IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON

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.