The Players in the Cold War

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses how Frankel attempts to look into the minds of the two major players in the Cuban Missile Crisis - John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev. The book gives detailed background on the two men, their countries and what led up to deploying nuclear missiles in Cuba. The book illustrates the importance of sound diplomacy and intelligence. Both leaders misread signs, misinterpreted communications and reacted to situations that had nothing to do with the crisis. The paper considers that while skill was certainly involved in bringing the crisis to resolution, there was much luck involved too. The paper suggests that if both sides had listened to the diplomatic channels and intelligence more closely, perhaps the crisis never would have occurred.

From the Paper:

"Frankel writes of his memories of forty years before in this book, but backs them up with facts, research, and new information, such as transcriptions of recordings Kennedy made in the White House during the event (Frankel xiv). He opens the book with memories of the crisis and how it has been glamorized. It also shows how the events in October that led up to the Russians backing down and removing their missiles from Cuba have been dramatized and even misread. He elaborates his purpose for writing the book, which is to shed new light on the causes of the Crisis and what was happening in the minds of the two leaders as they jockeyed for world position."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Frankel, Max. High Noon in the Cold War: Kennedy, Khrushchev, and the Cuban Missile Crisis. New York: Ballantine Books, 2004

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