The Year of the Bomb

Wow! I just finished this book and can't wait to get it into the hands of my kids. This book really captures the paranoia that was the 1950's. Set against the back drop of the filming of INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (one of my favorite movies), this story follows four young kids as they search out the communist threat in their community. One of the blurbs compared it to STAND BY ME, and it was a good comparison. This book is a terrific look at the feeling and attitudes of the people during the cold war. This is a must read for students. This would go great in a history class or paired with Arthur Miller's THE CRUCIBLE.

This book is nostalgic without meaning to be, I think, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. What's wrong with nostalgia? For some reason, it seems to be a problem for a lot of book reviewers, but I sure don't see why. The book is set in the `50's during the Cold War, when paranoia reigned and Communism was feared. It seemed like there was a Commie around every corner. It is in this atmosphere that Paul and his friends are growing up. The author deftly mixes the making of the movie, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, with the paranoia of plotting Communists. Paul doesn't fully understand the implications of what's going on, and his friends have different views, especially his friend whose father has been blacklisted by the movie industry. But the boys are distracted by the fact that a real Hollywood movie is being made right in their town. Even more exciting, they get invited onto the set and get caught up in dreaming about being spies. They even start spying on Richard Feynman whose activities sure seem suspicious. The author believably brings in real individuals, such as Feynman, to create a charming - and also thought-provoking - book.