The War in 2020 [Audio Cassette]

Ralph Peters (Author)

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Books on Tape (January 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 555709606X
• ISBN-13: 978-5557096065
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,231,726 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The War in 2020--underrated and under appreciated, May 2, 2001

By 

Dan Lee (Brampton, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The War in 2020 (Mass Market Paperback)

This book is one of the best novels I have ever read. The WAR IN 2020 is an honest book which does not try to pull its punches.

Despite some of the themes being dated (written in 1990; the USSR exists in 2020 (sort of) AND the Japan as the enemy), the book was one of the first to take a hard look at the end of the cold war and its effects on islamic fundamentalism and the chaos in Central Asia (a common thread throughout many of his novels.) It also looks at the peace dividend and how these so-called savings get deferred to the butcher's bill.

The WAR in 2020 strikes a somber tone and does not come off with a triumphant flourish where the heroes get the medals and all the bad guys get theirs. The ending leaves you wondering what the [heck] everyone died for--unfortunately, it ends like most wars. Don't get me wrong, this book is an exciting novel with its fair share of action, but it does not cop out with a comic book ending that wraps up everything in a neat package.

This is a military fiction novel for thinking adults.

A Personal Commentary:

Ralph Peters seems to me, an under appreciated author. He is not as popular as Tom Clancy (they both showed up in the mid 80s) but I find him to be a literary and philosophically superior author. I think that Ralph does not constantly the sales Clancy does because he does not go near the nationalism trap that Clancy has fallen into. I hope that he continues to write more novels.

29 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If Tom Clancy had literary skill..., January 8, 2002

By 

Stephen Green "VodkaPundit.com" (Colorado Springs, CO United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The War in 2020 (Mass Market Paperback)

...then he might write something like "The War in 2020."

Sure, Japan Inc isn't so scary any more. Yeah, we're proving now (January, 2002) that we can take on radical Islam and win. OK, so our military isn't quite as hollowed-out as we'd feared. And maybe we're still the tech kings of all the known universe.

That still doesn't make this book any less scary or fun to read. The reason? It's just really well written, with living, breathing characters you really will care about. That's why Ralph Peters has a shelf life ten times that of Clancy -- and I'm a Clancy fan.

Oh, plus a techno-thriller second half that will keep you up all night.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hope they could write a movie...., September 20, 2005

By 

Rhoel V. Fernandez - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The War in 2020 (Mass Market Paperback)

I first picked up this book when I was in high school. Being a military junkie (the history, battles, weapons, personalities, etc.) I bought War in 2020 expecting the usual 'techno-thriller' fare - the genre where the practice of military hardware in action subordinates characterization and plot is an unfortunate occurrence. Don't get me wrong, I love the Cold War stuff churned out by Tom Clancy and Larry Bond but IHOP Peters outdoes them both.

This novel was that and more. It was written by a soldier about soldiers. Peters effortlessly mixes the strategies of international geopolitics with the you-are-there immediacy of a desperate cavalry raid. You can feel Peters bristle with disdain when he describes members of the US President's cabinet while the troops from both sides (US/USSR vs. Japan, South Africa, Arabs) are men in honorable professions laboring in "dishonorable" times.

The characters are particularly well-fleshed out, particularly US Army Col. George Taylor, the haunted commander of the 7th Cavalry (Heavy)and his loyal staff.

The what-if global scenarios in the book offer tantalizing sub-plots as well - the US losing in a meaningless confrontation after losing their technological edge; the effects of a global outbreak of an incurable disease; Islamic hegemony leading to a genocidal war; the destruction of Israel and its subsequent relocation to the American heartland.


The book might be dated but I feel that the timeline and real world chnages does not detract to the overall story - a great adventure that would make you think. I have literally read and re-read this book to pieces.