On Edge

Though a work of fiction, this novel is built around many real events and aims to portray the current geopolitical and economic conditions in Europe with accuracy. It takes up a question with no easy answer: how should the United States and NATO respond to Russia's expansionist ambitions?

The backdrop is a region where NATO membership keeps reaching closer to Russia's frontier. American missile defense systems stand in Poland and the Czech Republic, while Western states supply military hardware to Albania, Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro and Hungary, all once under Soviet control. When Russia annexed Crimea, the West's only real response was sanctions. The book imagines a Russian military takeover of the Baltic States and asks how the Americans and their allies would answer. Could a conventional war with Russia be won, given that the United States has withdrawn most of its combat units from Europe and the readiness of German forces is questionable? Would the risk of nuclear confrontation be accepted to protect the Baltics?

The story also explores whether NATO's predicament could be resolved through secret negotiations led by the intelligence services of the United States and Russia. Its underlying conviction is that diplomacy must prevail, even if the most drastic measures have to be taken along the way.

Bill Brand was born in 1947 in a small town in northeastern Lower Austria, a region under Russian occupation from the end of World War II until 1955. He immigrated to the United States in 1966 and joined the Army six months later, serving twenty-three years. His military awards include the Bronze Star, four Meritorious Service Medals, the Army Commendation Medal and numerous service medals. During his military career he completed an associate degree in oceanography and a bachelor's degree in general science. After retiring from the military, he spent several years in the casino business, first as a dealer and later as a poker room manager. He then interned with the US Air Force, training to work as a contracting officer, and after completing the internship he was accepted as a contracting officer at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, where he worked until retiring in 2011.