When I first read this, the idea of the cold war turning hot and the Warsaw Pact invading western Europe was still a possibility. Now, of course, it's more alternative history than a possible future.

It's very different reading it now, but it's still a good book, and still worth reading. As the author says, the book is "not about the hardware or even the mission, but about the men". That makes it unusual within the genre. I only once saw a piece of equipment named (an F-16), every other time they are given generic names or descriptions.

This focus on men over machines, and particularly the author's decision to only tell the story from the Soviet point of view, make the book a very interesting read. It's interesting to see things from a Soviet point of view, and Peters has some intriguing ideas about how the Soviets would have done things.