I thought I would share a new genre of books which I recently begun reading Historical Fiction and a book called Mushroom Cloud published by the Author Thomas J. Yeggy I received a copy of in exchange for this review. Inside this post are my affiliate links if you click on the links and make a purchase I will make a small percentage from the items you purchase.

My goal this year was to get both David and Charlie to read more books and when I read the preview for ”Mushroom Cloud I thought of my Uncle Chuck and David discussing these things in the past. I went out on a limb and asked for a copy to read so I could discuss things David would be interested in and I am so glad I did as I learned things I didn’t know.

I found new things for me to teach Charlie in his Homeschool Reading Classes and from sharing the book with David we would sit down in the evening and read a chapter or two to together bringing us closer together and even giving David something new to discuss with his dad and the people he works with.

David and I can’t wait to read more books from the Author Thomas J. Yeggy and I hope you check out his books as soon as possible. Mushroom cloud is a book my family didn’t want to stop reading. The story is based during the time of World War II all the way up to the 1960s allowing me to get to know the Century I was born in.

The fictional character Caleb young is a Scientist who is involved in developing nuclear weapons for the USA. The authors research is spot on the book is a no-brainer for any one who enjoys History. The nice part is Charlie can use this book in his Homeschool History studies when we study WW2.

About the book:

Mushroom Cloud, a fact-based historical novel, is the first book of The First Strike Trilogy: USA and the Soviet Union are building nuclear arms for a face off in a potential nuclear war in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s.

“This novel is so important for everyone who cares about nuclear disarmament because as philosopher George Santayana wrote: ‘Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.'”~ Melissa Burch, Bestselling & Award Winning Author My Journey Through War and Peace

For a decade, Dr. Caleb young, a gifted physicist and chief science officer for the CIA, had shaded National Intelligence Estimates and Rand reports on war gaming. He wanted to thwart the US military’s push for a nuclear first strike. Soviet GRU Colonel Oleg Penkovsky had passed information to Young at more than one Pugwash Peace Conference, revealing how inept Soviet capabilities were. A US preemptive strike would destroy the Earth’s ozone layer.

Dr. Young, secretly an Einstein schooled pacifist, felt a personal obligation to prevent a globally destructive nuclear war. However, the realities of US nuclear superiority were progressively becoming harder to manage. By mid-1953, the United States had 1,169 deliverable atomic bombs. It could drop them with 160 B-36 heavy bombers and 350 B-47 medium bombers. The Soviet Union had 120 atomic bombs that could only be delivered to the US by a handful of one-way TU-4A experimental bombers through thousands of F-86 Sabres. By 1962, the US had more than 3,000 thermonuclear warheads and 5,000 tactical nuclear weapons. U-2 flights and Corona satellite images were exposing Khrushchev’s lies about “grinding out missiles like sausages.” The US had a 17-1 advantage in deliverable warheads.

The Soviets intercontinental ballistic missiles (only four were verified) took four hours to prepare for launch. US B-52s could easily destroy them from fail- safe points with a pair of 20 megaton bombs. Even more ominously, the Thor and Jupiter intermediate range ballistic missiles could deliver warheads in less than 8 minutes after launch from England, Turkey, or Italy. The US could locate and destroy the Soviets’ 150 round- trip bombers before they left Soviet runways. Soviet SSBN subs were noisy and had to surface to fire missiles. They were easy prey for the US Navy. In late October 1962, President John F Kennedy stopped the US military from initiating a first strike. It came to be known as the “Cuban Missile Crisis.” “We lost” Air Force general Curtis Lemay shouted at Kennedy. Military leaders wanted a nuclear war that day while they had a clear first strike advantage.

Now the Department of Justice (DOJ) has many questions, and they believe Dr. Caleb Young has the answers. Nicholas Katzenbach, the DOJ’s chief deputy, is ready to prosecute Dr. Young on trumped up espionage charges. And he wants to know about the CIA’s involvement in the November 22, 1963, assassination of President Kennedy.

Meet the Author: Thomas J. Yeggy

Thomas J. Yeggy, a University of Iowa Law graduate, practiced law in Davenport, Iowa, and Rock Island, Illinois. As a mental health judge Thomas served for 25+ years, where he developed a deep understanding of life’s challenges. Authoring more than 1,500 opinions with minimal reversals, he served diligently.

Yeggy, a licensed Series 7 broker, explored nuclear weapons’ control after witnessing Hiroshima and Nagasaki’s devastation. Prompted by McNamara’s remark on the Cuban Missile Crisis, he delves into our fortunate survival in the First Strike series. Currently residing in Pensacola Beach, Florida, with his wife Eileen, he enjoys summers with grandkids Jeff and Ashley Brown. Find them at Emeis Park, Davenport, with granddogs Otis and Emme.

Thank you,

Glenda, Charlie and David Cates