Today we continue the series in which award-winning nonfiction authors discuss the joys
and challenges of the research process with an essay by Steve Sheinkin. Thank
you, Steve.
“I always start with a
book,” I tell students at school visits. “I’m not just saying that because your
librarian is listening.”
I’d like to say this
gets a laugh, but come on, we’re talking middle school. I do want to emphasize
the point, though. When I’m starting my research for a new story, a good
nonfiction book is more powerful that Google.
Take recently published my Cold War
thriller, Fallout. I knew Nikita
Khrushchev would play a central role. He’s the villain, from the U.S. point of
view, but a multi-dimensional one, enigmatic and unpredictable. This is where a
big book really helps. I worked through a couple major Khrushchev biographies, focusing
in on the moments and details I wanted for my story.
Then I turned to the
source notes. Good source notes are like clues, leading you to new discoveries.
The notes told me where
the author found sources for a particular key moment or interesting
conversation. With those citations in front of me, I sat at my computer and
typed them into a search. So much of this stuff is available online now—an
article in an obscure journal, the transcript of an oral history, a used copy
of an out-of-print book you can buy for a few bucks—but none of it would have
shown up in the first ten pages of a general Google search.
So I read all this
stuff, took tons of notes. What next?
One of the sources that
leapt out at me was the work of Khrushchev’s son, Sergei. A young rocket
engineer during the time I planned to cover in Fallout, Sergei was his
father’s closest confident— they’d go for walks in the evening, even during the
height of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Sergei wrote of these talks in his own
books and articles. I read this stuff, but desperately wanted to know more, to get
closer to these vital scenes.
So I knew I had to talk
with Sergei Khrushchev. Just the thought was exciting. Was it possible? Would
he talk to me—a guy who writes books for kids and teens? I had no idea.
I knew Sergei had moved
to the U.S. in the 1990s, and was retired, living in Rhode Island, but I could
find no current email or social media contact info. I thought, “Who do I know
who might be in touch with him?” No one. Then I asked a more helpful question: “Who
could I contact who might be in touch with him?”
I’d just read the excellent
book Spy Pilot by Francis Gary Powers, Jr.—the story of Powers’ father, the
U-2 pilot who was famously shot down over Russia in 1960. That book came out in
2019, and had a forward by Sergei Khrushchev. They must know each other, I
figured. Maybe they’re still in touch?
The younger Powers has
a website and was easy to reach by email. We set up a call. I told him what I
was doing and that I’d love to talk with Sergei Khrushchev (photo below, right). Powers generously
offered to mention my project to Khrushchev. A few days later he wrote back with
Khrushchev’s phone number, and a suggested time to call!
I get really nervous
before making calls like this, but there was no turning back now. I dialed the
number. The phone rang a few times. A few more times.
Finally, a man’s voice:
“Hello?”
I introduced myself,
told him what I was doing and why I wanted to talk with him. He didn’t hang up,
so I asked the first of my questions. He became a bit more talkative as the
conversation went on. We spoke for maybe thirty minutes. Our talk didn’t reveal
any never-before-revealed details, but that wasn’t the point. I just wanted to
hear him talk about what his father was like, what he was thinking at certain
key times, what he wanted. All of this made me feel like I knew Nikita
better, made me more confident when it came to describing this complex figure
in my own book.
Sergei Khrushchev passed away in June 2020, at the age of eighty-four. Through his writing and
lectures, he has given us insight into key moments of Cold War history that
literally could not have come from anywhere else.
I should mention:
Sergei did not talk with me because he knew who I was; he’d never heard of me
or my books. He talked with me because he was a nice person, and because I
contacted him in a respectful way.
Anyone can do this—including
students. And it’s not about contacting someone famous. It’s about doing some
reading, identifying someone who knows more of the story you’re investigating,
and then figuring out how to reach out to them. I’d just encourage students to
do their homework first. I’d remind them not to ask questions they could have
found answers to in easily available sources
Okay, that’s it for
now. I wish everyone good luck with their own nerdy detective work!
Steve Sheinkin’s nonfiction titles include The Notorious Benedict Arnold, Bomb, The
Port Chicago 50, Most Dangerous, Undefeated, Born to
Fly, and his most recent, Fallout, a Cold War thriller.
Steve’s books have received a Newbery Honor, three National Book Award finalist
honors, three Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards for nonfiction, and a Sibert
Medal.
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2 Responses
great post, Steve! Interviews seem scary, but most of the time I find that people genuinely want to talk to you. Thanks for sharing your experience with Sergei.
Wow. This pure gold for writers, students, and teachers. If Steve gets nervous, I feel better.