The Kennedy Tapes Inside the White House during the Cuban Missile Crisis

by May, Ernest; Zelikow, Philip D.

• ISBN13: 9780393322590
• ISBN10: 0393322599
• Edition: Concise
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-03-17
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Summary

October 1962: the United States and the Soviet Union stood eyeball to eyeball, each brandishing enough nuclear weapons to obliterate civilization in the Northern Hemisphere. It was one of the most dangerous moments in world history. Day by day, for two weeks, the inner circle 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. And through it all, unbeknownst to any of the participants except the President himself, tape was rolling, capturing for posterity the deliberations that might have ended the world as we know it. Now available in this new concise edition, The Kennedy Tapes retains its gripping sense of history in the making. 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 to the Concise Edition	xi
A Note on Sources	xv
Introduction	xvii
Tuesday, September 4, 1962	3	(17)
12:85 P.M. Meeting on Soviet Arms Shipments to Cuba	3	(6)
4:00 P.M. Drafting Meeting on the Press Statement	9	(3)
5:00 P.M. Meeting with Congressional Leadership	12	(4)
5:55 P.M. Meeting on the Congressional Resolution	16	(4)
Saturday, September 29, 1962	20	(10)
11:00 A.M. Meeting on the Soviet Union	20	(10)
Tuesday, October 16, 1962	30	(43)
11:50 A.M. Meeting on the Cuban Missile Crisis	32	(21)
6:50 P.M. Meeting on the Cuban Missile Crisis	53	(20)
Thursday, October 18, 1962	73	(36)
11:10 A.M. Meeting on the Cuban Missile Crisis	78	(28)
Near Midnight. Kennedy Summarizes a Late-Night Meeting	106	(3)
Friday, October 19, 1962	109	(15)
9:45 A.M. Meeting with the Joint Chiefs of Staff	109	(15)
Saturday, October 20, 1962	124	(14)
2:30 P.M. National Security Council Meeting	125	(13)
Monday, October 12, 1962	138	(56)
10:40 A.M. Conversation with Dwight Eisenhower	142	(4)
11:00 A.M. Meeting on Diplomatic Plans	146	(3)
11:47 A.M. Meeting of Berlin Group	149	(3)
3:00 P.M. National Security Council Meeting	152	(11)
5:80 P.M. Meeting with the Congressional Leadership	163	(31)
Tuesday, October 23, 1962	194	(30)
10:00 A.M. Executive Committee Meeting of the National Security Council	194	(8)
12:25 P.M. Conversation with Lucius Clay	202	(2)
3:52 P.M. Conversation with Roswell Gilpatric	204	(2)
6:00 P.M. Executive Committee Meeting of the National Security Council	206	(12)
7:10 P.M. Discussion between President Kennedy and Robert Kennedy	218	(6)
Wednesday, October 24, 1962	224	(21)
10:00 A.M. Executive Committee Meeting of the National Security Council	224	(10)
5:05 PM. Meetings with Staff and Congressional Leadership	234	(11)
Thursday, October 25, 1962	245	(24)
10:00 A.M. Executive Committee Meeting of the National Security Council	245	(15)
5:25 P.M. Executive Committee Meeting of the National Security Council	260	(9)
Friday, October 26, 1962	269	(32)
10:10 A.M. Executive Committee Meeting of the National Security Council	169	(119)
12:00 PM. Meeting with Intelligence Officials	288	(4)
4:30 P.M. Conversation with Dean Rusk	292	(3)
7:31 PM. Conversation with Lincoln White	295	(6)
Saturday, October 27, 1962	301	(101)
10:05 A.M. Executive Committee Meeting of the National Security Council	301	(23)
4:00 P.M. Executive Committee Meeting of the National Security Council	324	(67)
9:00 P.M. Executive Committee Meeting of the National Security Council	391	(11)
Sunday, October 28, 1962	402	(9)
11:05 A.M. Executive Committee Meeting of the National Security Council	404	(1)
12:08 PM. Conversations with Dwight Eisenhower, Harry Truman, and Herbert Hoover	405	(6)
Conclusion	411	(40)
Notes	451	(40)
Index	491