5 Star Review | Highly recommended.

It gives you a fascinating glimpse into one of the most significant periods of the post-world war II Era. Highly recommended.

Mushroom Cloud is the first installment of the First Strike Series by Thomas Yeggy, and covers the period between 1947 to 1953 during the advent of the Cold War. It showcases the burgeoning tensions between the United States of America and the Soviet Union that brought them close to an all-out nuclear war. It is narrated from the perspective of a character named Caleb Young, a Princeton-graduated prodigy who works for the mathematics division of the Manhattan Project. The events unfold as Caleb tells his story before a Justice Department deposition, revealing his top-secret assignments for multiple American administrations, including one where he worked for the CIA and maneuvered the Russians. Caleb also discloses the circumstances surrounding Kennedy's assassination, the use of Russia as a proxy during the Korean war, and finally, the conspiracy that led to the death of Stalin.

Historical aficionados and history buffs in general are in for a treat with Mushroom Cloud. Thomas Yeggy gives a well-researched and in-depth account of the earlier part of the Cold War, when America and the Soviet Union came too close to conflict multiple times, only to be thwarted by the actions of some unsung heroes who put their careers on the line to prevent nuclear Armageddon. Although a novel, Yeggy incorporates actual historical events and personalities into the narrative, which raises the stakes and makes the story all the more captivating. The characters feel real and believable, primarily because most of them are actual historical people.

​Overall, it gives you a fascinating glimpse into one of the most significant periods of the post-World War II era. Highly recommended.

Pikasho Deka

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