In October 1962; at the height of the Cold War; the United States and the Soviet Union came to the brink of nuclear conflict over the placement of Soviet missiles in Cuba. In this hour-by-hour chronicle of those tense days; veteran Washington Post reporter Michael Dobbs reveals just how close we came to Armageddon.Here; for the first time; are gripping accounts of Khrushchev's plan to destroy the U.S. naval base at Guantánamo; the handling of Soviet nuclear warheads on Cuba; and the extraordinary story of a U-2 spy plane that got lost over Russia at the peak of the crisis.Written like a thriller; One Minute to Midnight is an exhaustively researched account of what Arthur Schlesinger; Jr. called “the most dangerous moment in human history;†and the definitive book on the Cuban missile crisis.
Gibbs Montgomery B 2016-08-27Original language:English 9.21 x 1.31 x 6.14l; #File Name: 1371713413Military Career of Napoleon the Great An Account of the Remarkable Campaigns of the Man of Destiny
Review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Not definitive; but worth reading.By Pen NameA nice; quickly paced overview of Napoleon's military career; told from the French point of view; and conversational in style. Most of the histories I've read about the man concentrate on the details of his military exploits; and from what seems like the point of view of his enemies; generally monarchs fighting to put a rather arrogant and stupid royal family back in power. I think it's fair to say that it was probably best for the combined powers to have beaten Napoleon; a man who greatly admired George Washington; but didn't have the strength to resist the temptations of power like his hero.Though the book probably wouldn't be a satisfactory read for those interested in the technical details of his victories and defeats; it did a nice job of showing the man's personality as it was perceived by his army.The anecdote that struck me most was one described during his Italian campaign. After his army had fought several hard combats; they had camped for the night while in march towards another battle. It describes Napoleon as he came up upon a sentry who had fallen asleep. Instead of waking him; Napoleon took up the man's rifle and stood guard duty until he woke up a half-hour later. The soldier of course begged for his life; assuming he was going to be shot for sleeping. Napoleon apparently told him in a quiet voice; that they had already fought a lot of battles in a short time and he understood that the man would be exhausted. He then simply reminded the guard that even so; he had to be aware that falling asleep at his post could endanger the army; and to keep that in mind in the future.To be honest I'm not sure the story is true; but it's certainly a story that if the army believed it; one could understand how the army was able to stand up to the Italian campaigns frenetic pace; and why he was so charismatic to his army.In the book he comes across as sort of like a Cesar type commander; one who regularly mixed with the common soldiers at least in the field; and repeatedly did and said things that made his army fiercely loyal to him. As history shows; the army itself was certainly more loyal to Napoleon than many of his Marshals later were.I've read several histories of his military campaigns; and while this wouldn't be the one I would call definitive; it did a nice job of giving me a different look at the man himself.I gave it extra stars for being a well paced narrative; and because the price was very right. I frankly enjoyed reading this one a lot more than other books about him that I paid a lot more money for; but this book would simply be one of many you'd probably have to read to fully understand the man.
