuba. There were many that favored an immediate overwhelming military response to destroy the missiles; but Robert Kennedy favored surrounding the island with a naval blockade instead. He believed that a military attack on Cuba could lead to nuclear war, and that it should only be undertaken if there was no other choice. President Kennedy and his advisors spent many agonizing hours trying to consider every possible miscalculation or false step that could result in catastrophe. They sought to learn from the history of the past, and tried to follow a path of understanding in dealing with the Soviet Union and Cuba. The decisions that were made about Cuba would affect the lives of everyone on earth, and the lives of future generations as yet unborn. In this book the momentous events of the crisis in 1962 are seen through the eyes of Robert Kennedy. He opens the door to that time as only one who was there could, and gives many valuable insights into the mind of his brother the President. He helps us to understand what really happened in October 1962; and why. This is a very fine book, containing lessons of history that should always be remembered during times of great crisis.

"Thirteen Days", a memoir by Robert Kennedy has become one of the most insightful and behind-the-scenes accounts of one of the most studied military confrontations in history. It was a time in which the world looked nuclear annihilation directly in the eyes over the course of 13 dramatic days in October of 1962.

RFK, an intricate player throughout the process, lays out in chilling recollection the Cuban Missile Crisis and how close we actually came to that fateful day when the world's superpowers would square off with nuclear weapons. RFK's first-hand account articulately provides a perspective on what was going on in the minds of the players involved. It allows the reader to understand the enormous weight their decisions carried, as well as all of the pressures that affected each of them.

While a generation remembers a stoic President Kennedy giving his on-air address condemning the soviet supply of offensive weapons into Cuba, "13 Days" brings into account all of the human factors that affected these men as they sought to do what they felt was right.

This was a time in our nation's history when leadership was most needed. With the encouragement of the President, these individuals sought to learn from the mistakes of the past while also sympathizing with the Soviets who were also thrust into this position. The Soviets would not let a military attack go unwarranted, but at the same time had families of their own and ultimately wanted the same outcome from this standoff; a peaceful conclusion.

The decisions that were made by the ExComm would impact the history of the world and all of its inhabitants. It was a trying time that tested the souls of the leaders of the world and proved to be a turning point in world events. As JFK security advisor McGeorge Bundy aptly put it, "Having come so close to the edge, we must make it our business not to pass this way again." President Kennedy did his best to put it all in perspective; "For in the final analysis, our most basic link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal."

"13 Days" lays out the sequence of events that brought us all to this realization. It is a historical account that also touches upon the fragility of human nature and teaches us all a valuable lesson about our own mortality.

The Cuban Missile Crisis is the defining moment of John Kennedy's presidency. Locked in a high stakes game of chicken, the world's two most powerful nations, US & USSR, faced off over the Soviet Union's deployment of nuclear warheads in Cuba. Robert Kennedy was the Attorney General at the time and this book (written shortly before his death) is his personal account of the Thirteen Days that the world waited in fear of a possible nuclear holocaust. We see the innerworkings of the committee that the President formed to advise him on how to proceed. Mr. Kennedy's writing vividly expresses the enormous pressure these few gentlemen were under. They literally had the weight of the world on their shoulders and one wrong move could spell total annihilation. Being the President's brother, he also is able to give us a view of the President that a normal cabinet member wouldn't be able to give. The book also contains correspondence between JFK & Kruschev, previously classified photos and transcriptions of speeches that JFK gave at the time. For someone who remembers the Crises, this book will bring back strong memories and for those of us who weren't alive, the book details an important time in our country's history.

While I was not yet born when RFK and JFK were alive, I would have to say they are two of the greatest men in American history. Robert Kennedy brings his readers closer to a situtation that is almost beyond the scope of the human mind. His account of the Cuban Missile Crisis makes us realize how close we have come to the end and absolutely shows us that it is only because of great men we are here. This book reminds us how close we came to the end and the critical role Jack and Bobby played in bringing us back. I only hope that current and future leaders of the world read this account and understand what they understood...we are all mortal and we all love our children. Those are the things that will save us, Jack and Bobby knew that and it is obvious in this extrodrinary book.

During the thirteen days in October 1962 when the United States confronted the Soviet Union over its installation of missiles in Cuba, few people shared the behind - the - scenes story as it is told here by the late Senator Robert F. Kennedy. In this unique account, he describes each of the participants during the sometimes hour - to - hour negotiations, with particular attention to the actions and views of his brother, President John F. Kennedy.

In a new foreword for this edition, the distinguished historian and Kennedy adviser Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., discusses the book's enduring importance and the significance of new information about the crisis that has come to light, especially from the Soviet Union.

As a principle figure in resolving the crisis Robert Kennedy brings to it extraordinary authority, with his own insights, perspectives and very important revelations of the decision - making process at the highest level, on the brink of nuclear holocaust.

I came to this book via the Costner film of the same title - I'd had the book in my to-be-read pile, but the film spurred me to finally crack it open. The film, of course, is not based on this book, but on the lengthier THE KENNEDY TAPES, transcripts of secret tape recordings made by JFK and only recently made available to the public.

Still, the book and the film correlate nicely, and complement one another. The book is not a finished product, in that we find that RFK was assassinated before completing his work on the memoirs; we also find that he did not speak as openly as one might after the key players had left the stage - his comments reflect a certain guarded caution.

The edition which I read contained an introduction by Bob McNamera, which was written shortly after Bobby's assassination, and was very poignant and touching, if somewhat emotional. The book is too brief, just touching the rough outline of events and feelings as recalled by Bobby Kennedy, one of the key players himself. I gave this book 5-stars for being a valuable contribution to our understanding of events that were largely hidden from the American public at the time of their transpiring. But for a more in-depth look at the clash of ideologies and the ensuing power struggles during this crisis, one has to consult other sources. I'm well into the Kennedy Tapes book, and will review it upon completion.

It is said that the study of the presidency is the study of humans under pressure. Certainly this book represents the pinnacle of such pressure. I really think every aspiring leader should read this book. The text is easily read in one sitting but it is surprisingly dense in delineating the qualities every leader should acquire. At the center of this book is President Kennedy himself and his brilliant advisors (particularly Secretaries McNamara and Rusk, and Robert Kennedy) who rose to the occasion. The moral dilemmas that had to be taken into account (does the US have the right to bomb innocent Cuban civilians, for instance) are intriguing as well. Certainly you walk away from this book feeling that few leaders could have pulled this one off successfully. It's amazing that a war was not started. I noticed some negative reviews of this book: I have to say, when you're reading the book, you are acutely aware that you are reading a whitewashed version of history. Fortunately, there is still much to glean from this book. Read it: it's in a class by itself.

Of course Robert Kennedy was right in the thick of the Cuban missle crisis along with his brother the President. So he was able to give a unique perspective about what really went on behind closed doors.

I found the book compelling. Kennedy wrote it in a superb matter-of-fact style which underscored the gravity of the situation. There are no histrionics here, or finger pointing. Everything is concise and to the point. It's a short book so it's a quick read but very interesting nonetheless. I recommend it.

Thirteen Days was a very knoledable book.Kennedy knew not to push the soviets too hard.He set up a blockade to presure the soviets a little.Our president knew how to peacefully force the soviets to get the missels out of Cuba.He kept the world away from nuclear destruction.President Kennedy was a man of reason, and of absolute sureness.He was the kind of person that we should model after.Without Kennedy we wouldn't be here right now.I would recamend this book to anyone interested in the missel crisis with Cuba or John F. Kennedy.

"Thirteen Days" is Robert F. Kennedy's enthralling memoir of the October 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, during which the United States under President Kennedy and the Soviet Union under Chairman Khrushchev came breathtakingly close to nuclear war. At issue was the clandestine placement of Soviet medium and intermediate range ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads in Cuba, just minutes flight time from most of the United States.

RFK wrote his memoir in 1967; it was published in 1968. The present edition, published in 1999, has four parts. First is a foreward by President Kennedy's in-house historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., who frames RFK's memoir by what has been learned from the Russians since 1962, that nuclear war was even closer than the Kennedy administration feared in 1962.

Second is RFK's memoir itself, which recounts with the immediacy of a participant the struggle to find a solution to the crisis that did not guarantee a nuclear exchange. RFK was a member of the ExCom, which deliberated on policy options under guidance of the President. Subsequent scholarship has added details, but it is hard to beat RFK's keen observations of his brother's leadership and his own thoughtful appreciation of the moral aspects of the crisis.

Third is a dissection of the crisis by two noted scholars on decisionmaking, Richard Neustadt and Grahm Allison. Finally, there is a selection of key documents.

"Thirteen Days" is very highly recommended as a compact but fascinating account of the supreme crisis of the Cold War, and a major source of insight into the decisionmaking that is still considered a superlative model for crisis response.