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katiem300's review against another edition
1.0
I liked the part where JFK compared himself to Lincoln.
johanna2001's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
3.25
Interesting insights into the Cuba crisis in 1962, especially the official letters and statements by President Kennedy and Soviet leader Krushchev (Krushchev's messages seemed really passive aggressive sometimes).
However, if you have only little prior knowledge about the topic some parts can feel a bit disconnected. The additional information (not by Kennedy) touched on the topics of the US's part in the wars in Korea and Vietnam, but in a rather unreflected way.
However, if you have only little prior knowledge about the topic some parts can feel a bit disconnected. The additional information (not by Kennedy) touched on the topics of the US's part in the wars in Korea and Vietnam, but in a rather unreflected way.
santino1215's review against another edition
5.0
Book 38 out of 200 books
"Thirteen Days: A Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis" by Robert F. Kennedy
"Thirteen Days", as the title suggest, is the exploration and tense events from the 16th to the 28th of October, year 1962- the year when the Cuban Missile Crisis occurred. Then Attorney-general, Robert Kennedy choose to write a memoir and declassify information regarding the crisis.
MY THOUGHTS:
So this was one intense read, a tragic one that is for sure. President Kennedy would eventually be assassinated the year after the Cuban Missile Crisis. This book still gave me shivers, a sense of dread because, now 2 decades into the 21st century, with over 15,000 nuclear weapons around, an all out nuclear war can occur in the future. 15k nuclear weapons is already more than enough to destroy our world, and that, ladies and gentlemen, is what humanity's capable of doing to itself.
I learned a lot from reading this memoir, that war can be waged by even the poorest nations, when one man has the choices to wage it. Rage, fear and anger- those emotions showered me while reading this book. I don't exactly remember reading the speeches and last notes, but still- the Kennedy brothers commenced in a lot of great choices, gladly avoiding all-out nuclear war.
The sources, the people mentioned, I did basic research on who were they, Gromyko, Khrushchev, the Kennedy brothers, etc.
This 180-paged novel, I reading the 1980s or even the 1970s edition of this book so probably a lot of revision has been done to the present edition of this book, this book would serve as my own manual of political diplomacy and a type of book similar to Marcus Aurelius' "Meditations", because of how surprisingly calm was the prose of this book.
However, Robert Kennedy never had the chance to finish this memoir because he was assassinated. But nonetheless, this book was worth reading given the situation, as of June 2022, the world was shocked by Russia when the nation invaded Ukraine, and nuclear weapons are just probably a knock away from being detonated.
"Thirteen Days: A Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis" by Robert F. Kennedy
"Thirteen Days", as the title suggest, is the exploration and tense events from the 16th to the 28th of October, year 1962- the year when the Cuban Missile Crisis occurred. Then Attorney-general, Robert Kennedy choose to write a memoir and declassify information regarding the crisis.
MY THOUGHTS:
So this was one intense read, a tragic one that is for sure. President Kennedy would eventually be assassinated the year after the Cuban Missile Crisis. This book still gave me shivers, a sense of dread because, now 2 decades into the 21st century, with over 15,000 nuclear weapons around, an all out nuclear war can occur in the future. 15k nuclear weapons is already more than enough to destroy our world, and that, ladies and gentlemen, is what humanity's capable of doing to itself.
I learned a lot from reading this memoir, that war can be waged by even the poorest nations, when one man has the choices to wage it. Rage, fear and anger- those emotions showered me while reading this book. I don't exactly remember reading the speeches and last notes, but still- the Kennedy brothers commenced in a lot of great choices, gladly avoiding all-out nuclear war.
The sources, the people mentioned, I did basic research on who were they, Gromyko, Khrushchev, the Kennedy brothers, etc.
This 180-paged novel, I reading the 1980s or even the 1970s edition of this book so probably a lot of revision has been done to the present edition of this book, this book would serve as my own manual of political diplomacy and a type of book similar to Marcus Aurelius' "Meditations", because of how surprisingly calm was the prose of this book.
However, Robert Kennedy never had the chance to finish this memoir because he was assassinated. But nonetheless, this book was worth reading given the situation, as of June 2022, the world was shocked by Russia when the nation invaded Ukraine, and nuclear weapons are just probably a knock away from being detonated.
swmproblems's review against another edition
5.0
I can't believe I had this book for a few months before I actually read it. Incredible book and now I'm obsessed with the Cuban Missle Crisis.
historyonthehudson's review against another edition
5.0
When history is happening the ill-informed turn to books to gain a better understanding of the rapidly evolving world. That's why I added Thirteen Days by Robert Kennedy to my reading list. Thirteen Days follows the Kennedy Administration's response to the Soviet Union placing offensive missiles in Cuba. Bob Kennedy was the Attorney General and the President's brother, making him an intimate player in the United States response. Kennedy's short story is akin to a legal memo detailing the events with a splash of spotlighting the decision making of the President. I'm a Kennedy skeptic and try to look at the Administration with a real world view and not the Camelot Court the world often does. But what impressed me the most was the honesty in which the story was told, Kennedy is very clear about the fact that there were no clear answers during the early days of the crisis and even more clear about the back and forth between the different factions of the Administration and how these debates lead to President Kennedy's best decisions and ultimately a peaceful settlement between the United States and Soviet Union. Sometimes just talking out an issue works and history teaches us how to respond.