As the general events of this crisis should be reasonably well known, especially to those who fit the category of 'baby boomer,' I'll not go over the story. The main difference here is the author . . . Jeff Shaara.
Lots of readers may never have heard of Shaara despite him having written 19 books. His first two books were Gods and Generals followed by The Last Full Measure, both about the civil war. And the remaining 17 have been about various American armed conflicts that span our history. It's his style that sets his books apart from all others.
His style is a direct descendant of his father, Michael Shaara. His dad wrote a single book before an untimely death in his 50s. He was a professor at, I think, Florida State University. In the latter 50s, he took his family on a trip to NYC, but made a detour to visit Gettysburg, PA where he was bitten by the civil war bug. After the trip, he went to work on a book telling the story of the great battle from a different viewpoint. What he did was tell the Gettysburg story from the viewpoint of the various commanders of both sides. While the facts of the battle were spot on, what Shaara did was personalize the story with his fabricating the interactions between and amongst both Union and Confederate leaders. Fifteen publishers weren't impressed. When a publisher was finally found, the book went to press and shortly thereafter was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for literature for The Killer Angels.
(and if you've never read it and find the civil war of interest, run out right now and buy it or borrow if from your public library. It is one outstanding piece of historical literature. Riveting)
Heart disease took his life. Years later, son Jeff picked up the family mantle and finished their civil war trilogy. In those books, he too followed his father's recipe - tell the story from the point of view of command be it political or military. The Shadow of War follows a winning pattern.
His books are copiously researched with regards to the details of the subject. Given how much has been presented about the Cuban Missile Crisis, I doubt there are many new facts to further enlighten the reader. What is interesting is his presentation of the conversations/meeting/arguments/behaviors, etc on both sides of the naval quarantine that personalize the story and make the book a can't-put-it-down event.
While the main characters are the Kennedy's and Khrushchev (and families, aides, advisors), Shaara does add one (quasi-) fictional character as a way of presenting how the American public was reacting to the crisis . . . a Florida-based college teacher and his family.
You do the math on the identity of the father.
East Coast Don
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