In October, 1962, the Cuban missile crisis brought human civilization to the brink of destruction. On the 50th 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.

DedicationEpigraph
Foreword by Peter Almond
Introduction. Armageddon in Retrospect: "Carrying the Fire" of the Cuban Missile Crisis Into the 21st 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
Acknowledgements
The Authors
Index