Steve Sheinkin weaves together the story of the Cold War in an elaborate book. This historically significant war is shown in the perspectives of all sides, which come together to form an amazing tale. The dangerous atomic bomb’s developments raise terror and chaos, and the simple question, “what is next?”, will ripple through you as you go through this story. The strong, resilient President Kennedy is in charge of each step, yet, even the U.S. president was shaking in fear of the scary possibilities ahead of America – and the world. Meanwhile, the powerful Soviet figure Nikita Khrushchev is constantly making his next moves. This compelling, heart-pounding series of events leaves the destiny of the world swinging in the balance between America and the Soviet Union. Who will emerge victorious?
I was amazed by the entire way the author scripted the story. The research involved in it has definitely paid off, and each single sentence in the book does not go without its significance. The detail put into it is astonishing. Additionally, the illustrations included are helpful and assist in visual rendering of each important person in the book.
The one improvement which I think should be added to the book is the span of the story. This book only deals with the events towards the beginning of the Cold War, but I would also have liked to see the way everyone reacted when America became the surprise winner in sending a manned spacecraft to the moon.
Overall, this book is a great eye-opener in seeing the events of war in the way others saw it, and is greatly informative. I highly recommend it!
One thing that really stood out to me in this book was the names of the chapters and parts in it. After reading a few chapters, I realized that the name of the chapter gives a slight, clever clue into what will be discussed in it. For instance, there is a chapter named “Zugzwang.” This metaphor refers to the events in that chapter being compared to a chess aspect. I attempted to predict what would happen in each chapter, and really enjoyed this guessing game!
Reviewed by Shreya at Twin Hickory Library
HCPL TeenScene's Read + Review 