Mayday

Eisenhower, Khrushchev, and the U-2 Affair

Nonfiction, History, Asian, Russia, Biography & Memoir, Political, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science
Cover of the book Mayday by Michael Beschloss, Open Road Media
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Michael Beschloss ISBN: 9781504039369
Publisher: Open Road Media Publication: August 16, 2016
Imprint: Open Road Media Language: English
Author: Michael Beschloss
ISBN: 9781504039369
Publisher: Open Road Media
Publication: August 16, 2016
Imprint: Open Road Media
Language: English

The “definitive” book on the U-2 episode and its disastrous impact on the future of the Cold War (Kirkus Reviews).

On May Day 1960, Soviet forces downed a CIA spy plane flown deep into Soviet territory by Francis Gary Powers two weeks before a crucial summit. This forced President Dwight Eisenhower to decide whether, in an effort to save the meeting, to admit to Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev—and the world—that he had secretly ordered Powers’s flight, or to claim that the CIA could take such a significant step without his approval.

In rich and fascinating detail, Mayday explores the years of U-2 flights, which Eisenhower deemed “an act of war,” the US government’s misconceived attempt to cover up the true purpose of the flight, Khrushchev’s dramatic revelation that Powers was alive and in Soviet custody, and the show trial that sentenced the pilot to prison and hard labor. From a U-2’s cramped cockpit to tense meetings in the Oval Office, the Kremlin, Camp David, CIA headquarters, the Élysée Palace, and Number Ten Downing Street, historian Michael Beschloss draws on previously unavailable CIA documents, diaries, and letters, as well as the recollections of Eisenhower’s aides, to reveal the full high-stakes drama and bring to life its key figures, which also include Richard Nixon, Allen Dulles, and Charles de Gaulle.

An impressive work of scholarship with the dramatic pacing a spy thriller, Mayday “may be one of the best stories yet written about just how those grand men of diplomacy and intrigue conducted our business” (Time).

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The “definitive” book on the U-2 episode and its disastrous impact on the future of the Cold War (Kirkus Reviews).

On May Day 1960, Soviet forces downed a CIA spy plane flown deep into Soviet territory by Francis Gary Powers two weeks before a crucial summit. This forced President Dwight Eisenhower to decide whether, in an effort to save the meeting, to admit to Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev—and the world—that he had secretly ordered Powers’s flight, or to claim that the CIA could take such a significant step without his approval.

In rich and fascinating detail, Mayday explores the years of U-2 flights, which Eisenhower deemed “an act of war,” the US government’s misconceived attempt to cover up the true purpose of the flight, Khrushchev’s dramatic revelation that Powers was alive and in Soviet custody, and the show trial that sentenced the pilot to prison and hard labor. From a U-2’s cramped cockpit to tense meetings in the Oval Office, the Kremlin, Camp David, CIA headquarters, the Élysée Palace, and Number Ten Downing Street, historian Michael Beschloss draws on previously unavailable CIA documents, diaries, and letters, as well as the recollections of Eisenhower’s aides, to reveal the full high-stakes drama and bring to life its key figures, which also include Richard Nixon, Allen Dulles, and Charles de Gaulle.

An impressive work of scholarship with the dramatic pacing a spy thriller, Mayday “may be one of the best stories yet written about just how those grand men of diplomacy and intrigue conducted our business” (Time).

More books from Open Road Media

Cover of the book Saigon, Illinois by Michael Beschloss
Cover of the book The Incredible Voyage by Michael Beschloss
Cover of the book Helliconia Spring by Michael Beschloss
Cover of the book The Complete Titanic Chronicles by Michael Beschloss
Cover of the book The Harlan Ellison Hornbook by Michael Beschloss
Cover of the book The Europe That Was by Michael Beschloss
Cover of the book The Case of the Vanishing Boy by Michael Beschloss
Cover of the book Low Country Liar by Michael Beschloss
Cover of the book The Pleasure Quartet by Michael Beschloss
Cover of the book Two Ravens by Michael Beschloss
Cover of the book The Lonely Skier by Michael Beschloss
Cover of the book Meridian and The Third Life of Grange Copeland by Michael Beschloss
Cover of the book City of the Dead by Michael Beschloss
Cover of the book The Treasure of Alpheus Winterborn by Michael Beschloss
Cover of the book Student Body by Michael Beschloss
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy