*Shortlisted for the Duke of Wellington Medal for Military History* 'An enthralling account of
a pivotal moment in modern history. . . replete with startling revelations about the deception
and mutual suspicion that brought the US and Soviet Union to the brink of Armageddon in October
1962' Martin Chilton Independent The definitive new history of the Cuban Missile Crisis from
the author of Chernobyl: History of a Tragedy winner of the Baillie Gifford Prize For more
than four weeks in the autumn of 1962 the world teetered. The consequences of a misplaced step
during the Cuban Missile Crisis could not have been more grave. Ash and cinder famine and
fallout nuclear war between the two most-powerful nations on Earth. In Nuclear Folly
award-winning historian Serhii Plokhy tells the riveting story of those weeks tracing the
tortuous decision-making and calculated brinkmanship of John F. Kennedy Nikita Khrushchev and
Fidel Castro and of their advisors and commanders on the ground. More often than not Plokhy
argues the Americans and Soviets simply misread each other operating under mutual distrust
second-guesses and false information. Despite all of this nuclear disaster was avoided thanks
to one very human reason: fear. Drawing on an impressive array of primary sources including
recently declassified KGB files Plokhy masterfully illustrates the drama of those tense days.
Authoritative fast-paced and unforgettable this is the definitive new account of the Cold
War's most perilous moment.
