Above & Beyond: JFK and the Florida U-2 Pilots During the Cuban Missile Crisis, presented by Michael Tougias

The little-known story of U-2 pilots who flew from Orlando to Cuba to secure the photographic proof that the Soviets were installing nuclear missiles on Cuba, sparking an international crisis that brought U.S. and the Soviet Union to the brink of war. One pilot was fatally shot down by the Soviets, in an incident that was covered up and later revealed by U-2 pilot Jerry McIlmoyle of Venice, Florida.

Michael J. Tougias is a New York Times bestselling author and co-author of 29 books. Among his bestsellers are "The Finest Hours" (Disney Motion Pictures’ version opened in 45 countries in January 2016), "Fatal Forecast," "Overboard, King Philip’s War," and "There’s A Porcupine In My Outhouse: The Vermont Misadventures of a Mountain Man Wannabe."

Funding for this program is provided in part through a grant from the Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities and sponsored by the Friends of the North Indian River County Library. All programs are free and open to the public. Face coverings and social distancing are encouraged.