Rating: 
Summary: Predictable and boring
Review: ... This book is a massive disappointment, it is extremely predictable almost an insult to the reader. The plot could have been condensed in 60 pages and doing it in 800 really makes it a sleeping pil The xenophobic tendencies which have always been disturbingly present in Clancy books have climaxed in this one (sorry guys the US is not the center of the world and no the rest of the world is not filled with barbarians) In short DO NOT BUY THIS ...
Rating:
Summary: Repetitive, xenophobic, narrowminded; is this really Clancy?
Review: The first Clancy book I read (13 years ago) was pure bliss. Unfortunately, the last four have declined in content in a predictable slope until this one which falls off the cliff and proclaims it's superiority on the way down. There are so many things to criticize in this pile that I prefer not to waste anymore time (some of my precious life went to reading this thing after all) and just point out that the first 800 pages could have been condensed into 40 to 60, tops. Although I agree with much of his politics, it is sufficient for him to mention only once(if at all) what his characters feel about a certain subject; after that, most of us should be able to retain the wisdom he grants us from on high. The more I write the more I realize how much I hated this book.
I'll end it here and take back the 1 star I so graciously bestowed. UUUUUGGGGGHHHHHH!
Rating:
Summary: SHAME ON YOU CLANCEY
Review: IF YOU LOVE TOM CLANCY'S BOOKS AS MUCH AS I DO THE BEAR AND THE DRAGON WILL BE A MASSIVE DISSAPOINTMENT. SHOULD YOU STILL DECIDE TO TRY IT AND AFTER 10 HOURS OF READING YOU STILL CAN NOT FIND ANYTHING OF INTEREST...THEN DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND STOP READING THIS WORTHLESS BOOK. I WISH I HAD TAKEN MY OWN ADVICE. IT IS SO BAD THAT I WILL NEVER BUY A CLANCY WITHOUT FIRST CHECKING THE COSTOMER REVIEWS.
Rating: 
Summary: Surprised to see it rated so low
Review: Seems a lot of people don't think this one is that good, but I liked it a lot. Unlike long Stephen King novels, which drag on for me, with Clancy novels, they can be as long as he wants them to be. In my opinion, he needs the space to set the story for something as elaborate as World War III. This one had a lot more sexual references than previous Clancy novels I've read, and sometimes I wondered if we really need to know the ancient leaders of China get their stone-age stones off, but there can be no denying that spies in history have used seduction to gain access to secrets. I kept imagining the seduced Chinese woman as the "Honey" character that follows Duke around in the "Doonesbury" comic strip, but if they ever make a movie out of it, I'm sure someone much more beautiful would be cast. One thing I like about this series of books is that it attempts to show the everyday lives of people who wield the most power in the world. We see these people in the news all the time, but what are their daily routines like? While fiction, it's probably still as close as we are going going to get to seeing how these people live. Without revealing too much, a small problem I had was the relative ease with which our government succeeds in it's part of the big conflict. I realize we recently cut through Afganistan fairly easily, but even in this case, there is still a lot of mopping up to do. With the World War portrayed in this book, the foes go way up in class, and while it's nice to root for the good guys (us), it all seems to me it was a little too neat and quick. However, in my eyes, keep these books coming.
Rating: 
Summary: Great book - suspenseful and engaging
Review: Like all Tom Clancy books, this one is engaging and suspenseful. You'd never guess some of the twists. I picked this book up a week ago Saturday and could not put it down. The plot isn't believeable, but that's one reason you read Clancy - to escape from reality into the worlds he creates. If you like suspense, sharp plot twists, and incredibly detailed technical info, you'll love this book.
Rating:
Summary: Offensive, boring, and bad, bad writing
Review: I am a huge Tom Clancy fan. I have loved all the Jack Ryan books, and I always thought that despite being a bit obsessed with the technicalities of war, Clancy could really write characters as well. But this book was so awful I couldn't even finish it. It was xenophobic, obsessed with vulgar sexual references, repetitive, and badly written. Did Clancy's editor take a vacation for this one?
Rating: 
Summary: Drags On
Review: "Not Clancy's best work," is a common reaction to this book. The problem with that is it implies that Clancy "worked" and that conclusion is doubtful. Many reviewers have noted that "The Bear and the Dragon" is full of repitition, that Clancy repeats himself, says the same thing again and again. Others have noted that Clancy is becoming too "preachy." All of this is true. So, only read this novel of you are a true Clancy fanatic; otherwise, re-reading "Red October" or "Without Remorse" would be more rewarding.
Rating:
Summary: Long but OK
Review: This book is very very long. I started reading this last fall on a vacation which spanned 9-11 and dropped it at that point. I eventually picked it back up this year and fought my way through to the end. I liked it better than Rainbow Six, but the beginning is hard to get excited by. The best part of the book is the last several hundred pages. I give it 4 stars mainly because the story is fairly fast-paced and interesting once it gets going. Like most Clancy novels, the beginning of the story is a bunch of disjointed scenes which finally inter-weave with each other by the end in a manner that eventually makes sense. With an 1100+ page novel, it's not difficult to see why it is hard to get into it. Don't get me wrong, however, once you do get into it the story is pretty good. If you have the time, I'd recommend this book. I just hope that Clancy's next novel isn't any longer.
Rating:
Summary: Xenophobic, wrong-headed, long-winded misinformation
Review: I've been reading Clancy ever since his first book, as many have, but have never found any of his books actually annoying. This one was. I live in China, speak Chinese, and have become familiar with the culture and motivations of the country. Mr. Clancy has clearly done none of this. His attitude towards the Chinese, when not misguided, badly informed or based on some warped brand of racist guesswork, is frequently insulting. For the information of his readers, the following points should be considered, and then compared to Clancy's latest spoutings...Books such as this, particularly as popular as this one will undoubtedly prove to be, do nothing to improve East-West relations. A far better understanding of the Chinese is required, and the West needs to engage in careful and intelligent study of the history and culture of the country in order to gain a deeper insight. The Chinese are far more similar to Westerners than you might believe, and have a righful mistrust of the Americans. If the sentiments described in this book reflect those of the American public at large, then the Chinese are right to be concerned.
Rating:
Summary: This First time with Clancy is a disppointment
Review: I have enjoyed the movies with Jack Ryan as the all-American hero who saves the day. So I was thrilled to finally have an opportunity to settle down with a book starring the driven hero. I gather from other reviews I have just read that this is not Clancy's best work. I hope not. First, Clancy's grasp of human nature is at best naive. To believe that all good minds go for money is simply wrong. Einstein certainly did not, nor have most of the scientists who have enabled our technological lifestyle. Second, Clancy places too much ultra conservative blather in the mouths of otherwise sympathetic actors. The intelligent and capable protagonist (Ryan) is abused for Clancy's dogmatic support of everything from Jerry Falwell to pro-life radicalism. It just does not ring true to a character like Ryan to have such unnuanced views on complex issues. To say nothing of the at best tangential relevance of having such discussions in an action novel. I was, to put it mildly, distracted by these ridiculous diversions. The action IS compelling, and the premise is in my view more realistic than, say, the idea of a war in 2000 between the US and Japan (I gather from this book that such a war happened in previous novels). The book could probably be half as long and better, however.
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