YOU’VE HEARD OF THE SPACE RACE. BUT DO YOU KNOW THE WHOLE STORY?
The most ambitious race humankind has ever undertaken was masterminded in the shadows by two engineers on opposite sides of the Cold War: Wernher von Braun, a former Nazi officer living in the US, and Sergei Korolev, a Russian rocket designer once jailed for crimes against his country—and your textbooks probably never told you.
Von Braun became an American hero, recognized the world over, while Korolev toiled in obscurity. These two brilliant rocketeers never met, but together they shaped the science of spaceflight and in the process, redefined modern warfare.
From Stalin’s brutal gulag and Hitler's concentration camps, to Cape Canaveral and beyond, their simultaneous quests pushed science—and human ingenuity—to the breaking point.
The governments of the US and USSR concealed the more disturbing truths of their early space programs, in some cases for decades. Here’s the extraordinary, often hidden story of the space race, that takes you behind the scenes into the bitter rivalry that launched humankind to the moon.
PRAISE FOR IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON
*** Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection ***
*** Bank Street College Best Book of the Year ***
* “An arresting exploration of the Cold War space race . . . [Cherrix] presents the engineers with little personal bias, which makes her questions at the conclusion of the author’s note an exquisite ending to an exceptional account.” —Shelf Awareness, starred review
“Engrossing and painfully relevant. ” —Kirkus Reviews
“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
“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
“Compellingly told . . . richly resourced.” —Bank Street College
“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”