Hagerty's military and intelligence background; 6/17/53 uprisings in East Germany; Joseph Stalin's death and replacement by Nikita Khrushchev; the Russian Foreign Area Specialist Training program; estimating Russian intentions and capabilities while working at the Pentagon under the Department of the Army; Hagerty's work at the Office of Current Intelligence at CIA; the threat of nuclear war between the U.S. and U.S.S.R.; the Cuban missile crisis timeline; John McCone; effects of the Cuban missile crisis on Soviet politics; Hagerty's work in the Office of National Estimates; George Carver and Bill Hyland's involvement in Vietnam task force; Chinese obstruction of Soviet military support to North Vietnam; the Soviet and Chinese positions toward Vietnam; France's involvement with Vietnam; the Pueblo; General Hamilton Howze; overestimating enemy power; conflict between military and intelligence staff; Robert McNamara's request for an opinion paper on anti-ballistic missile use; Soviet involvement with Afghanistan.