In 1961 at the Bay of Pigs, CIA-trained and -organized Cuban exiles
aiming to overthrow Fidel Castro were soundly defeated. Most were
taken prisoner by Cuban armed forces. Fearing another U.S. invasion
of its new ally, the Soviet Union sneaked into Cuba strategic
missiles tipped with nuclear warheads and Soviet troops armed with
tactical nuclear weapons. However, a U-2 spy plane flight would
soon find the Soviet missile sites, thus sparking the famous
missile crisis. For thirteen terrifying days, the world watched
nervously as the two superpowers moved toward escalation, holding
the world’s fate in their hands. Finally, Nikita Khrushchev
blinked. He agreed to withdraw the weapons from Cuba in return for
John F. Kennedy’s pledge not to invade the island. But what if it
had not turned out this way? What if the U-2 flight had been
delayed? If the confrontation had set off a nuclear war, what would
have happened to the United States and Soviet Union in 1962? What
kind of account would a historian have written in a world scarred
by nuclear war? Eric G. Swedin draws on research made available
after the Soviet Union’s collapse to examine what could have
happened. Top U.S. military officers all urged stronger action
against Cuba than the naval blockade, including a bombing campaign
and even a full-scale invasion. Unknown to the Americans,
meanwhile, the Soviet Union had tactical nuclear weapons in Cuba
and were prepared to use them. The 1962 crisis had many possible
outcomes. Positing an alternate history helps us better appreciate
the dangers of that tense time. Such counterfactual speculation
shows what the Cuban missile crisis could have wrought and how it
was truly one of the most important moments of the twentieth
century.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
