Amazon.com: The War In 2020 (9780749310172): Ralph Peters: Books

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36 Reviews

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

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4.2 out of 5 stars (36 customer reviews)

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book - Interesting Perspective
I first read this book when it came out in the early 1990's. Beyond its plot, with the Japanese being the bad guys, America falling apart, etc, it offers the interesting... Read more

Published 10 hours ago by Joe Clinkhammer

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read
If you like fiction military books, especially with a little futuristic bend, then this book is a Great read. Read more

Published on January 23, 2010 by Samuel Wright

4.0 out of 5 stars A good, if a little dated, book
I first read this book when I was in high school in the 90's. At that time, the big worries were that Japan was going to "Buy up the world", and the fear of emergent diseases was... Read more

Published on December 21, 2009 by J. Bohling

3.0 out of 5 stars armagedon-like scenario
A real attention grabber. It is such an armagedon-like setting that I expected but didn't find spiritual value. Read more

Published on December 13, 2009 by Ree Deemed

5.0 out of 5 stars Still great after all these years
Peter's tale of warfare's future--written in 1991--is excellent. In that it is now almost 20 years old, it's worth noting that many of his observations about warfare, and perhaps... Read more

Published on May 25, 2009 by Carl Brennan

4.0 out of 5 stars Retro-futurism
A 1990 vision of the future Intended as a cautionary tale about the end of the cold war and the peace dividend. Read more

Published on May 10, 2009 by D. Hindle

4.0 out of 5 stars Read if you like ultimate nightmare scenarios
This novel, which author Ralph Peters's afterword calls "a novel about nightmares," is grim and sad, and largely hopeless until the end. Read more

Published on March 26, 2009 by Don Incognito

5.0 out of 5 stars Yamabushi's mini reviews pt. XII
"Although Peters risks offense with his portrayal of Muslims as bloodthirsty savages" Wow we had the blinders on in 89. Anyway... Read more

Published on February 2, 2007 by Yamabushi

5.0 out of 5 stars Cavalry to the rescue
Cavalry to the rescue. Riveting... exceptional; eye for detail. Clearer-deeper into the human aspect than say Clancy. Read more

Published on November 20, 2006 by Scott Walker

5.0 out of 5 stars The Bible for the serious professional
For those Professional Soldiers that read, there is always one book above all others that means the most and connects most profoundly. Read more

Published on June 22, 2004

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Inside This Book (learn more)
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First Sentence:
YOU CAME IN OVER THE GRASSLANDS, WITH ANIMALS bolting then turning again and again beneath the sound and shadow of the metal birds. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
scrambler business, ops cell, young warrant officer, old warrant officer, gun housing, cavalry guidon, motor officer, dream warrior, command net, refugee column, ops center, headquarters complex

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
United States, Colonel Taylor, South Africans, Soviet Union, President Waters, George Taylor, Los Angeles, Colonel Williams, Merry Meredith, Seventh Cavalry, Islamic Union, Jesus Christ, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Second Squadron, Manny Martinez, Third Squadron, Colonel Takahara, Hank Parker, Lieutenant Colonel Reno, Tenth Cav, Vice President, David Heifetz, Miss Fitzgerald, General Noburu Kabata, General Staff

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