The War That Never Was

Rating:
Summary: The War That Never Was
Review: "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!

Rating:
Summary: The War That Never Was
Review: "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!

Rating:
Summary: A novel that only a professional could appreciate...
Review: After reading the first fifty or so pages, it comes as no surprise that The War That Never Was never became a runaway best seller. There were no heroes in the traditional sense, no real character development, no political intrigue, nothing except one masterful analysis after the other, describing all of the amazing complexities of a world at war. I applaud Mr. Palmer for his efforts to describe what was to be the culmination of fifty years of rivalry and competition bewtween the world's two great power blocs.

This is not Red Storm Rising and makes no real pretensions towards such a story. However what Mr. Palmer did present was a truly impressive display of a full understanding of global war in the modern era. The author demonstrated a solid understanding of everything from high tempo land combat operations to modern naval combat. His description of the political dimensions was also well done and in the end read more like a highly developed non-fiction book. I highly reccomend this book to both professionals and amateur military enthusiasts who grasp the complexities that Mr. Palmer so ably describes.

I will note that the author really should have spent more time on the German Front and the battle for control of the see lanes in the North Atlantic. I find it difficult to believe that operations in the Baltic and Denmark should be described in such detail while the Central Front was hardly mentioned in the first two hundred pages. The latter was hardly touched upon and in many ways was the key to the late stage counter-offensives waged in both Germany and in the Med Theater of operations. Also, no nukes or chemicals is a bit of a stretch considering Soviet doctrine called for both at the tactical level. Regardless, tremendous effort that adds a level of realism sorely lacking to this genre.

Rating:
Summary: A novel that only a professional could appreciate...
Review: After reading the first fifty or so pages, it comes as no surprise that The War That Never Was never became a runaway best seller. There were no heroes in the traditional sense, no real character development, no political intrigue, nothing except one masterful analysis after the other, describing all of the amazing complexities of a world at war. I applaud Mr. Palmer for his efforts to describe what was to be the culmination of fifty years of rivalry and competition bewtween the world's two great power blocs.

This is not Red Storm Rising and makes no real pretensions towards such a story. However what Mr. Palmer did present was a truly impressive display of a full understanding of global war in the modern era. The author demonstrated a solid understanding of everything from high tempo land combat operations to modern naval combat. His description of the political dimensions was also well done and in the end read more like a highly developed non-fiction book. I highly reccomend this book to both professionals and amateur military enthusiasts who grasp the complexities that Mr. Palmer so ably describes.

I will note that the author really should have spent more time on the German Front and the battle for control of the see lanes in the North Atlantic. I find it difficult to believe that operations in the Baltic and Denmark should be described in such detail while the Central Front was hardly mentioned in the first two hundred pages. The latter was hardly touched upon and in many ways was the key to the late stage counter-offensives waged in both Germany and in the Med Theater of operations. Also, no nukes or chemicals is a bit of a stretch considering Soviet doctrine called for both at the tactical level. Regardless, tremendous effort that adds a level of realism sorely lacking to this genre.

Rating:
Summary: Technical manual, not a story
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Not very interesting
Review: I bought this book and thought it would give an overall picture of countries fighting in WW III. It deals mostly with naval actions and hardly any ground combat. I did not find this book enjoyable because I am not interested in naval warfare. The picture of the M1 tank on the front cover should be replaced with a ship since this is what this bookis mostly about. If you are a naval fan then this is the book for you. If you are a ground pounder, like me, then skip it or check it out at your local library.

Rating:
Summary: The best WWIII novel
Review: I read the hardcover version of this book from a number of years ago(found hidden in Nimitz Library among many other weathered hardcovers), and thought about how much of a pity it was that it didn't sell better. It is the best "what-if" novel of how the Cold War could have become a global war.
It concentrates on the naval aspect of the global conflict, and in the late 80s to early 90s that would have determined the victor in such a war. The author has many insights into how the war could be won in that theatre (and others) and does not get too bogged down with heavy prose or battle descriptions that are not fluid (a fault that "WWIII" has).
This novel is a must have for fans of this genre, but as mentioned above "WWIII" and "Red Army" are also written by people who know what they are talking about, so they too have a careful eye for accuracy. I cannot say the same about "Red Storm Rising," though... it was written at about the 5th grade reading level by someone who had little knowledge of the subject.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent what-if book
Review: I thought this book was very well done,similar in detail to Red Storm Rising in its portrayal of the war in sea,air and land.
I would recommend it to others interested in what-if fiction as well as those in WW3.

Rating:
Summary: Technically Good
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: The War That Never Was
Review: This book is more along the lines of the book "THIRD WORLD WAR" by the british retire general Hacket(?) that was written in the early 1980's. It focus's on naval campaigns and the effects that sea power and it's organic air power would have on different theatres of the war. If you are looking for something similar to Tom Clancy's Red Storm Rising or Harold Coyle's "Team Yankee" then you will be disappointed. But then you would miss out on a good what if senario, and it is well worth the time to read it.