Thirteen Days A Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis, by Kennedy, Robert F

Essay by Jon Jacobson March 1997

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'Here is a unique, second-by-second account of that crisis-told from inside, at the center of power and decision-making, by Robert Kennedy, one of its key participants." (Kennedy, on back cover) 'The inner story of the masterly handling of the Cuba missile crisis by one brother and is told to us by another." (pg.17) 'Both these men played leading parts in this drama, one as principal, the other as adjutant." (pg.17) 'What President John Kennedy thought and did during these fateful hours, Senator Robert Kennedy had here faithfully recorded." (pg.17) 'From that moment in President Kennedy's office until Sunday morning, October 28, that was my life..."(pg.23) Robert Kennedy was very qualified to write this book since he was there as everything went on and he actually knew what had really happened.

Robert Kennedy wrote this book to let the world know that the first nuclear crisis put them all in danger, and that the government was doing everything it could to protect the people and themselves.

'Here is real human drama-the anguish of John Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev, realizing they must decide the fate of every man, woman, and child on earth..."(on back cover) '...And for Americans and Russians, for the whole world it was their life as well."(p.23) Also, by Robert Kennedy writing this book, he lets the world know the government did not mess around and that they got right down to business. '...The Russians were constructing a large naval shipyard and a base for submarines. This was all being watched carefully-through agents within Cuba, who were reporting the military build-up in a limiting, but frequently important way, through the questioning of refugees. Who were screened and processed as they arrived in Florida, and through U-2 flights."(p.25) 'We had to be aware of this responsibility at all times, he...