The Brainstorm Plus: Brainstorm 282: Cold War Nonfiction Reads

This week we continue the November nonfiction Brainstorms with 8 histories, biographies, and memoirs about the Cold War between the US and the USSR after WWII and how that impacted others around the world. Many of these were only written recently after classified documents eventually became available to the public decades later. Several of these read like tense thrillers, while others, like Margarita Engle’s memoir, help demonstrate how these events impacted families around the globe. Click on the titles to see my full review of each book and any content notes/trigger warnings.

Chief of Station, Congo: Fighting the Cold War in a Hot Zone by Larry Devlin

Larry Devlin was the CIA's man in Congo for some of the main years of unrest right after it gained independence from Belgium. At that time the Soviet Union was looking for a country to be their foothold in Africa, so Larry spent most of his years trying to keep Congo out of the hands of the Soviets. No small task when the country is in turmoil and power keeps changing hands.

An eye-opening look at what a real spy’s everyday life is like and the kind of power struggles going on in Africa in the 1960s.

Target Readers:
Memoir Fans, Africa History Buffs, Spy Story Fans, Nonfiction Fans, Congo Setting Fans, Adult Readers (though approachable to YA)

The Collapse: the Accidental Opening of the Berlin Wall by Mary Elise Sarotte

Mary Elise Sarotte takes readers through all the tiny little incidents, accidents, and unprecedented choices that happened at just the right time and were capitalised on so that the opening of the Berlin Wall happened when no one knew it would, not the East Germany authorities, not the Western intelligence agents, not even the reform movements inside East Germany.

Sarotte has obviously done her research. Years and years of research and interviews and scouring of primary documents. And the story she tells is crazy!

Target Readers:
East Germany History Buffs, Crazy but True History Fans, Nonfiction Fans, Adult Readers (though approachable to YA)

Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings (Enchanted Air, #1) by Margarita Engle

In free verse poems, Margarita Engle tells of her childhood from her parents falling in love, her birth and on through age fourteen. The book covers 1947-1965, and since Margarita's mother was Cuban and father American, she had a unique perspective of the Cold War events that happened during her childhood. She tells of the family's yearly visits to family in Cuba until the civil war and politics prevent those. Margarita shares her love for the life in Cuba, how the part of her that loved plants and animals felt most at home there, and how confused she felt by the events that prevented her from visiting an island she loved. There's an afterward giving an overview of Cold War events and what happened in Margarita's life since age 14.

Margarita beautifully captures the identity crisis of children caught between cultures. Third and fourth culture kids will readily identify with how she tried to figure out where she was most at home. It is also extremely interesting to see the Cuban Missile Crisis and other Cold War events through the eyes of a child who loved both Cuba and America.

Target Readers:
Memoir Fans, Novels in Verse Fans, Mutli-ethnic Family Story Fans, Nonfiction Fans, Award Winner Readers, Middle Grade/Young Adult Readers

Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown by Steve Sheinkin

Sheinkin takes readers on an in-depth trip behind the scenes into the Cold War, and just how close the US and the USSR came to an atomic battle in the days and months leading up to the Cuban Missile Crisis.

If you want a succinct but well-researched overview of the Cold War, this would be my recommendation.

Target Readers:
History Buffs, Nonfiction Fans, Award Winner Readers, Young Adult Readers (though approachable to upper Middle Grade)

Flight for Freedom : the Wetzel Family's Daring Escape from East Germany by Kristen Fulton, ill. by Torben Kuhlmann

A picture book biography of the Wetzels, what life in East Germany was like for them, and how they and another family made a hot air balloon and escaped to the West.

The picture book does a great job of relaying the basics of the difference between life in East and West Germany, and extensive back matter includes a lot more information on why the Berlin Wall went up, why people tried to escape over (and under) it, various methods that worked, and why the Wetzels didn't really open up about their escape until recently.

Target Readers:
Picture Book Biography Fans, Escape Story Fans, Nonfiction Fans, History Buffs, East Germany History Buffs, Lower Grade/Middle Grade Readers

In the Shadow of the Moon: America, Russia, and the Hidden History of the Space Race by Amy Cherrix

A look at the Cold War and arms/space race between the USA and Russia that focuses on the rocket engineers who played huge roles behind the scenes, Werner von Braun and Sergei Korolev.

Most of the books about the Cold War and the space race focus on the astronauts and cosmonauts, but this one looks at the rocket engineers and how they came to be at the forefront of their respective countries design programs.

Target Readers:
Space Travel Enthusiasts, History Buffs, Nonfiction Fans, Young Adult Readers

Spies: the Secret Showdown between America and Russia by Marc Favreau

A history of spycraft between the USSR and the USA during the Cold War. This is rather succinct and really just touches on some of the biggest moments in spying during the Cold War. You learn some of the biggest spies on each side, and moments when things got really dicey.

Target Readers:
Spy Story Fans, History Buffs, Nonfiction Fans, Young Adult Readers

The Spy and the Traitor: the Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War by Ben Macintyre

A biography of Oleg Gordievsky, who was raised in a KGB family, recruited to the KGB at a young age and quickly rose in the ranks working in Scandinavia and then England. The book outlines how he was recruited by MI6 and the role he played behind the scenes in the Cold War and world history because of his spying.

This is a very fascinating look at the life of a KGB agent and the USSR during the 60s-80s. This book reveals many behind the scenes things about the Cold War, and is another good dose of reality to counter the Hollywood version of what a spy’s life is like.