Averting 'The Final Failure': John F. Kennedy and the Secret Cuban Missile Crisis Meetings (Stanford Nuclear Age Series)
"Anyone who lived through the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, one of the most perilous moments in contemporary history, will find Sheldon M. Stern'sAverting 'The Final Failure'a real page turner.  In highly readable fashion it details the inside story based on Oval Office tapes of the 13 days that shook the world."—Arnold Beichman, The Washington Times"...Stern's skillful analysis of these Kennedy tapes provides a welcome addition to the voluminous literature on the crisis, showing that evaluations of Kennedy's leadership, crisis resolution, and Cold War policies are far from complete."—Journal of American History"Stern'sAverting the Final Failuregreatly contributes to our understanding of the ExComm deliberations and JFK's role as a crisis manager."—Presidential Studies Quarterly"Anyone seeking to expand their understanding of the missile crisis would do well to entertain the arguments contained in [this book]....It now stands to reason that Stern's work must be taken into account if one is to undertake any serious investigation of decision-making on the American side. Indeed, simply as a corrective to Robert Kennedy's own crisis memoir,Thirteen Days, Stern's work is indispensable."—The Journal of Conflict Studies