Thirteen Days: A Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis

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Summary: A powerful memoir of nuclear crisis
Review: 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.

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Summary: Inside The Cuban Missle Crisis
Review: 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.

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Summary: Thirteen Days: A Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis
Review: Thirteen days was a very good, intresting, informative book about the Cuban Missile Crisis. I liked the style in which Robert Kennedy used to write the book. I thought it was better than most books because Kennedy actually had a first hand view of the entire ordeal being that he was involved in it. I found nothing wrong with his language usage; however, I do think he could have spiced it up a little so that the reader would have a better time of reading it. He also went through the whole thing very fast neglecting some of the detail and other essential facts. One example of this that I noticed was that he did not give much on the five options that the U.S. had to choose from in regards to the situation. I think, although it would have made the book longer, it would have done him some good and the readers would have been more appreciative if he had dramatized it a little more. Although the book covered all the main facts, most readers would have not picked up on the true gravity of the situation at large. It was obvious that Robert Kennedy was pulling for the blockade as opposed to the other options; however, that was probably because he was assigned to assess that part of the crisis. I think that Robert Kennedy should also have described the other options a little better and a little more in depth. I feel that the way he wrote the book made him seem too biased towards his belief and although he wanted to get the message through, I would have liked to hear some more in depth on the other options. If not to glorify the other options, he should have at least pointed out what was wrong with them instead of totally neglecting it the way he did. I did like the way he conveyed his confidence in his thoughts. According to the book, he was never unsure about his decisions and never second guessed himself. All in all, I think he did a good job in writing the book and showing his many talents as a writer, a politician, and much more. Obviously, I agree with Robert Kennedy because, it worked. I think the other options were to threatening to the well being of the U.S. A nuclear war would have had the potential to knock out the entire human race. I think it was a good idea for President Kennedy to have relatives in his corner because it is someone who he can definitely trust. I think that Robert Kennedy had a big influence in Robert Kennedy's final decision. I don't only think that the blockade was the best way to go because it worked. If I were to have been there, at that time, I would have pushed for the blockade. It was the only option that posed the least threat of war and best of all, it made sense. A blockade around Cuba would not allow shipments to come into Cuba; therefore, eliminating anymore missiles being built. I think if the blockade hadn't worked, we would have had to bomb Cuba. I also consider the blockade to have been a good choice because it was the type of situation in which, if that didn't work, we could have tried something else after that. It was a good idea to do the blockade just to get a feel of Russia and Cuba's intentions, and then, if need be, we could have resorted to one of the other options. The government, at this period, was very efficient in it's use of time and cooperation. I believe that this book was a good booster for the ratings of the government. I think it was good that Robert Kennedy comprised the groups so that everyone would have an opinion and he could hear all sides of every story. I don't think any President should take a decision like that into their own hands. I also believe that Robert Kennedy was a very smart person, both politically and intellectually. Robert Kennedy pushed for the blockade the all the way through the crisis. I believe that by doing that, he showed great reasoning skills and a keen sense of rationalization. He weighed all the options carefully and figured out what the best option was for the U.S. and played a big role in getting the U.S. out of a very dangerous situation. Not only do I think these things about Robert Kennedy, I also share the same outlook about the rest of the people that helped him come to the conclusion and helped sway the President toward their side. After reading this book, I am more impressed with the way the government worked back then. I am impressed with the action, decisiveness and timing they showed, the way they dealt with foreign affairs, and the administrative ability that they showed. I wish that there was some reassurance about our government now and for the future, but this book definitely opened my eyes to see our system in a little bit more of a different light

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Summary: Thank the World for Kennedy
Review: 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.

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Summary: Extraordinary account of extraordinary decisions.
Review: This is a great account of perhaps the most important set of decisions of the 20th century by a man who deserves much of the credit.

In addition to the obvious suspense and historical value, this account also revealed a number of facinating things: The senseless pressure from the military to bomb; a surprising emotional offer by Kruschev to back out of Cuba; evidence of confused messages from the Soviets who were confused themselves; Kennedy's unpopular but wise decisions to buy time for Kruschev to avoid a direct confrontation; RFK's staunch opposition to a surprise attack, because "it is against everything that the United States stands for."

This event took place long before I was born, yet I look at these events with some envy. We seem today to lack this kind of moral and measured decisionmaking in international affairs.

I've written enough. This book is short, cheap, and powerful -- Get it.

"The great tragedy was that, if we erred, we erred not only for ourselves, our futures, our hopes, and our country, but for the lives, futures, hopes, and countries of those who had never been given an opportunity to play a role, to vote aye or nay, to make themselves felt."

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Summary: It is only because of great and humble men we are here today
Review: 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.

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Summary: A worthwhile purchase
Review: While this brief account of the Cuban Missile Crisis, written by Robert Kennedy in 1967, can not be called the most thorough recounting of events between October 16 and October 29, 1962, it has two major selling points:

1.) It is a first person account of a critical moment in American foreign relations, told simply yet compellingly by a key participant.
2.) Personal asides, which could only come from the President's brother, add a dimension to the narrative that can not be found even in Schlesinger's "1000 Days."

Something to keep in mind if you buy this book: it's one of the many things Bob Kennedy left unfinished in his life, and it shows. It is an obvious first draft meant to put the highlights of the Crisis on paper. The last two chapters of commentary are a wonderful preview of the backward glance Kennedy intended, but was never allowed, to apply to one of the most dangerous fortnights in world history.

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Summary: Propaganda not History
Review: You can't really expect a balanced view from (a) a politician and (b) somebody's brother. This well-written Kennedy-glorifying rhetoric is bound to distort people's views of the most DANGEROUS and UNNECESSARY crisis of our history. The fact is President Kennedy by his posturing and bravado was playing the biggest game of chicken ever, but instead of two old jaloppies going head to head, it was two nuclear-armed superpowers, and actually the Russians were driving on the right side of the road! If you consider the fact that American nuclear missiles and troops were already stationed in countries like Turkey adjacent to the Soviet Union, the Russians had every right to place nuclear weapons on the territory of one of their allies to threaten American cities in the same way that Soviet cities were threatened. The real reason Kennedy made such a 'principled stand' was because the stationing of missiles in Cuba would have reminded people of his earlier Bay of Pigs fiasco. Khruschev despite the way Kennedy presents him in this book was a calm and cool-headed leader and is to have all the credit for saving the world from disaster and winning a few concessions as well. Although, he was subsequently 'removed' from the leadership, this had more to do with agricultural failures than the so-called Cuba stepdown. In fact, there is a real possibly that it was Kennedy who was subsequently 'removed' because of the dangerousness of his actions. 13 days - unlucky for some.