White House Press Secretary Pierre Salinger was surprised when on October 20, 1962, President John F. Kennedy abruptly broke off a Midwest campaign swing and headed for the capital. “Something strange is happening,” Salinger said to Kennedy, probing for an explanation. “The minute you get back to Washington, you are going to find out what it is,” the president snapped. Two days later Kennedy announced to an alarmed and wary nation that the USSR had secretly installed medium-range ballistic missiles in Cuba. This move was unacceptable, the president told his fellow citizens. He was instituting a blockade to prevent further...