Nuclear Folly
A New History of the Cuban Missile Crisis
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Nuclear Folly
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Narrated by:
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Roger Davis
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By:
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Serhii Plokhy
About this listen
Brought to you by Penguin.
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.
©2021 Serhii Plokhy (P)2021 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
What listeners say about Nuclear Folly
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Harry Bosch
- 22-05-21
Almost doomsday.
Superb account of the crisis. I was 12 years old in 1962.I remember my friends were frightened. I was not aware of Castro's cavalier attitude to nuclear war. Thank goodness Kennedy and Kruschev were in charge. Excellent explanation of this crisis. The narrator was great. Highly recommended.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- fregulf
- 25-12-22
History about to repeat itself
Great book, and well narrated.
It paints a good picture of how close the world came to a nuclear annihilation. The pragmatism of the likes of JFK helped the world navigate through those perilous times.
My only thumbs down 👎 is that the author was generally too biased towards the American POV, even until the present day. He mentioned the unfortunate situation regarding the arms reduction treaty. But was quick to blame both sides, ignoring the fact that it was the Americans that killed the current treaty.
Like he said, until the so called experts learn to be politically and culturally impartial, then there is no hope for peace, equality, and justice. Those three points are better than the status quo and the so-called rules based order.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Mrs. G. Moynihan
- 16-05-21
Poor narration let’s it down
An incredibly detailed account that is both fascinating and disturbing in equal measure. How close the world came to nuclear annihilation and over what was really male testosterone overload is very troubling.
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2 people found this helpful