In October 1962, during what is widely known as the Cuban Missile Crisis, Washington pushed the world to the edge of nuclear war. Here, for the first time, the full story of that historic moment is told not by partisans of Washington or of Moscow, but from the perspective of the Cuban people. Led by Cuba's revolutionary government, their determination -- and readiness -- to defend the country's newly won sovereignty and the achievements of their unfolding socialist revolution blocked U.S. plans for a military assault and opened the way to resolve the crisis, thus saving humanity from the consequences of a nuclear holocaust.