Chapter 19 Summary

On October 14, 1962, a U-2 flies over Cuba, its photographs are analyzed by the CIA, and the findings - the Soviets are building launch sites capable of striking the U.S. - are delivered to McGeorge Bundy, National Security Adviser. Bundy allows Kennedy to sleep. When informed, JFK's first reaction is to bomb the sites. Soviet activity has been growing in Cuba since July; surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) are detected in August, leading to speculation about what they might be protecting. Partisan Republicans insist it is an offensive build-up. Kennedy's advisers (nicknamed ExComm) wonder whether Khrushchev has gone insane, and JFK orders a detailed analysis. Former ambassadors Bohlen and Thompson figure it is a chip for bargaining U.S. missiles out of Turkey.

Thompson, who knows Khrushchev better than anyone, tells the president Khrushchev is running out of time and needs a showdown over Berlin...