Cold War Hot: Alternate Decisions of the Cold War [Hardcover]

Peter Tsouras (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 19, 2006

It was in the Third World that the ambitions and fears of the two Cold War superpowers were played out v Korea, Vietnam, Egypt and Syria, Afghanistan. In their bizarre way, these were carefully controlled wars, carefully controlled in the sense that neither great power allowed itself to become directly engaged in a hot war with the other. Equally, neither allowed itself to go for broke in a grand sweep across the Third World in fear of provoking that final confrontation. But this fear of direct confrontation was never as rigidly controlled as one would think. Again and again events veered towards a clash between Eagle and Bear. The authors of this book make real such terrifying possibilities as Korea or the 67 War dragging in both superpowers; they predict the consequences of the United States or the Soviet Union attempting radical strategies in Vietnam or in a divided Germany, either to follow the British success in Malaya or to invade the North; they imagine the invasion of Cuba when the delicate signals failed to find a way out of the Missile Crisis and bring to life a scenario in which the Soviet Union knocks the Great Game off the board by using Afghanistan as base to bring down Pakistan and achieve its warm water port on the Indian Ocean. Cold War Hot vividly brings to life these and many other alternate scenarios, taking the reader behind the scenes at these momentous moments in history. In showing what could have happened, the authors show how precarious the Cold War peace actually was, and how little it would have taken to tip the balance into World War Three.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Peter G. Tsouras is noted military historian and a leading writer of alternative history with 22 titles to his credit on subjects ranging from Alexander the Great to the American Civil War and the Second World War.  He recently retired from the US Government as a senior intelligence officer for the Defense Intelligence Agency.  He served with the 1st Battalion 64th Armor on active duty with the US Army and subsequently retired as Lieutenant Colonel from the United States Army Reserve.  He was born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada, and currently resides in Alexandria, Virginia.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Greenhill Books; First edition (February 19, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 185367530X
• ISBN-13: 978-0739435595
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,125,726 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Generally excellent collection, June 1, 2003

By 

J. N. Mohlman (Barrington, RI USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cold War Hot: Alternate Decisions of the Cold War (Hardcover)

It is the unfortunate fact of collections of allo-historical scenarios like "Cold War Hot" (including the "What If?" books and "Virtual History") that the tend to be rather uneven in their quality. This is due to the reality that a collection of diverse writers will necessarily have different talents and different focuses which are more or less conducive to the writing of alternate history. That said, "Cold War Hot" ranks highly among the alternate history collections, and includes some of the best and most original pieces I have encountered.

Obviously, "Cold War Hot" examines various alternate paths that the Cold War could have taken that would have resulted in either combat where there was none, or in a greater, more violent operational tempo. Divided into ten chapters, the book considers every time period from the Berlin Blockade through 1989. It is notable that when compared to other similar collections, the authors generally spend very little time discussing what actually did happen; in fact, other than a "what really happened" section at the end of each chapter, the content is probably at least eighty percent allo-historical. While this is great for someone well versed in the various Cold War flashpoints, it could be frustrating for someone who has only a vague grasp of twentieth century history, so be forewarned.

The first two chapters are probably the weakest; the first deals with an air battle surrounding the Berlin Airlift, and the second with a successfully executed North Korean invasion of South Korea. Aside from the fact that both are rather predictable jumping off points, neither one is fleshed out particularly well and they both end rather abruptly. They aren't terrible, but they're definitely the week spots in this collection.

The next scenario somewhat belies the title of the book as it presumes a pacification of Vietnam achieved at a much lower level of violence. While a little bit slower than the other chapters, it is still very well written and posits a thorough and believable alternate path for the Vietnam intervention.

Chapters four and eight deal with events in the Middle East; the first around the Six Days War and the latter around the Yom Kippur War. From an operational standpoint, these are probably the two most thorough scenarios, as orders of battle are examined in detail, and armed clashes occur across the breadth of the Mediterranean. While the basis for both scenarios is well established in alternate political histories, it is in the "hot" aspect that they really shine.

Chapters five and six are my two favorites, as they deal with the most esoteric 'what-ifs' in the book. Chapter five in particular is in my experience completely original as it examines the consequences of a violent Quebecois revolution in the late 1960's. As someone who witnessed the relatively peaceful attempts at secession in the late 1990's, this was an eye-opening and thoroughly enjoyable scenario. Chapter six deals with a Soviet invasion of communist China. This is another scenario where the military aspects are thoroughly detailed, and it contains probably the best presentation in terms of fiction versus history. Moreover, this scenario has the added bonus of nukes and chemicals weapons being deployed and used, which only adds to the tension.

Chapter seven is another Vietnam scenario, and serves as a nice counterpoint to chapter three, as it deals with the ultimate escalation, an invasion North Vietnam. This is another chapter that is extremely strong in operational details, and especially order of battle and the deployment of specific units. Some of the dialogue is a little hackneyed, but overall this is a great chapter.

Chapter nine deals with a different outcome for the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. While there is some military action, this chapter's focus is primarily in the political realm, and it is largely successful. However, there is one glaring mistake in this chapter: there is a map which should display forces as "Soviet/Indian" and "Pakistani", instead it shows "U.S." and "Russian" which was extremely confusing for a few pages until I picked up on the error.

The final chapter I won't even describe briefly as it is completely out of right field, and doing so would spoil it. That's not to say that this is an unbelievable scenario; while tongue is planted firmly in cheek, it is not utterly beyond the realms of possibility, and it was great fun to read.

Ultimately, this is a very successful collection, with some genuinely original scenarios, and generally good to excellent writing all around. Each scenario is firmly rooted in history and entirely logical alternate decisions, and each ends up in a very different set of circumstances, which are the two hallmarks of the best alternate history writing. My only complaint (aside from the map error detailed above) is that the editing is sub-par to say the least. There are numerous grammatical errors and incorrect word substitutions that can really break up the flow of the narrative. That said, they don't detract anywhere near enough to avoid reading this otherwise highly enjoyable collection.

Jake Mohlman

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Great "What-ifs?" Well Done!, May 8, 2003

By 

Ralph H. Peters (Washington, D.C. area) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Cold War Hot: Alternate Decisions of the Cold War (Hardcover)

I make it a point to read every book military historian and intelligence officer Peter Tsouras writes or edits, both his straightforward and well-written histories and his series of books examining alternative historical scenarios. Now, the genre of "alternative history" is chock full of very bad books written by fantasists with little grounding in historical circumstances or understanding of human complexity, but Tsouras's books are so rich and thoughtful that they should enjoy a special category all to themselves. In Cold War Hot, Tsouras has assembled a team of subject-matter experts (historians, soldiers, intelligence officers) to examine what might have gone wrong--or right--at ten key points in the Cold War. Accomplished authors, from Paddy Griffith and David Isby to Tsouras himself, use sound historical frameworks to ask what might have happened had blood been drawn in Berlin in 1948, or if the United States had waged a "serious" war against North Vietnam, if the Soviets had won in Afghanistan (a particularly pertinent topic), or if an ill-fated Red Army invasion of Western Europe had, indeed, occurred in the late stages of the Cold War. Each entry stands alone and every chapter is well-written, expertly argued--and a great deal of fun. This is one of those rare books that is a marvelous treat to read, while also providing uncanny intellectual stimulation. At a time in our nation's development when original, creative, "out-of-the-box" (yeah, I hate that cliche, too) thinking is at a premium, Cold War Hot is a much timelier book than its subject matter might make it appear. Very highly recommended!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Creative, but falls short, March 10, 2004

By 

Amerigo Vespucci (Fairbanks, Alaska) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Cold War Hot: Alternate Decisions of the Cold War (Hardcover)

A good collection of stories, running the gamut from the Berlin Airlift to a humorous story about a Warsaw Pact invasion of Europe. There aren't any apocalyptic nuclear war scenarios, and the Vietnam scenarios (of which there are only two) both reek of what the authors think should have been done, not what was really plausable. I would have enjoyed more in-depth scenarios, and a few that covered a simple Warsaw Pact invasion. All in all, what scenarios were covered were done rather simply, and skipped around, not covering Europe or nuclear warfare.