Above and Beyond: John F. Kennedy and America’s Most Dangerous Cold War Spy Mission

Sherman (coauthor of The Ice Bucket Challenge) and Tougias (A Storm Too Soon) team up again, after The Finest Hours and Boston Strong, to give an original, if uneven, account of the Cuban Missile Crisis, incorporating the experiences of two U.S. pilots alongside President Kennedy’s. Using a novelistic approach that involves dramatically recreated scenes and interweaving story lines, the authors go back to the early lives and Korean War service of pilots Rudy Anderson and Chuck Maultsby, while also covering Kennedy’s WWII service and postwar political ascension. These different narrative strands connect during the 13 days of the crisis: Maultsby, on an Arctic mission, accidentally flies into Russian airspace, ratcheting up tensions with the Soviets, while Anderson flies one of the U-2 spy planes monitoring the missile sites in Cuba. The focus on two lesser-known figures gives the book an added dimension beyond other Cuban Missile Crisis histories, but the pilots’ stories feel thin and underdeveloped. The book, however, hums when describing the strategic maneuvering in Washington. The authors will leave readers with a greater appreciation of the work required to combat the “miscalculations, incorrect interpretations, and breakdowns in command and control that could lead to war.” [em]Agent: George Lucas, InkWell Management. (Apr.) [/em]