Hardcover

Age 10-14

New York Times bestselling author Steve Sheinkin presents a follow up to his award-winning book Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World's Most Dangerous Weapon, taking readers on a terrifying journey into the Cold War and our mutual assured destruction.

As World War II comes to a close, the United States and the Soviet Union emerge as the two greatest world powers on extreme opposites of the political spectrum. After the United States showed its hand with the atomic bomb in Hiroshima, the Soviets refuse to be left behind. With communism sweeping the globe, the two nations begin a neck-and-neck competition to build even more destructive bombs and conquer the Space Race. In their battle for dominance, spy planes fly above, armed submarines swim deep below, and undercover agents meet in the dead of night. 

The Cold War game grows more precarious as weapons are pointed towards each other, with fingers literally on the trigger. The decades-long showdown culminates in the Cuban Missile Crisis, the world's close call with the third—and final—world war. 

Awards:

Winner of the 2022 Kids' Book Choice Award for 6th to 8th Grade Book of the Year 
Shelf Awareness Best Children's Book of 2021
A Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Book of 2021
A Horn Book Fanfare Best Book of the Year
A Newbery Honor book 
A National Book Awards finalist for Young People's Literature 
A Washington Post Best Kids Books of the Year title