Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #462581 in Books
• Published on: 2003-04-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 240 pages

Synopsis
It was in the Third World that the ambitions and fears of the two Cold War superpowers were played out - Korea, Vietnam, Egypt and Syria, Afghanistan. In their bizarre way, these were carefully controlled wars, carefully controlled in the sense that neither great power allowed itself to become directly engaged in a hot war with the other. Equally, neither allowed itself to go for broke in a grand sweep across the Third World in fear of provoking that final confrontation. But this fear of direct confrontation was never as rigidly controlled as one would think. Again and again events veered towards a clash between Eagle and Bear.

The authors of this book make real such terrifying possibilities as Korea or the 67 War dragging in both superpowers; they predict the consequences of the United States or the Soviet Union attempting radical strategies in Vietnam or in a divided Germany, either to follow the British success in Malaya or to invade the North; they imagine the invasion of Cuba when the delicate signals failed to find a way out of the Missile Crisis and bring to life a scenario in which the Soviet Union knocks the Great Game off the board by using Afghanistan as base to bring down Pakistan and achieve its warm water port on the Indian Ocean. Cold War Hot vividly brings to life these and many other alternate scenarios, taking the reader behind the scenes at these momentous moments in history. In showing what could have happened, the authors show how precarious the Cold War peace actually was, and how little it would have taken to tip the balance into World War Three.

Customer Reviews

Cold War Not So Hot
I'm a big fan of alternative history titles, in particular those supposedly written as text books after the event. Cold War Hot, however, proved to be one of the most disappointing I have read.
The premise is pretty straight forwards - how the Cold War could have turned out differently - but this appears to have generated pretty uninspired scenarios. Starting chronilogicaly the first 'event' considered is an exchange between Western fighter escorts and Soviet aircraft during the Berlin airlift, which results in the USAF pasting the Russians. Later chapters consider Soviet/US hostilities in Med, resulting in the US giving the eastern block a sounder thrashing than it recieved (notice the pattern forming here?). Things also get pretty outrageous - a Soviet cruiser is effectively knocked out by a F4 launched Sidewinder air-to-air missile! Why then 3, not 1 star? For me the work is almost worth it for the Quebec sepratist scenario which, in my opinion, is what alternative history should be all about: well researched, plausible (read the authors notes) and reaches its goal without too much suspension of disbelief. Incidently this is also one of the few scenarios which actually appears to signifcantly affect the course of the cold war (in the others, things tend to return to the historical path so have little real impact. The exception is the Invasion of North Vietnam scenario although as the author states this results in North-South Korea situation should this be classed, as argued, a US victory?). All in all a missed opportunity - try 'What If' or the 'Hitler Options' first - but one for students of Cold War politics rather alternative history.