The Armageddon Letters

Kennedy, Khrushchev, Castro in the Cuban Missile Crisis

James G. Blight and janet M. Lang

In October, 1962, the Cuban missile crisis brought human civilization to the brink of destruction. On the 50^th anniversary of the most dangerous confrontation of the nuclear era, two of the leading experts on the crisis recreate the drama of those tumultuous days as experienced by the leaders of the three countries directly involved: U.S. President John F. Kennedy, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, and Cuban President Fidel Castro. Organized around the letters exchanged among the leaders as the crisis developed and augmented with many personal details of the circumstances under which they were written, considered, and received, Blight and Lang poignantly document the rapidly shifting physical and psychological realities faced in Washington, Moscow, and Havana. The result is a revolving stage that allows the reader to experience the Cuban missile crisis as never before—through the eyes of each leader as they move through the crisis. The Armageddon Letters: Kennedy, Khrushchev, Castro in the Cuban Missile Crisis transports the reader back to October 1962, telling a story as gripping as any fictional apocalyptic novel.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 320 • Trim: 6 x 9

978-1-4422-1680-8 • Paperback • November 2015 • $38.00 • (£30.00)

Subjects: Political Science / International Relations / Diplomacy, History / Caribbean & West Indies / Cuba, History / Europe / Russia & the Former Soviet Union, History / United States / 20th Century, Political Science / International Relations / Arms Control, Political Science / Political Ideologies / Communism, Post- Communism & Socialism

The Armageddon Letters

Kennedy, Khrushchev, Castro in the Cuban Missile Crisis

Paperback

Summary

In October, 1962, the Cuban missile crisis brought human civilization to the brink of destruction. On the 50^th anniversary of the most dangerous confrontation of the nuclear era, two of the leading experts on the crisis recreate the drama of those tumultuous days as experienced by the leaders of the three countries directly involved: U.S. President John F. Kennedy, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, and Cuban President Fidel Castro. Organized around the letters exchanged among the leaders as the crisis developed and augmented with many personal details of the circumstances under which they were written, considered, and received, Blight and Lang poignantly document the rapidly shifting physical and psychological realities faced in Washington, Moscow, and Havana. The result is a revolving stage that allows the reader to experience the Cuban missile crisis as never before—through the eyes of each leader as they move through the crisis. The Armageddon Letters: Kennedy, Khrushchev, Castro in the Cuban Missile Crisis transports the reader back to October 1962, telling a story as gripping as any fictional apocalyptic novel.

Details

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 320 • Trim: 6 x 9

978-1-4422-1680-8 • Paperback • November 2015 • $38.00 • (£30.00)

Subjects: Political Science / International Relations / Diplomacy, History / Caribbean & West Indies / Cuba, History / Europe / Russia & the Former Soviet Union, History / United States / 20th Century, Political Science / International Relations / Arms Control, Political Science / Political Ideologies / Communism, Post- Communism & Socialism

Author

James G. Blight is theCenter for International Governance Innovation Chair in Foreign Policy Development at the Balsillie School of International Affairs, University of Waterloo, in Ontario, Canada.

Janet M. Lang isresearch professor at the Balsillie School of International Affairs, University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada.

Table of Contents

Dedication
Epigraph
Foreword by Peter Almond
Introduction. Armageddon in Retrospect: “Carrying the Fire” of the Cuban Missile Crisis Into the 21^st Century
Cast of Characters. Three Leaders/Three Crises
Prelude. Sleepwalk: April 1961-October 1962
Act I. Collision: October 22, 23 1962
Act II. Spiral: October 23-28 1962
Act III. Escape: October 27-31 1962
Act IV. Squeeze: October 30 1962-November 20 1962
Postscript. Hope: December 10 1962-October 15 2010
Appendix A. The Armageddon Time Machine/Text: Acquiring the Letters
Appendix B. The Armageddon Time Machine/Context: Bringing the Letters Back to Life
Credits
Endnotes
Acknowledgments
The Authors
Index

Reviews

The Armageddon Lettersinnovatively and emotively. . . attempts to reverse the presumed apathy of young people toward nuclear holocaust. . . . [Blight and Lang] succeed as pioneers; their transmedia presentation is a great means of waking up a new generation to history and its lessons. ... Blight draws creative connections that grab our attention. ... the authors achieve their heartfelt intention of saturating us with warnings about a nuclear disaster. This multimedia and transmedia project largely works. . . . We are fortunate that we are sitting here now to read about Armageddon, rather than having experienced it—and that second chance is what Blight and Lang have so cleverly marketed to us.
— Journal of American History