Rating: 
Summary: A surprisingly excellent read
Review: "You realize that we had to fight...It wasn't only the political situation. We've been through worse crises. But we had to fight them now. It was the last chance. They we're beating us without ever firing a shot. They forced us to fight so long with their weapons -- technology, economics, their entire arsenal for destroying us in peacetime. And we could not compete. We were losing, and it became so apparent that even a fool could see it..."Those are the words from General Malinsky, the Soviet leader of the Warsaw Pact forces invading West Germany in Ralph Peters' book, "Red Army." Ah, WEST Germany... It's been a few years since we've thought about that political entity, yes? The fall of communism seems so inevitable now. At the writing of this book, in the late Eighties, that didn't seem so inevitable, did it? What if the Russians quit fighting the Cold War our way, through the clash of economic strength? What if the USSR saw its imminent demise, and lashed out militarily? Ralph Peters addresses that question amply in this book. I enjoy a technothriller now and then, but this novel's emphasis on the human element of a Third European War was like a fresh breeze. Completely from the Russian point-of-view, the characters live and breathe, have strengths and faults, prejudices and hobbies. NATO is treated harshly, its political fragmentation endangering its military strength. Peters says in his Author's Note, "It is not a book about lethal gadgets. While seeking the highest possible technical accuracy for its backdrop, this book is about behavior. How would that other system behave at war -- and how might its individual members prove like us or distinctly unlike us in their responses to the stress of combat?" I'd whole-heartedly recommend this book as a fresh alternative to flag-waving, give-all-the-breaks-to-the-wholesome-Americans contemporary war books. It will open your eyes. Wayne Gralian
Wayne's World of Books / Krakow RPGs
Rating:
Summary: A surprisingly excellent read
Review: "You realize that we had to fight...It wasn't only the political situation. We've been through worse crises. But we had to fight them now. It was the last chance. They we're beating us without ever firing a shot. They forced us to fight so long with their weapons -- technology, economics, their entire arsenal for destroying us in peacetime. And we could not compete. We were losing, and it became so apparent that even a fool could see it..." Those are the words from General Malinsky, the Soviet leader of the Warsaw Pact forces invading West Germany in Ralph Peters' book, "Red Army." Ah, WEST Germany... It's been a few years since we've thought about that political entity, yes? The fall of communism seems so inevitable now. At the writing of this book, in the late Eighties, that didn't seem so inevitable, did it? What if the Russians quit fighting the Cold War our way, through the clash of economic strength? What if the USSR saw its imminent demise, and lashed out militarily? Ralph Peters addresses that question amply in this book. I enjoy a technothriller now and then, but this novel's emphasis on the human element of a Third European War was like a fresh breeze. Completely from the Russian point-of-view, the characters live and breathe, have strengths and faults, prejudices and hobbies. NATO is treated harshly, its political fragmentation endangering its military strength. Peters says in his Author's Note, "It is not a book about lethal gadgets. While seeking the highest possible technical accuracy for its backdrop, this book is about behavior. How would that other system behave at war -- and how might its individual members prove like us or distinctly unlike us in their responses to the stress of combat?" I'd whole-heartedly recommend this book as a fresh alternative to flag-waving, give-all-the-breaks-to-the-wholesome-Americans contemporary war books. It will open your eyes. Wayne Gralian
Wayne's World of Books / Krakow RPGs
Rating:
Summary: Made me root for the Russians
Review: "I am not a not a marxist and definitely hate communism. Ralph Peters however, made me root for the Russians. Beyond the weapons detail babble of technothrillers, he was able to convey the Russian soldiers as humans, not just as parts of a faceless horde. Indeed my favorite character is the Russian tank battallion commander, Major Bezarin.
Rating:
Summary: Can Europe stop the red steamroller?
Review: A book showing the possible cold-war engagement from the Russian view? How can an author know what is in the minds of the average army soldier in the modern Russian armed forces? Ralph Peters conveys a view of the foot soldier, through a aging colonels eyes, up to the commander of all the red army forces in the conflict. A view that is sympathetic (they think and aspire for things like us), they are not brainwashed and subversive. The story is fast, detailed (without too much techo words), and very frightening. Yes, this is the main concern of this book, is its truth, its clarity, and the cold belief that if the Russians wanted Europe, they could have it. The only criticise of this book, as any by similar authors (see Tom Clancy et al), is that the ending feels short, and like the author is forced into completing the story in a single chapter.
Rating:
Summary: Nice look at how the other side might fight a war in Europe
Review: As a crew member on an M1 tank in Germany, in the closing days of the Cold War this was one of my Fav books. Read by everyone in my platoon, it was a facinating look at how the guys we were tasked to turn back might crash across the border and wage war. A real page turner full of combat, but with a human side to it.
Rating:
Summary: unprejudiced
Review: every time you read a war book, american(or western) troops are supermen , one soldier blows away a tousand russians with one hand grenade! it makes you sick , not that i hate americans, on the contrary, but that's just not real modern war is a massacre and this book shows that very well, it's realistic , people die a lot on both sides there is blood , steel and real war . i hate ralph peters , but hats off for being objective and giving the other guys a chance .
Rating: 
Summary: More Plausible in 1979 than 1989
Review: Good book, however, Peters overestimates the Soviets and underestimates NATO. In '79 the Army of Jimmy Carter could not have stopped the Warsaw Pact. While it still would have been a hellacious fight for a while, we would have drubbed them by '89.
The success of British and American forces in the '91 Gulf War against Soviet weaponry shocked them out of any comfort this book gave them.
Rating: 
Summary: A Friend Made Me Read This Book. We're No Longer Friends!
Review: I can't explain it. I've probably read close to 1,000 books in my life. And I've never found a book as difficult to complete as this one. (And I always finish a book once I've started it.) It's not that I disliked every element of the book. Some of the battle scenes were very well done. But I found the rest of the book to be a real struggle. Maybe I had a hard time rooting for "the other side." My friend was very disappointed because this is one of his favorite novels. I know that he would give it 5 stars.
Rating:
Summary: The BEST modern war novel!
Review: I have read just about everything ever written by Tom Clancy, Larry Bond, and Howard Coyle. I enjoyed this book more than any of them. Only Clancy's _Red Storm Rising_ even comes close. The author's background in NATO gives him an edge on the competition. Of course, this is strictly a novel about war. It focuses entirely on the soldiers, not politics or technical details of specific weaponry. The fact that it's told from the Soviet point of view makes it all the more fascinating. Many war novels have had Soviet generals as characters; very few feature Soviet tank crews, infantry squads, artillerymen, etc. Don't let the outdated topic deter you. This is one of the best novels ever written. I've read it six times. In a word: outstanding.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding book!
Review: I read this book for the first time as a new soldier stationed in Germany with the US Army. Found it to be an outstanding read due to the book looking at World War III from the Soviet's viewpoint. I am a big fan of most of Clancy's work, but I thought this book to be at least as good as, if not better, than Red Storm Rising.
| 
