ANHOW Review of Books: "The Fist of God" by Frederick Forsyth -- Adilbrand Noblesword's Hall of Warriors

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Date Posted: 16:00:51 06/30/02 Sun
Author: mt. healthy mountaineer
Subject:

ANHOW Review of Books: "The Fist of God" by Frederick Forsyth

Genre: military thriller / historical fiction
Published: 1994 by Corgi books

Well, this reviewer has not reviewed for a while for a couple of reasons: work and an all-day econ. class. I guess there is a third reason too - this book. It is a 600+ page paperback with small print so its sheer size slowed me down.

This book is set during the Gulf War and offers tons and tons of military information (think British Tom Clancy). Unfortunately, due to its fictional nature the reader is left unsure as to Sadaam's actual military plans while reading this book, but it does leave one uneasy. The "Fist of God" referred to in the title is an atomic weapon. Interestingly, I recently saw a Discovery Channel/TLC program on Sadaam's chosen method of delivery - a giant gun. The program went into the history of artilery, focusing on the large guns and then went into Sadaam's interrupted attempt to build a large (180 meter barrel) gun capable of firing up to 1,000 kilometers. The program claimed that western intelligence got wind of Sadaam's plans and stopped the exports of his gun parts. This book assumes otherwise.

The book focuses on a few characters, mostly British, and how they are swept up into the events of the war - some are civilian, but most are military, especially intelligence and special forces. Sadaam's behavior was quite erratic during the war, as you may remember. The book postulates that Sadaam welcomed the prospect of invasion since he could use his atomic weapon to strike the Coalition forces as they crossed the border. This was supposed to galvanize the Arab nationalists and the Islamists to take a strong anti-American position since the nuclear bomb does command a certain amount of respect (even though its use against US forces would almost certainly mean the nuclear destruction of Baghdad - Sadaam intended to be swept to power as the man who dared punch the giant in the nose).

This is an interesting and remarkable book. It is well-written and provides the reader with plenty of food for thought, especially nowadays as another President Bush ponders what actions the United States should take against Hussein. It has lots of good historical info, lots of interesting military tidbits, insight into the training that special forces members undertake and offers a more realistic peak into the workings of spies than offered by the James Bond movies. It also has some well-written jet fighter scenes and lots of good material on Arab culture. The descriptions of life under Sadaam's regime make one glad to live in the USA.

I give this book an A-.

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