Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown

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.

Winner of the 2022 Kids' Book Choice Award for 6th to 8th Grade Book of the Year
A 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

Praise for BOMB:

A Newbery Honor book
A National Book Awards finalist for Young People's Literature
A Washington Post Best Kids Books of the Year title

"This is edge-of-the seat material that will resonate with YAs who clamor for true spy stories, and it will undoubtedly engross a cross-market audience of adults who dozed through the World War II unit in high school." --BCCB, starred review

"...reads like an international spy thriller, and that's the beauty of it." --School Library Journal, starred review

"[A] complicated thriller that intercuts action with the deftness of a Hollywood blockbuster." --Booklist, , starred review

"A must-read..." --Publishers Weekly, starred review

"A superb tale of an era and an effort that forever changed our world." --Kirkus

Also by Steve Sheinkin:

The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism & Treachery
The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights
Undefeated: Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team
Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War
Which Way to the Wild West?: Everything Your Schoolbooks Didn't Tell You About Westward Expansion
King George: What Was His Problem?: Everything Your Schoolbooks Didn't Tell You About the American Revolution
Two Miserable Presidents: Everything Your Schoolbooks Didn't Tell You About the Civil War
Born to Fly: The First Women's Air Race Across America

Author: Steve Sheinkin
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Published: 09/07/2021
Pages: 352
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.30lbs
Size: 8.90h x 6.30w x 1.40d
ISBN: 9781250149015
Audience: Young Adult

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 6.6
Point Value: 11
Interest Level: Middle Grade Plus
Quiz #/Name: 513373 / Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown


Award: Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award - Honor Book


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 07/15/2021
Booklist 07/01/2021 pg. 64
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 09/01/2021 - Book Of Special Distinction
School Library Journal 09/01/2021 pg. 118
Publishers Weekly 09/13/2021
Shelf Awareness 11/23/2021
Horn Book Magazine 11/01/2021 pg. 141

About the Author
Sheinkin, Steve: - Steve Sheinkin is the award-winning author of fast-paced, cinematic nonfiction histories for young readers. The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights, was a National Book Award finalist and received the 2014 Boston Globe/Horn Book Award for Nonfiction. The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism & Treachery, won both the Boston Globe/Horn Book Award and the YALSA award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults. Bomb: The Race to Build-and Steal-the World's Most Dangerous Weapon was a Newbery Honor Book, a National Book Award Finalist, and winner of the Sibert Award and YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults. Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War was a National Book Award finalist, a YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award winner, and a Boston Globe/Horn Book Nonfiction Award winner. Sheinkin lives in Saratoga Springs, New York, with his wife and two children.