The War After Armageddon

by Ralph Peters

Book Overview

Peters' long-anticipated new novel, "The War After Armageddon," strips away all stereotypes of war and fanaticism. Brutally wrought, realistically told . . . [this work is] a shocking tour-de-force... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0765323559
• ISBN13: 9780765323552
• Release Date: September 2009
• Publisher: Forge
• Length: 382 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.5" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

Fundementalism of both stripes

After seeing Ralph Peters on C-SPAN and reading his columns, I was looking forward to his futuristic book. I was not disappointed. After several nuke strikes on the US, Christian Fundamentalists take over the government and create another Christian based Army (MOBIC). The overarching theme is the battle between Christian Fundamentalism vs. Moslem Fundamentalism. General "Flintlock" Harris as a bastion of the real Army is fighting the favoritism of MOBIC for resources and fighting the Moslems in the Holy Land. Along with the combat scenes, Peter's captures all the back room political maneuvering that goes on. The skillful combination of both makes this a hard book to put down. Peter's has highlighted the results of fanaticalism no matter which side it comes from. I am not sure how probable the scenario but it was a fascinating excursion. I could not put the book down. Several twists made me stop and ponder. The narrator of the story at the end of the book makes for a great final twist to the story.

Not Really a Novel, More Like a Wake-Up Call

Although I read mostly non-fiction, one of Ralph Peter's novels (his first in ten years, the last one I really liked was Traitor), is better than reality, for it portrays what we can expect when our delusional political, economic, and military acquisition practices play themselves out, and in the case of this book, what happens when we ignore the desperate need for religious counter-intelligence that I have been calling for since the 1980's. The non-fiction foundations or complements to this book are American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America and Endgame: The Blueprint for Victory in the War on Terror. In a nut-shell, this a marvelous depiction of what happens in the future when enemies of the USA plant two small nuclear devices in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, leading to a nation-wide call to arms with crusade overtones. From a military, intelligence, and cultural point of view, this book is well worth reading. I view the negative whining against this book with scorn--this book is intended for intelligent people interested in reality and it certainly makes the case most ably that our demons are much more dangerous to the Republic and the Constitution than are any Islamic demons that might be stirring. From a military point of view, it does a fine job of anticipating the day when our huge dependence on digital systems leads to a complete breakdown as the satellites are neutralized and everything digital fails in the face of electro-magnetic pulse bomb attacks and other jamming methods. If I were a brigade commander, once of my top priorities would be to practice "zero-tech" maneuvers over a sustained period, restoring runners, motorcycles, commander's intent, etc. I was not thrilled when the Marine Corps closed down its air breather imagery capabilities, and while we have drones today we still cannot process all that we collect. When digital neutralization is combined with rear area attacks (including attacks on the theater headquarters in CONUS), it gets very sporty. When dirty nuclear bombs are added to the mix, it gets even worse. If this book makes any point other than beware one's own demons, it is that we are not ready--by any stretch of delusional imagination--for real-world down and dirty war in the future. The author is clever on multiple fronts--for example, ports where we might land have been heavily contaminated, placing a premium on landing craft, but they are in short supply having been judged "archaic relics" by peacetime generals. Similarly, we are totally unprepared for both major swarms of refugees, and the poisoning of water supplies across an entire region, leaving hundreds of thousands of festering dead. I found this book absorbing. As the Democratic Senate leader prepares to by-pass the Constitution (learn more at Phi Beta Iota), and our military leadership continues to confuse loyalty to the chain of command with loyalty to the Constitution and the defense of the Republic against all enemies do

Soul-shattering future war scenario

First off, this book is not the great American novel, or anybody's great novel. To assess the book from that perspective is to miss the author's point. Ralph Peters has a message for us, and that message is best delivered in a novel's format. The message that Peters has is straightforward enough: beware the true believers on all sides lest they assume the powers they dearly believe are theirs. Democracy and its attendant privileges, often misunderstood as rights, is a most fragile affair. Peters argues that a cruel use of the nuclear genie by a few can cause a counter-reactionary avalanche that swallows the perpetrators, innocents, and what we understand as Western civilization's liberality all at once. In his story, the only place of moral repose in severe crises, if we can call it that, is among the secular military. This small group, banished to backwaters by a religious government that fully supports an SS-like Military Order of the Brothers in Christ (MOBIC), retains the only sense of honor, duty and devotion to liberal principles within an America that has been violated by several nuclear explosions, all from true believers in the Middle East. His characters generally are cardboard cut-outs. Don't read this to find a Prince Andre or a Pvt Cacciato or even a CPT Yossarian. Read this instead for the inter-connectedness of world ideas, events, and actions if things go wrong in a big way. If you consider yourself a student of the military or military strategy, this book should be a foremost addition to your reading library. You may not like what you read, but it undoubtedly will make you think. And we must read these ideas, for the Hobbesian state of nature is not as far away as we would like to believe.

A Nightmarish Vision of Our Future

Col. Peters is a good writer, and this book is an easy, if depressing read. He combines the skills of a writer, military analyst, and historian in a seamless web. There are many historical parallels in this book to figures and events of the past;for example General Simon Montfort is obviously modeled on Simon de Montfort of the Albigensian Crusade; and the campaign in Galilee had some relevance to the Horns of Hattin. I wonder who "Flintlock Harris" is modleled after? Much of this book is depressing, in its view not only of the Middle East, but of what America had become in reaction to terrorist attacks. I can only hope that this book is as accurate in predicting the future as Peter's "Red Army". If you are interested in the military history and geography of Galilee an excellent book is Cline's "The Battles of Armageddon"

Exciting New Novel From Ralph Peters

Reading Ralph Peters' dark new novel, The War After Armageddon, is, in a way, much like driving by a grisly traffic accident - the view is horrific, but you just can't look away. Peters' novel is, indeed, compellingly horrific, the plot driven along by a realism that only a writer with this author's background, experience and vision can achieve and pass along to the reader in a dramatic narrative. Peters, today's most insightful strategist when observing in print or in his many TV appearances as guest commentator what is really taking place in the dangerous world around us, has the rare ability to think through and vividly imagine the second-, third-, and even fourth-order effects of policy decisions today's world leaders are making. The hellish world vision that Peters' describes in The War After Armageddon may on the surface seem far-fetched; yet, he's skillfully applied his superb insight as a strategist, experienced intelligence officer, and veteran world traveler to show us what might happen in a world where mankind's oldest motivators - faith and blood - have succeeded in trumping reason and good will.