The Kennedy Tapes

by May, Ernest R.; Zelikow, Philip D.

• ISBN13: 9780674179271
• ISBN10: 0674179277
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1998-09-01
• Publisher: Belknap Pr

Summary

October 1962: the United States and the Soviet Union stood face to face, cach brandishing enough nuclear weapons to obliterate the other's civilization. For two weeks an executive committee, formed around clements of President Kennedy's National Security Council, debated what to do, twice coming to the brink of attacking Soviet military units in Cuba, units equipped for nuclear retaliation. Through it all, unbeknownst to any of the participants except the President himself and probably his brother Robert, audio tape was rolling, capturing for posterity the deliberations that might have ended the world as we know it. These are the full, authenticated, and annotated transcripts of those riveting recordings, with an Introduction setting the scene of the Cold War and a Conclusion on what we have learned, on Soviet behavior, and on the aftermath. Book jacket.

Author Biography

Ernest R. May is Charles Warren Professor of American History and Director of the Charles Warren Center for Studies in American History at Harvard University Philip D. Zelikow is Director of the Miller Center of Public Affairs and White Burkett Miller Professor of History at the University of Virginia

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
A Note on Sources	p. xv
Introduction	p. 1
Tuesday, October 16, 11:50 A.M., Cabinet Room	p. 45
Tuesday, October 16, 6:30 P.M., Cabinet Room	p. 77
Thursday, October 18, 11:00 A.M., Cabinet Room	p. 118
Thursday, October 18, near Midnight, Oval Office	p. 168
Friday, October 19, 9:45 A.M., Cabinet Room	p. 173
Saturday, October 20, 2:30 P.M., Oval Room of the Executive Mansion	p. 189
Monday, October 22, 11:30 A.M., Cabinet Room	p. 204
Monday, October 22, 3:00 P.M., Cabinet Room	p. 228
Monday, October 22, 5:00 P.M., Cabinet Room	p. 245
Tuesday, October 23, 10:00 A.M., Cabinet Room	p. 288
Tuesday, October 23, 6:00 P.M., Cabinet Room and Oval Office	p. 321
Wednesday, October 24, 10:00 A.M., Cabinet Room	p. 347
Wednesday, October 24, 5:00 P.M., Cabinet Room and Oval Office	p. 367
Thursday, October 25, 10:00 A.M., Cabinet Room	p. 393
Thursday, October 25, 5:00 P.M., Cabinet Room	p. 426
Friday, October 26, 10:00 A.M., Cabinet Room	p. 439
Friday, October 26, Afternoon and Evening, Oval Office	p. 472
Saturday, October 27, 10:00 A.M., Cabinet Room	p. 492
Saturday, October 27, 4:00 P.M., Cabinet Room	p. 519
Saturday, October 27, 9:00 P.M., Oval Office and Cabinet Room	p. 605
Monday, October 29, 10:10 A.M., Cabinet Room and Oval Office	p. 630
Conclusion	p. 663
Notes	p. 703
Index	p. 717
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