Editor in Chief Bill | 25 May 2017 8:26 p.m. PST |
What would you recommend as the best Cold War fiction for wargamers? I am surprised how many of the books are no longer available, even in digital format, given how popular this type of fiction was back in the day. |
Winston Smith | 25 May 2017 8:48 p.m. PST |
I much prefer Cold War spy fiction, rather than military fiction. Tom Clancy is…..yeah. Tom Clancy. Before he got to the stage where he could stare down editors who thought that 1200 pages could be tightened up a little, some if his Cold War novels were pretty good. Hunt for Red October of course, but also Cardinal of the Kremlin. Frederick Forsyth is always good. |
Grizzly71 | 25 May 2017 9:17 p.m. PST |
Ralph Peters(Red Army), Larry Bond(Red Phoenix, Vortex), Clancy of course. Mostly spy related, but Robert Ludlum and Ian Flemming. |
Dn Jackson | 25 May 2017 9:18 p.m. PST |
Red Storm Rising. Great book with awesome scenario ideas. |
Ed Mohrmann | 25 May 2017 9:37 p.m. PST |
Another vote for Red Storm Rising. I've re-read that book several times. Met Clancy at a con years ago and asked him some questions about a couple characters in the book. He probably thought I was crazy. |
GROSSMAN | 25 May 2017 10:13 p.m. PST |
Red Storm Rising is all you need. |
15mm and 28mm Fanatik | 25 May 2017 10:45 p.m. PST |
Met Clancy at a con years ago and asked him some questions about a couple characters in the book. He probably thought I was crazy. Awkward. I met him at a signing of 'Red Rabbit' (not one of his best works) and asked him if he "lost his touch." Needless to say he wasn't amused. Nice selection so far, but since no one has I'll put in a vote for Harold Coyle's 'Team Yankee.' After all, it inspired a popular tabletop miniature game named after it from the makers of Flames of War. No other novel can claim that achievement. Not to mention, "This book is so real, you can smell the smoke" said the man who lost his touch.
Hmmm, now that I think of it 'Team Yankee' and 'Red Storm Rising' may not even qualify because they're about hot wars, not cold ones unless you allow the cold war to go hot. |
charles popp | 26 May 2017 4:12 a.m. PST |
Any of the Larry Bond Books, Third World War by Sir John Halkett, |
nvdoyle | 26 May 2017 5:55 a.m. PST |
Stephen Zaloga's Red Thrust is pretty solid. He knows his armor, to put it mildly. Other Hot War has already been mentioned – Early Clancy, Coyle's first book above, Peters Red Army (particularly brutal, but he tends to be that way). Cold War – Forsyth, some Ludlum (I think?), the occasional Alastair Maclean, and you can't forget John LeCarre! |
Irish Marine | 26 May 2017 6:02 a.m. PST |
Andy Farmer, and Harvey Black; Black wrote three Cold War novels, The Blue, Red and Black effect. Also James W. Burke wrote the "weekend warriors"about a national guard outfit that fights in Europe against the Soviets . |
aegiscg47 | 26 May 2017 6:46 a.m. PST |
First Clash, which is about the Canadian mechanized brigade in one of the sectors behind the front line U.S. forces when the Russians invade Germany, is pretty good. There's an analysis of the actions of the brigade at the end of every chapter that discusses tactics and operations which is fantastic. Arc Light is also well done, which culminates in a NATO led invasion of the Soviet Union. You'll definitely learn a thing or two about nuclear fission in the story! |
Moonraker Miniatures | 26 May 2017 7:34 a.m. PST |
Chieftains by Bob Forrest-Webb. link Doug |
Shagnasty | 26 May 2017 8:59 a.m. PST |
For naval issues I recommend "The Bedford Incident" and a series of books by a guy named Poynter. |
USAFpilot | 26 May 2017 9:24 a.m. PST |
Great spy movie on the Cold War is "The Spy who came in from the Cold" by John LeCarre. Frederick Forsyth wrote a great book on how to take over a third world county with mercenaries called "The Dogs of War". And John LeCarre wrote an equally good book on how "not" to take over a third world country with mercenaries called "The Mission Song". |
robert piepenbrink | 26 May 2017 9:29 a.m. PST |
For full-scale warfare, might I mention Moore & McGhee, The Chinese Ultimatum and Stiegler's David's Sling? For RPG/skirmish, take a look at Walter Wager. I'm thinking in particular of Swap, which is very Cold War. Sledgehammer is a personal favorite and would make a nice RPG campaign but is more gangster-ish. There are others. |
dwight shrute | 26 May 2017 11:39 a.m. PST |
another vote for chieftains , the Team Yankee graphic novel is a prized posession . |
Major Mike | 26 May 2017 12:14 p.m. PST |
For naval you can't get any better than Charles D Taylor, off the top of my head the novel Choke Point comes to mind. |
Khaki08 | 26 May 2017 1:19 p.m. PST |
Does any one else remember the 'Zone' series from the 1980s by James Rouch? Slighty sci-fi but firmly rooted in 1980s hot war in Europe. I thought they were great when I was a teenager at the time, but now I'd probably judge them to be a bit sh*te. They're still out there if anyone fancies a bit of "Sven Hassel goes cold War" |
tulsatime | 26 May 2017 3:13 p.m. PST |
I remember the 'Zone" series. In fact I am now inspired to dig them out and see if I have all of them. Looking online it seems that there are 10 of them in the series. |
Saber6 | 26 May 2017 3:47 p.m. PST |
Hackett,etal "Third World War" is the base scenario for Team Yankee and IIRC First Clash |
SovietCanadian | 26 May 2017 4:41 p.m. PST |
My favourite Cold War (gone hot) fiction has already been stated, but my list would be (in no particular order) Tom Clancy – Red Storm Rising Howard Coyle – Team Yankee Ralph Peters – Red Army Sir John Hackett – The Third World War Steven Zaloga – Red Thrust Kenneth Macksey – First Clash I have purchased all these books (and some other 'impossible to find' cold war/military books) from a site called abebooks. Watch out for shipping fees if you use it. |
tulsatime | 26 May 2017 10:34 p.m. PST |
Speaking of "THE ZONE" book series, it was mentioned back in 2012 here on TMP TMP link |
Huscarle | 27 May 2017 3:03 a.m. PST |
Some of my favourite Cold War fiction writers:- John le Carre Len Deighton Anthony Price John Trenhaile Owen Sela Lionel Davidson Clive Egleton Frederick Forsyth John Gardner Alan Judd and when it gets hotter, the aforementioned Coyle & Clancy, plus Patrick Robinson. |
Gunfreak | 27 May 2017 3:15 a.m. PST |
Red Dawn(movie) Operation Flashpoint(game) |
coopman | 28 May 2017 6:07 a.m. PST |
"Red Storm Rising" remains one of the best books that I've ever read. |
Virginia Tory | 30 May 2017 9:33 a.m. PST |
Ralph Peters' _Red Army_ is one of my favorites, if only because it's from "the other side of the hill." Clancy frustrated me because he sole plot device seems to be "Then the Russians mad a mistake," while NATO never seems to. +1 on Hackett and Zaloga. |
Panfilov | 01 Jun 2017 12:24 p.m. PST |
Second the votes for Eric Harry, Arc Light (Grim without being gruesome) And "The Zone" action adventure series At least I was not the only person seeing a hot war as creating a 50km (more or less) Radioactive No Man's Land. |