Engrossing and painfully relevant.
A well-researched, detailed account of two leading engineers in the space race that raises questions about the human costs of war and propaganda.
Parallel narratives chart the careers of Wernher von Braun, the former Nazi famous for helping the U.S. reach the moon, and Sergei Korolev, the Soviet Union’s top rocket designer, who developed the first of the Soyuz spacecraft that are still in use today. A portrait emerges of two men ruthless in their pursuit of spaceflight and two countries similarly remorseless in their fight for dominance. Von Braun knowingly supervised forced prison labor in horrific conditions to build the V-2 rocket, which then killed thousands more during World War II—but the American military wanted his technical expertise, so he got to bypass the legal immigration system and build a new life as an American hero. The text is frank: “Utopian dreams of world peace and cooperation in space captured American minds, hearts, and imaginations, but in truth prestige and power were the endgame for both rival governments.” A discussion of von Braun’s privilege, as compared to the struggles of Black Americans, also adds valuable context. Unfortunately, the book tries to include so much that it sometimes loses focus: The author takes pains to celebrate U.S. physicist Joyce Neighbors and Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova while decrying sexism, yet the effusive praise of John Glenn fails to mention his advocacy against women in space.
Engrossing and painfully relevant. (author’s note, bibliography, endnotes, index) (Nonfiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Feb. 9, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-288875-4
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2020
Small but mighty necessary reading.
A miniature manifesto for radical queer acceptance that weaves together the personal and political.
Eli, a cis gay white Jewish man, uses his own identities and experiences to frame and acknowledge his perspective. In the prologue, Eli compares the global Jewish community to the global queer community, noting, “We don’t always get it right, but the importance of showing up for other Jews has been carved into the DNA of what it means to be Jewish. It is my dream that queer people develop the same ideology—what I like to call a Global Queer Conscience.” He details his own isolating experiences as a queer adolescent in an Orthodox Jewish community and reflects on how he and so many others would have benefitted from a robust and supportive queer community. The rest of the book outlines 10 principles based on the belief that an expectation of mutual care and concern across various other dimensions of identity can be integrated into queer community values. Eli’s prose is clear, straightforward, and powerful. While he makes some choices that may be divisive—for example, using the initialism LGBTQIAA+ which includes “ally”—he always makes clear those are his personal choices and that the language is ever evolving.
Small but mighty necessary reading. (resources) (Nonfiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09368-9
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
A powerful reminder of a history that is all too timely today.
A beautifully heart-wrenching graphic-novel adaptation of actor and activist Takei’s (Lions and Tigers and Bears, 2013, etc.) childhood experience of incarceration in a World War II camp for Japanese Americans.
Takei had not yet started school when he, his parents, and his younger siblings were forced to leave their home and report to the Santa Anita Racetrack for “processing and removal” due to President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066. The creators smoothly and cleverly embed the historical context within which Takei’s family’s story takes place, allowing readers to simultaneously experience the daily humiliations that they suffered in the camps while providing readers with a broader understanding of the federal legislation, lawsuits, and actions which led to and maintained this injustice. The heroes who fought against this and provided support to and within the Japanese American community, such as Fred Korematsu, the 442nd Regiment, Herbert Nicholson, and the ACLU’s Wayne Collins, are also highlighted, but the focus always remains on the many sacrifices that Takei’s parents made to ensure the safety and survival of their family while shielding their children from knowing the depths of the hatred they faced and danger they were in. The creators also highlight the dangerous parallels between the hate speech, stereotyping, and legislation used against Japanese Americans and the trajectory of current events. Delicate grayscale illustrations effectively convey the intense emotions and the stark living conditions.
A powerful reminder of a history that is all too timely today. (Graphic memoir. 14-adult)Pub Date: July 16, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-60309-450-4
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Top Shelf Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 4, 2019
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