 THIRTEEN DAYS IS A SOLID RE-TELLING OF THE CUBAN
MISSILE CRISIS
For once, a
movie tagline, "You'll never believe how close we came",
holds true. 13 Days is a chilling reminder of how close
the world came to nuclear war. The story is based mostly on historical
facts and taped recordings, with, of course, Hollywood dramatic
treatment. Unlike Oliver Stone's JFK (also starrring Kevin
Costner), director Roger Donaldson's 13 Days does not
seek to reinterprete or rewrite history. In fact, the director's
triumph in this movie is in recreating the incredible pressures
and conflicts the Kennedy administration went through in resolving
the Cuban missle crisis over 13 days in October 1962.
Nikita Khrushchev,
emboldened by the American's failed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba
in 1961, decided that it would be a smart thing to place scores
of nuclear missiles on Cuba. Of course, the Americans would not
have 80% of their cities as easy targets in a nuclear shooting
gallery (Seattle was the only major city out of reach).
For much of
the movie, the Kennedys and their White House allies battle not
only the Soviets in a deadly political chess game, but also with
the Pentagon generals. Just about every top brass in the military
is portrayed to be a hawk, with the intention of wiping Cuba
off the face of the earth. The scary thing is that the belligerency
of the generals was actually played down in the movie. Remember,
this was before Vietnam.
Those we have
grown to dislike Kevin Costner (one word - Waterworld)
will be pleased to know that he actually takes a backseat in
this movie, despite his top billing. In fact, much of the spotlight
falls on the Kennedy brothers, John the President, and Robert
the Attorney General, played respectively by Bruce Greenwood
and Robert Culp. Costner's character, Kenny O'Donnell, was special
assistant to the President. Much of the story is seen through
O'Donnell's eyes, which makes him the third man in a supposed
triumvirate. In reality, O'Donnell was just one of many players
during the crisis. By the way, O'Donnell's son, was an investor
in the movie.
I would recommend
13 Days as a movie that not only entertains, but also
informs and educates. While it may not stand up to academic scrutiny,
13 Days is nevertheless a solid account of how close we
came.
My rating: 7.5/10 (Click
here for historical timeline of the Cuban Missile Crisis.)
-
 Who Moved My Cheese?
may
be the personal change-management book for a dumbed-down world.
The master
of the one-minute books (The One Minute Manager, The
One Minute Sales Person, etc), Dr Spencer Johnson, has done
it again with the now unbiquitous, Who Moved My Cheese?
("Cheese" being an analogy for the important things
in life.) Detractors have called this book a naive over-simplification
on coping with change. For me, this book is worth a read, if
for no other reason than it is less than a 100 pages long, set
in large text, dealing with a subject that applies to everyone.
Like the saying
goes, the only thing certain is change. And in this millennium,
change will be ever-accelerating, often times with technology,
processes and circumstances moving faster than people are able
to catch up with. Who Moved My Cheese?, in its very simple
approach, summarises four main types of characters, and how and
why they respond to change and uncertainty in the ways they do.
Read like a children's tale, this short book cuts to the chase
in its explanations and recommendations, so much so that it sounds
like a sermon on a Sunday morning.
In any case,
the main purpose of the book is the hope of individual enlightenment
and self-awareness. It may be especially useful for Singaporeans
who are all too used to having their Cheese provided for them.
So, when their Cheese is moved, they get upset, helpless and
delusional. The lesson for all is simply, get real, get off your
ass, and do something about it.
My rating: 7/10 (Click
to buy.)
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