Thirteen Days in October offers lecture on untold Cuban Missile Crisis story at Pease Public Library

PLYMOUTH — The Pease Public Library, in partnership with the Plymouth Historical Society, will host Michael Tougias and his lecture “Thirteen Days in October: The Untold Cuban Missile Crisis Story” on Wednesday, Sept. 13, at 7 p.m.

Tougias posits that at the height of the Cold War, two things saved humanity: the strategic wisdom of John F. Kennedy and the U-2 aerial spy program. Based on declassified intelligence and interviews with the pilots, Tougias and co-author Casey Sherman's book "Above & Beyond: John F. Kennedy and America's Most Dangerous Cold War Spy Mission" grounds this conversation about presidential decision-making, nuclear containment, intelligence-gathering and public information.

It's a timely topic given today's concerns about the United States, North Korea and Iran. Tougias gives special emphasis to the U-2 pilots who flew unarmed over Cuba to secure photographic proof that the Soviets were installing nuclear missiles on the Island.

New Hampshire Humanities programs are made possible in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.