2017 War With Russia

[Panther]

I found "2017 War With Russia" by General Sir Richard Shirreff to be a worthwhile read.

As a work of fiction it's quite a good yarn; the action gradually builds and for quite some time you're not sure of the fate for the hero of the story or the eventual outcome.

But of course there's much more to it than that; the book, written by recently retired General Shirreff is really meant to be a wake up call to the UK government and all NATO countries as to the perilous military position we've allowed to develop over the last 20 years. He very clearly shows how President Putin has been emboldened and almost encouraged to more aggressive action by the west's lack of response to previous sabre rattling activities. General Shirreff also highlights the sad state of the UK's armed forces after many years of defence cutbacks and the inability of them to deal with any major threats that might occur as a result.

So, as a work of fiction,quite good. As a warning to governments,spot on.

[Deeps]

I found "2017 War With Russia" by General Sir Richard Shirreff to be a worthwhile read.

As a work of fiction it's quite a good yarn; the action gradually builds and for quite some time you're not sure of the fate for the hero of the story or the eventual outcome.

But of course there's much more to it than that; the book, written by recently retired General Shirreff is really meant to be a wake up call to the UK government and all NATO countries as to the perilous military position we've allowed to develop over the last 20 years. He very clearly shows how President Putin has been emboldened and almost encouraged to more aggressive action by the west's lack of response to previous sabre rattling activities. General Shirreff also highlights the sad state of the UK's armed forces after many years of defence cutbacks and the inability of them to deal with any major threats that might occur as a result.

So, as a work of fiction,quite good. As a warning to governments,spot on.

I remember reading a quote years ago along the lines of "Britain doesn't have defence reviews, they have defence cuts". Its stuck with me ever since, while in an ideal world we wouldn't be spending gazillions on defence, sadly we don't live in an ideal world.

[Appin]

I read it a month or two ago.

Not impressed. I read General Sir John Hackett's book which was done in a similar vein in 1980. That was far better. I saw criticism from Naval officers saying he clearly had not asked for help over the Naval aspects because from a Naval point of view the narrative was ridiculous. By contrast Hackett got other people to write sections that were out of his expertise which made for a more convincing story.

point is valid but could have been made more effectively.