The War That Never Was: A Novel [Hardcover]

Michael A. Palmer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1993

AN EXCITING, FACT-BASED NOVEL OF WORLD WAR III BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND THE SOVIET UNION, IN THE TRADITION OF RED STORM RISING AND THE THIRD WORLD WAR. From one of America's prominent naval historians comes this suspenseful novel about the war that nobody wanted and everyone planned for-the Third World War between the United States and the Soviet Union. Set in the year 1999, The War That Never Was is an insightful, gripping, fast-paced account of what happens when top political and military advisers from the United States and the Soviet Union meet to launch the ultimate war game: World War III between the greatest superpowers on Earth.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In 1999, 10 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, retired Russian and American military and civilian leaders (including George Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev) gather in Newport to play out the ultimate war game as it might have unfolded in 1989. This possible WW III was devised by former Russian intelligence officer Yuri Sinuskin and U.S. Navy captain John Griggs as a "fairly straightforward, if somewhat involved student project, that ultimately became a diplomatic extravaganza." The simulated war begins with a Soviet attack on the German border and escalates until most of today's non-nuclear military technologies worldwide are engaged. As a study of geopolitical and military strategy, the book offers stimulating material for scholars and interested military historians, but as a novel it is less successful--mostly a recitation of events with ever-shifting casts of men and machinery. Palmer, a naval historian and author of Guardians of the Gulf , clearly knows his stuff but he might have been better served by the medium of speculative nonfiction.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"- "Chillingly plausible and totally credible..." -Larry Bond, best-selling author of Red Phoenix and Cauldron. - "...ingenious and a work of high imagination..." -Source --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 358 pages
• Publisher: Vandamere Pr (October 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0918339286
• ISBN-13: 978-0918339287
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #894,804 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Technical manual, not a story, November 4, 2004

By 

H. Feldman "Home Theater Nut" (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The War That Never Was (Mass Market Paperback)

Although obviously carefully researched, and well written, this is much less a story and much more a technical scenerio guide. If one were studying the topic, then this is a well written highly desciptive what-if scenerio (which is what the character at the beginning describes it as being). However, there is little in the way of characters, and many of the passages require multiple reads to make sure you get the facts straight (and there are a lot of them). There is little suspense (as everything is simply stated, and other than wondering what will come later in the scenerio, there is little personal stake in the outcome. Wargamers looking for realistic scenerios to play with, this is a great book; people looking for a good story, look elsewhere.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The War That Never Was, July 10, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The War That Never Was (Mass Market Paperback)

"The war that never was" stands out as a work of art, and, IMHO, is superior to Red Storm Rising, Red Army, Team Yankee, and the Third World War, august 1985. The book reads somewhat like RSR, but has an infinitely more realistic quality about it. Both sides make mistakes (yes, americans screw up), and both sides suffer defeats (and not just some minor-NATO country losing an unimportant battle). The global politics are carefully examined, and play a major role as neutral countries are approached by both USSR and NATO to join their cause. In many small instances, these prove decisive. Countries such as Libya, Japan, Iran, Egypt, India, Vietnam, Finnland and Sweden are forced to make decisions, weighing whether or not they should join the war, and if so, who to side with?

If the book has a single deficiency, its a lack of ground combat in germany. The german front is the single most important of the war, yet it is painfully neglected. about 2/3 of the 360 page book is centred around naval combat (including naval oriented air and ground ops:i.e. marines). Of the last third, most of the ground battles take place in the balkans, north africa and scandinavia. Some in Korea and Germany, but not enough. In my opinion, an additional 100 or so pages should have been added to more closely examine the first 7 days of the war in germany, which is merely summarized.

However, the book is still the best that i've ever read on the topic of a hypothitical third world war, aided by 20/20 hindsite that was available. Like i said, there is a lot, maybe too much naval action, but it is still exellent action! it keeps you hooked through out the novel, which left me wanting more as i finished!

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Technically Good, July 17, 2004

By 

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

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The War That Never Was (Mass Market Paperback)

The War That Never Was details a technically deep story of a Third World War based on a 1989 scenario. Most action takes place outside of Europe, in places that books like Red Storm Rising and Ralph Peters' Red Army ignore. Technically deep, it covers individual ship actions, but not overwhelmingly so. Some technical passages require two readings to be completely understood, and don't expect in-depth characterization, as the war itself seems to be functioning as a character, with the different theatres of war functioning as parts of its "personality."

Naval actions are predominant, with air battles second, and land action confined to a few pages. The Abrams on the front cover is misleading. Do not expect an in depth order of battle for divisions in Germany. I found the development of the war to be plausible, albeit a little to heavily favored to the American viewpoint. I would have appreciated it if a few more things had gone against the NATO forces... the dice seemed to come up with sixes for NATO a few too many times, and that did take away from the story slightly. The structure of the book, with the authors going through each theatre individually from start to finish is slightly annoying, as the author follows the action in one area from the war's start to finish, then moves to another region and does it again, from start to finish. There is little or no action between theatres, which is possible for a war lasting less than a month, but doesn't make for a very captivating story.

Despite these faults, the overall story is worth reading, and I'd suggest buying it if it can be found used. I've seen several copies at used book stores, and it's worth spending a couple of bucks on.