On Oct. 16, 1962, U.S. President John F. Kennedy learned that the Soviet Union was building missile bases in Cuba. Soviet ships were on their way to the island nation, 90 miles off the Florida coast, “loaded with atomic missiles and warheads.” Kennedy and his team decided that the most effective response—and one that did not risk starting a nuclear war—would be a naval blockade of Cuba. In response, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev authorized the use of atomic weapons to prevent a U.S. invasion of Cuba.

As tensions built between Kennedy and Khrushchev, with each wanting the other to back down first, the United Nations’ Burmese secretary-general, U Thant, maneuvered himself into the role of negotiator. He had no mandate from the Security Council. Instead, he turned to the African and Asian delegates for support. With their backing, he approached both superpowers, seeking “to de-escalate tensions and create a window for diplomacy.” Racing to Havana from New York, fielding phone calls, and strategizing with representatives from the United States and Soviet Union, Thant’s efforts paid off. Global nuclear war was prevented.

On Oct. 16, 1962, U.S. President John F. Kennedy learned that the Soviet Union was building missile bases in Cuba. Soviet ships were on their way to the island nation, 90 miles off the Florida coast, “loaded with atomic missiles and warheads.” Kennedy and his team decided that the most effective response—and one that did not risk starting a nuclear war—would be a naval blockade of Cuba. In response, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev authorized the use of atomic weapons to prevent a U.S. invasion of Cuba.

Peacemaker: U Thant and the Forgotten Quest for a Just World, Thant Myint-U, W.W. Norton & Co., 384 pp., $35, September 2025

As tensions built between Kennedy and Khrushchev, with each wanting the other to back down first, the United Nations’ Burmese secretary-general, U Thant, maneuvered himself into the role of negotiator. He had no mandate from the Security Council. Instead, he turned to the African and Asian delegates for support. With their backing, he approached both superpowers, seeking “to de-escalate tensions and create a window for diplomacy.” Racing to Havana from New York, fielding phone calls, and strategizing with representatives from the United States and Soviet Union, Thant’s efforts paid off. Global nuclear war was prevented.

The historian (and Thant’s grandson) Thant Myint-U has brought together a compelling new narrative of U Thant’s tenure as the first Asian U.N. secretary-general during a turbulent time in international affairs. Peacemaker: U Thant and the Forgotten Quest for a Just World is full of nail-biting tension, as with........

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