In October of 1962, the Soviet Union, America, and Cuba played a high-stakes game of “Chicken,” with the survival of civilization resting on the outcome. When Russian premier Nikita Khrushchev introduced offensive nuclear weapons into the newly established socialist “island of freedom,” U.S. President John F. Kennedy felt he had no choice but to “take them out.” (Whatever that meant!) Khrushchev and Fidel Castro were equally adamant that the weapons were necessary to ensure both Russian and Cuban security against the “imperialist regime” in Washington. The stage was set for the ultimate showdown. In this class we will examine the background events leading up to the crisis of nuclear brinksmanship, the hair-raising thirteen days of the standoff, and the final resolution of the madness.