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Summary: Wonderful insight - what would you have done?
Comment: This is fantastic. Includes transcripts of key meetings where top US policy makers and the military discuss the evolving situation in Cuba. Each chapter begins with a summary description of information that puts the deliberations into context or otherwise refers to the outcomes of meetings, world events etc that do not form part of the transcripts. This makes for a wonderful history of the crisis and provides much more than the transcripts alone.
That said, it is the opportunity to read exactly what was said and by whom that makes this book unique and truly fascinating. While reading it, I constantly tried to forget that I knew the outcome and to put myself in Kennedy's position, weighing up the often conflicting advice he was receiving.
Anyone wishing to learn about the history of the missile crisis or gain a detailed insight into top echelon decision making on national security in the US must read this brilliant book.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Put yourself in his shoes
Comment: Make no mistake, this is required reading for anybody who wishes to understand executive decision making and the art of effective delegation. Moreover, for a detailed chronology of the highest level of politicking during the Cuban Missile Crisis, you need to read this book. If you do, I would strongly advise that you then watch Thirteen Days, Roger Donaldson's first rate dramatisation of these transcripts.The caveat is that these are transcripts and, as such, incredibly hard to follow. You're reading another man's thoughts as he expresses them. You're reading a decision making process. Frequently Kennedy states that he is simply thinking aloud. This is not an easy read. For all that, any supplementary reading will have given you insight into the characters that dealt with this dangerous situation and you will see their positions and influences relative to and on the president writ large in the dialogue. These transcipts are compelling and important documents. They should not form the beginnings of an understanding of the CMC but they are an invaluable supplement and an excellent piece of work.
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Summary: Behind closed doors ...
Comment: Have you ever wondered what is being said behind closed doors, in those places where important decisions are made?. If you have, Ernest R. May and Philip D. Zelikow allow you to learn just that, at least regarding the conversations that took place in the White House during the Cuban Missile Crisis. This book contains the transcriptions of those discussions, and many notes that contribute to clarify certain details that the reader might well not be aware of. The editors of "The Kennedy tapes" are able to offer us this unexpected treat thanks to the fact that an audio tape recorded the conversations of the committee that was formed to deal with the crisis. It is generally thought that only President Kennedy and his secretary knew that their words were being recorded, and we can easily believe that when we realize that the different functionaries said exactly what they thought, without wasting time in order to formulate their ideas in a politically correct way :) It is almost scary to know how little did the persons involved in the decision making process know about what was really happening at that time, and about how would the URSS react to their optional courses of action. But then, I guess that complete information is never available, and less during a crisis of that magnitude... However, after reading these pages, I cannot help but wonder what would have happened if, for example, USA had launched a preventive attack on Cuba. The answers to that question are many, and none of them is good. I suppose we should be grateful to President Kennedy and his advisors, for somehow arriving to a course of action that avoided the real possibility of a nuclear war. I think it is worthwhile to point out that the editors of this book wrote not only an interesting introduction, but also an excellent conclusion to this book. The introduction explains very well the Cold War context in which this crisis developed, and how recent and ongoing events affected the perspective of the decision makers. On the other hand, the conclusion sums up what happened, taking into account "the other side" (URSS), and the peculiarities of the decision-making process in Soviet Russia. The editors also include their own considerations, all of which I consider worthwhile remembering. For example, when they reflect on the kind of lesson they think this book can teach to the reader, they say that "Someone who wants to learn all that can be learned from this extraordinary record of decision-making needs not only to notice how the process stutters and veers amid barrages of detail but also to infer how individuals of different backgrounds and temperaments are sorting the detail, discerning choices, and electing among those choices (...)". "The Kennedy tapes" is a rather impressive book due to the fact that it is quite long. However, it is also very helpful if you want to know more about the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the kind of environment that surrounds difficult decisions in the higher levels of authority. It is certainly more comfortable to believe that those decisions are at all times informed and rational, but unfortunately (as this book shows) that not always happens. May and Zelikow say that "Reconstruction that oversimplifies or ignores the incessant tension between realities and beliefs makes us no wiser. By coming fully to grips with the particulars of past moments of choice, we may become better able to handle our own". We can only hope that is the case... On the whole, I think you will benefit a lot from reading this book. It allows you the opportunity to really "listen" to what happened in the discussions surrounding the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, without intermediaries. Take advantage of the privilege of listening to what happens behind closed doors!.
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Summary: A wonderful insight into the heart of the crisis
Comment: After all those years of looking at photos taken around the time of the Cuban miissile crisis of Kennedy and his advisors, deep in conversation, it's great to finally find out what they were talking about. What comes across is the perception and early understanding of the position they faced and their clear sighted thinking as they sought to come to grips with it. I was interested how the idea of the quarantine developed from almost an aside into the first line of policy. What is impressive throughout is how President Kennedy himself was able to ask probing questions, guide discussion and appear to be the only one to have a thorough understanding of all the influences and pressures. He was particularly strong in resisting hasty pressures to invade, a decision for which we can all be thankful now.
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Summary: A book for future presidents to learn from.
Comment: Reading these transcripts place you in a chair at the table in the Cabinet Room in 1962. What is history now is a current event then. Pearl Harbor and Berlin. The Cold War at it's peak. The world's worst potentially deadly crisis is being debated right before your eyes. Many options are available, and each could lead to global nuclear war. Immediate strike with no warning. Strike with warning. Blockade and no strike. All options are considered an act of war. This book allows you to see a president in office who listens to and learns from advisors, sifts through evidence, and makes decisions as best any man can. Definitely a book that future presidents can and should learn from. It taught me that my vote for president is the most important thing that I do in my life.
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