Red Moon Rising

A vivid, behind-the-scenes history of the Cold War’s space race between the Soviets & Americans following the launch of Sputnik.

“In his exuberant narrative of the superpower space race . . . [Brzezinski] tells the story of American and Soviet decisions with remarkable dramatic—even cinematic—flair.” —The New York Times Book Review

In Red Moon Rising, Matthew Brzezinski recounts the dramatic behind-the-scenes story of the fierce battles on earth that preceded and followed the launch of Sputnik on October 4, 1957. He takes us inside the Kremlin, the White House, secret military facilities, deep-cover safe houses, and the halls of Congress to bring to life the Russians and Americans who feared and distrusted their compatriots at least as much as their superpower rivals.

Drawing on original interviews and new documentary sources, Brzezinski tells a story rich in the paranoia of the time, and the combatants include three U.S. presidents, survivors of the gulag, corporate chieftains, ambitious apparatchiks, rehabilitated Nazis, and a general who won the day by refusing to follow orders. The true story of the birth of the space age has never been told in such vivid detail, and Red Moon Rising brings it memorably to life.

“[A] spectacular and accessible history of the space race . . . Brzezinski displays depth, insight and showmanship.” —USA Today

“Brzezinski is a wonderfully colorful writer, combining a scientific plotline with the history and characters of a Cold War thriller.” —The Times (London)

“The writing is fast-paced and crisp, the stakes high and the tension palpable from the first pages of this high-flying account of the early days of the space race between the U.S. and U.S.S.R.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Comparable to Paul Dickson’s Sputnik: Shock of the Century . . . Brzezinski’s speedy narrative of the first satellite slings readers from launch pads to conference rooms… A. . . kinetic rendition of Sputnik, this will score with spaceflight buffs.” —Booklist