The War in 2020 (Mass Market Paperback)

by Ralph Peters (Author) "YOU CAME IN OVER THE GRASSLANDS, WITH ANIMALS bolting then turning again and again beneath the sound and shadow of the metal birds..." (more)
Key Phrases: scrambler business, ops cell, young warrant officer, United States, Colonel Taylor, South Africans (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
America's Seventh Cavalry, armed with a surprise electronic weapon, rushes to the aid of the Soviet Union, overrun by a Japanese-supported Islamic army. "Although Peters risks offense with his portrayal of Muslims as bloodthirsty savages . . . his understated style effectively conveys the grim nature of soldiering in 'twilight wars,' " said PW.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Peters's latest futuristic war novel (after Red Army, LJ 4/1/89) eerily has some of the same circumstances and certainly some similar "characters" as the war in the Persian Gulf, even though it is fiction. The war in this novel is being fought by an Islamic-Japanese axis, which has attacked a post-Gorbachev Soviet Union weakened by a devastating civil war. Enter the Americans on the side of the Soviets; enter, too, the larger-than-life heroic figure of Colonel George Taylor, who commands a computerized aerial strike force called the U.S. 7th Cavalry. It should be noted that by 2020 the "final" Mideast War has been fought and surviving Israelis have been resettled in "homelands located in the least promising area of the Far West." Peters, an Army intelligence officer, writes believably of high-tech warfare, but the fighters are real people. Recommended. Military Book Club main selection; Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club alternates.
- Chet Ha gan, Berks Cty. P.L. System, Pa.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 624 pages
• Publisher: Pocket (January 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671751727
• ISBN-13: 978-0671751722
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #59,516 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 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 "dbdlee" (Brampton, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews

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.

19 of 22 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)

...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.

7 of 7 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)

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.