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It is folk music. The author, Washington Post reporter Michael Dobbs, takes readers to where the action was occurring, whether in Maultsby's U-2, or in a Russian sub in the Caribbean being bombarded with depth charges by the US Navy, or through the eyes of two Cuban-Americans who have been infiltrated into Castro's Cuba to sabotage a copper mine operation and, failing in their mission, find themselves abandoned inside Cuba by their sponsors, the CIA. Plus he is running short of fuel and, since he's been strapped in a small cockpit for over eight hours, he has certain biological needs to tend to. Then he picks up something from a ground radio station. Worst of all, his flight took place on not just any old day but at the most critical point during the 13 day Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962.Maultsby's dangerous flight (he eventually landed safely in Alaska) is one of many dramatic episodes that form the basis of the most recent book on perhaps the closest the planet has come to nuclear annihilation. And what a book it is.
Despite my disgust at publisher A.A. He sends out several maydays (distress calls). In this very dangerous climate, Dobbs credits the two most important characters in the drama, US President John F. Kennedy and Soviet Chairman Nikita Khrushchev for holding the reigns on their advisers, many of whom were strongly urging military actions. His assignment. Among new information on the crisis Michael Dobbs presents here: to reveal the exact locations of Russian missile storage bunkers in Cuba; to make clear the famous "eyeball to eyeball" confrontation between Russian ships approaching Cuba and the US blockade never occurred; and to publish a map of the flightpath of Maultsby's misadventure in the higher northern latitudes. We also observe meetings of both Russian and US policymakers as they attempt to find a peaceful way out of this madness. The USSR dispersed two squadrons of fighter planes to attempt to shoot him down.
He has a major problem, however: he's lost. Russian folk music. Another command tells him to turn right. Knopf for not supplying readers with a bibliography and my disappointment over the author's ignorance of US civil war casualties and his apparent uncritical acceptance of the Warren Commission's "findings" about Lee Oswald, I thoroughly enjoyed the book, by far the most fascinating one on the subject I have read. The author suggests that because both Kennedy and Khrushchev had experienced war first-hand (WW II), they were able to subordinate their psychological and political needs and urges to the greater goal of humanity's survival and come up with a peaceful solution to the conflict. Grab radioactive samples from a recent Russian nuclear test in the area for US scientists to analyze. Through his headset he receives a command to turn left. Not a good sign.Charles Maultsby was the pilot who would end up flying approximately 1,000 miles off course and over Soviet Union airspace (the Chukot Peninsula).
Strongly recommended, but I would really like to know what happened to Professor Irvin Doress, who fled the US for Australia during the crisis.(see page 263)Tim Koerner January 2010 It'll grab you and keep you. A US pilot is flying a high altitude (70,000 feet) U-2 plane somewhere in the vicinity of the Arctic Circle. He has no idea where he is. And there is much from the Cuban perspective as well.The author devotes most of the book to the final couple of days of the crisis, especially October 27, dubbed "Black Saturday," during which Maultsby flew offcourse and when another U-2 plane was shot down (and its pilot killed) over Cuba.
We just got lucky. Power is such an intoxicating substance, but in the end- it is clear that we all just got lucky. This book is excellent in regards to its ability to offer juxtaposition to Russia's leaders and our own. I am always interested in the human condition and crises management on a global scale. Scary if you can wrap your head around that.
Most of this book reads like a mediocre college dissertation and the repetitive nature of some of the anecdotes is jarring. Dobbs is obviously a talented researcher, but some of his prose is appalling. The stuff in here is fascinating, it's a shame it was let down by weak editing.
yourself. It is one you'll not want to put down until finished. For those who lived through the Cuban Missile Crisis, this book can help you appreciate level-headed thinking in the center of a storm. It's one to be proud up. You'll be shocked at how close the world really came to nuclear holocaust and, what generals were leading the charge. This book is a "must buy," for it tells the untold story of Cold War detente, tensions, dangers (real and imagined), ploys, and exposes the brutal thinking of many Cold Way hawks. This book, for many, also puts the Kennedy Administration in a take-charge, do what's right for humanity, light. This book is a must-buy, whether for friends or.
- LT W. We are indebted to him for his painstaking research & fair minded work. Reed, USNR Excellent, detailed chronology of all the key players involved in the most serious crisis of the cold war era presented with great insight to their individual personalities & backgrounds.Highly recommended to fellow participants involved in the Cuban Missile Crisis. Most of us that served in the military at the time of this event had little knowledge of the overall perspective detailed by this author. D.
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