02/01/2021
This comprehensive narrative nonfiction chronicle reveals the personalities and machinations behind the space race, which ended in 1969 with the moon landing. Cherrix (Backyard Bears ) introduces the two “brilliant but controversial” rocket scientists who shaped the contest: former Nazi and SS officer Werhner von Braun, whom America brought from Germany to spearhead the U.S. program in a post-WWII mission called Operation Paperclip; and Sergei Pavlovich Korolev, a former innocent “traitor” forced into Gulag camps, whom Stalin rehabilitated and charged with developing the Russian effort. The text documents how a quest for weapons transformed into space initiatives culminating in the moon walk, and reveals national secrets on both sides, such as how the U.S. side concealed von Braun’s Nazi past, and how the Russian side tricked German engineers into moving to the U.S.S.R. Mock “Intelligence Dossiers” consolidate complicated facts, such as the range and payload capacity of the groundbreaking Redstone rocket, “the first large-scale missile powered by liquid fuel.” Black-and-white photos throughout include a Cold War duck-and-cover drill at a 1950s school. This rousing history testifies to both the romance and cost of technological advancement. Back matter includes meticulous bibliography and endnotes, plus an index. Ages 13–up. Agent: Ammi-Joan Paquette, Erin Murphy Literary. (Feb.)
A well-researched, detailed account of two leading engineers in the space race that raises questions about the human costs of war and propaganda…. Engrossing and painfully relevant.” — Kirkus Reviews
“A book that reads, at times, like a Cold War spy novel…. Cherrix, who uses formerly classified documents as sources, excels in placing each advancement in its historical context, from the 1930s through the Apollo program…. This account reveals important truths in a style that will captivate teen readers.” — Booklist
“The cherchez les hommes approach used so successfully by Steve Sheinkin in Bomb works just as effectively here, offering readers a brightly defined trail to follow through the morass of historical machination. YA history readers frustrated by an information gap between the race for the bomb and the race to the moon will find this the essential—and thrilling—infill they’ve missed.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
“The text adds depth to the history of the space race, with thoughtful, ethical discussions of the U.S. concealing von Braun’s history to further its agenda…. An engaging, fast-paced narrative that will delight readers of history and space technology.” — School Library Journal
“[A] suspenseful, engaging narrative.... [An] eye-opening look into a typically venerated aspect of American history.” — The Horn Book
“This comprehensive narrative nonfiction chronicle reveals the personalities and machinations behind the space race.… This rousing history testifies to both the romance and cost of technological advancement.” — Publishers Weekly
“An explosive exposé on the scandals and lies behind the race to the moon! I learned so much I didn't know. This exciting, fact-filled page-turner will have you rethinking everything you thought you knew about the heroes and villains of the Soviet-American Space Race.” — Alan Gratz, New York Times bestselling author of Allies and Refugee
“This is a fascinating and complex story I knew nothing about! I learned so much, and I know readers will, too.” — Deborah Heiligman, award-winning author of Torpedoed: The True Story of the World War II Sinking of “The Children’s Ship”
An explosive exposé on the scandals and lies behind the race to the moon! I learned so much I didn't know. This exciting, fact-filled page-turner will have you rethinking everything you thought you knew about the heroes and villains of the Soviet-American Space Race.
[A] suspenseful, engaging narrative.... [An] eye-opening look into a typically venerated aspect of American history.
A book that reads, at times, like a Cold War spy novel…. Cherrix, who uses formerly classified documents as sources, excels in placing each advancement in its historical context, from the 1930s through the Apollo program…. This account reveals important truths in a style that will captivate teen readers.”
This is a fascinating and complex story I knew nothing about! I learned so much, and I know readers will, too.
The cherchez les hommes approach used so successfully by Steve Sheinkin in Bomb works just as effectively here, offering readers a brightly defined trail to follow through the morass of historical machination. YA history readers frustrated by an information gap between the race for the bomb and the race to the moon will find this the essential—and thrilling—infill they’ve missed.
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
The cherchez les hommes approach used so successfully by Steve Sheinkin in Bomb works just as effectively here, offering readers a brightly defined trail to follow through the morass of historical machination. YA history readers frustrated by an information gap between the race for the bomb and the race to the moon will find this the essential—and thrilling—infill they’ve missed.
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
A book that reads, at times, like a Cold War spy novel…. Cherrix, who uses formerly classified documents as sources, excels in placing each advancement in its historical context, from the 1930s through the Apollo program…. This account reveals important truths in a style that will captivate teen readers.”
01/01/2021
Gr 7 Up— This title provides a fascinating look at the early space race and the two engineers who led the technological innovations. Wernher von Braun was a German-born high-ranking Nazi official and SS officer, who developed Germany's devastating V-2 missiles. V-2s were built at factories using forced labor; von Braun worked at Mittelwerk, a production facility where countless prisoners suffered and died. At the close of World War II, top German engineers knew the future of rocketry would involve either the Soviets or Americans. Von Braun chose the Americans and surrendered in May 1945. U.S. policy mandated that former SS officers would not be accepted into the States, but von Braun's knowledge was too extensive to dismiss. His background was quietly classified and not released for decades. Von Braun and his team later developed the Saturn rockets, which gave him celebrity status in the U.S. Meanwhile, as a young man, Sergei Korolev refused to implicate a coworker with false allegations during Stalin's Great Purge and was arrested. He barely survived a Soviet gulag and was sent to a work prison. In the 1950s, the Soviets classified his name when he developed the Sputnik rocket. The text adds depth to the history of the space race, with thoughtful, ethical discussions of the U.S. concealing von Braun's history to further its agenda. The back matter is extensive. VERDICT This book contains numerous interesting biographical and technological facts, which results in an engaging, fast-paced narrative that will delight readers of history and space technology. A worthy addition to all libraries serving teens.—Karen Bilton, Franklin Township P.L., NJ
2020-11-24 A well-researched, detailed account of two leading engineers in the space race that raises questions about the human costs of war and propaganda.
Parallel narratives chart the careers of Wernher von Braun, the former Nazi famous for helping the U.S. reach the moon, and Sergei Korolev, the Soviet Union’s top rocket designer, who developed the first of the Soyuz spacecraft that are still in use today. A portrait emerges of two men ruthless in their pursuit of spaceflight and two countries similarly remorseless in their fight for dominance. Von Braun knowingly supervised forced prison labor in horrific conditions to build the V-2 rocket, which then killed thousands more during World War II—but the American military wanted his technical expertise, so he got to bypass the legal immigration system and build a new life as an American hero. The text is frank: “Utopian dreams of world peace and cooperation in space captured American minds, hearts, and imaginations, but in truth prestige and power were the endgame for both rival governments.” A discussion of von Braun’s privilege, as compared to the struggles of Black Americans, also adds valuable context. Unfortunately, the book tries to include so much that it sometimes loses focus: The author takes pains to celebrate U.S. physicist Joyce Neighbors and Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova while decrying sexism, yet the effusive praise of John Glenn fails to mention his advocacy against women in space.
Engrossing and painfully relevant. (author’s note, bibliography, endnotes, index) (Nonfiction. 12-18)