Rating: 
Summary: There has been better.
Review: I read this book twice. Why? Some may ask since I'm giving it only three stars is that I hold Tom Clancy in my mind as an great author of thrillers. But I was simply disgusted with this book. The book is about the continous, long story of Jack Ryan and company. No surprise. My major complaints are the following:1) The book is too lengthy than it has to be. This book could have been easily better without 300 of it's pages. We are constantly tormented with the complaints of Jack himself and the story develops slow as for it's plot. Don't get me wrong, there is action as always but it simply progresses too slowly. 2) The recurring themes of Tom Clancy's books seem to always portray a United States threatened by an or several evil and vile villains or as in this book a "villain country". Frankly, I'm getting tired of the "war is imminent and USA wins again" whereas his Powerplays, Net Force, and Op Center series have some diversity in each one. Too bad he doesn't write them anymore. 3) Tom Clancy has an ignorance of foriegn cultures or depicts them in way so they can be scoffed at. So much for the Russians, I'm sure they wish to be just like Americans or his understanding of Chinese. Me being one myself, I found his understanding basic. 4) Lastly, the use of Jack over and over with other characters has become dull and boring. With every book we see Jack as a honest "America deserves a better President" Catholic. The characters have been so overused that it's a possible to predict their decisions. In simple words for Mr. Clancy, GET RID OF JACK RYAN. I'm so tired of reading about him and his family, his job, etc. I suggest if your looking for a good book, don't bother, but as for the fans of Tom Clancy wait for the paperback edition.
Rating: 
Summary: BORING-THE 1ST CLANCY BOOK I COULD NOT FINISH
Review: I have read all of Clancy's books (with the exception of RED STORM RISING) & immensely enjoyed every one of them. BEAR & THE DRAGON, unfortunately, marks the 1st time that I had to discontinue reading a TC novel. I was able to read more than two-thirds of it, though. I am (very) conservative in my politics so Clancy's unabashed conservatism was not the problem. In fact, the first 600 pages (out of 1,027) are actually readable and enjoyable. At the point in the novel when the war begins, however, is when my interest really began to fade. What potential there was as an interesting story dramatically fades in favor of excessive (and boring) military-technical mumbo-jumbo. I read at least 100 pages of it in the hope that the book would become intersting again (as has been the case in prior Clancy novels which were not immune to including technical details about tanks, guns, fighter planes, etc.) but, sadly, it does not! I never thought that I would ever say this about a TC novel but I was thoroughly disappointed with BEAR & THE DRAGON. If you must read it, just for the sake of trying to prove me wrong, then, please, at least wait for the paperback version.
Rating:
Summary: Shockingly Average
Review: You could always count on Tom Clancy coming up with an exciting finish with interesting and unique plot twists, even when his later books became exceedingly tedious. However, this book never really takes off after hundreds of pages of scenes setting up the conclusion. The conclusion is pretty average for this genre Clancy's second book, Red Storm Rising, was a very typical book for the genre - an interesting depiction of a future major armed conflict - but nothing too special or unique. The Bear and the Dragon simply crams an entire depiction of a future major armed conflict into the last couple of pages - interesting, but did we really have to wait hundreds of pages for it? Tom Clancy could have turned the ending scene about the future major armed conflict into an entire book and called it The Bear and the Dragon. It would have been as interesting as Red Storm Rising and we wouldn't have had to wade through those hundreds of pages just to get there. This is Clancy's worst book yet, simply because he set himself apart from the other writers of his genre with good storytelling and unique plot twists. This book has average storytelling and a pretty pedestrian plot without much in the way of twists at the end.
Rating: 
Summary: Simplistic, Bigoted Nonsense
Review: I was surprised at this books portrayal of the people, culture, dress and mentality of modern China. In that respect, this book was a parade of simplistic, bigoted nonsense. It would appear from the contents of this book that Mr. Clancy has never stepped foot in the country, or if he did he landed at night at the airport, went straight to his room at the Beijing Hilton, took off his baseball cap, ordered a hamburger from the Hard Rock Cafe down the street, guzzled a few Budweisers and left the next day with a hangover. This book was very good at vilifying the Chinese to make them into inhuman objects of death, but if he chooses them as antagonists for his next plot, I would suggest that he find a more credible basis to do it from. This book showed even more ignorance of foreign culture than was exhibited by the authors failed attempts at the German language in Rainbow Six. The book also showed the same lack of understanding in its ridiculous portrayal of the Russians as wanabe Americans. I used to be quite literally glued to Tom Clancy's books but it looks like he is just "doing it" for some easy money now. This one was a gift (perhaps also in the German sense). I won't even accept the next one. Before starting his next book, Mr. Clancy should remove his dark glasses and take a very good look around. Or maybe it is just that his Polar Bear rug is blinding him.......
Rating: 
Summary: Night Time Reader
Review: The Bear and the Dragon By Tom Clancy Have you ever wondered how a world war could start? "...The distant dump truck. A man had been lying in the back. Now he rose and he was holding... it was an RPG." This is a quote for the book showing the attempted assassination of the head of the SVR (the current day KGB of Russia) Sergey Golovko. This would bring about a world war between China, Russia, and the United States. The sides of this war, however, would be very different than what to be expected. The attempted assassination is only the start of the story. Soon thereafter, America manages to make a spy out of a secretary for a member of the Chinese Politburo (the Chinese governmental body). Then the reason for the world war comes along. The Russian economy is in shambles and there is no light to be seen at the end of the tunnel. However, a geologist team finds a vast oil field and a massive gold mine in Siberia. Both of these are the biggest the world has ever known. However, this is when Russia's luck begins to run out. China's economy is also going down the whole. The members of the Politburo believe that the only way to save China is to invade and seize the gold and oil of Russia. America has just found this out, by way of their spy. This is when the unexpected happens. Jack Ryan (The President) offers to help Russia. He gets them to join NATO and sends troops into Russia. The rest of the book describes the war between the three super powers. I would recommend this book to people who like action and war. There are however many different sides to the book besides the fighting. People who like spying or politics would also find this book enjoyable. It is also very enjoyable how the story is presented to you. You read the story through the eyes of many different people. One second you could be reading the story though the President and the next you could be at the meeting of the Chinese Politburo The only thing that might be hard for some readers is the length. The book is a tad lengthy at 1,028 pages and it is still only available in hardback. For those who become involved in the story there are several other Tom Clancy books that add much more enjoyment to this book.
Rating:
Summary: Going, Going, ... what next?
Review: I have had enormous pleasure reading (and re-reading) the offerings by TC over the last decade. I was hooked with the HFRO movie with Connery & it led me to Red Storm Rising, which was an excellent 2nd offering. Over time I have looked forward to each TC book, the pinacle being Executive Orders. Since Executive Orders, TC seems to be putting out books under some oppresive contractural obligation. B&D is his worst. Little character development, implausible plot, and an ending that has made me wonder whether TC has lost his passion, will now make me think twice before I put out $$$ for his next hard cover. I'll probably buy his next book but only because it woud be difficult to get any worse. I hope TC recognises that what he started all of those years ago with Jack Ryan has resulted in an enormous responsibility to his devoted readers. His only saving grace recently was being sent up on the Simpsons --- but then, an Icon is an Icon.
Rating:
Summary: The worst dialogue of any book...
Review: As usual the action and setup of the book were good, however you really have to get through the inane and assinine dialogue. I can't believe there was actually a line in the book in which the the VP of the US actually says "You can bet your bippy...". And I'm sure the next Clancy book, he'll have Jack Ryan's wife beatified for sainthood... can there be a more perfect wife, mother, doctor, confidant, teacher, political analyst, lover, etc, etc, etc.... puke!!!
Rating:
Summary: The cover looks, well . . . um, o.k.
Review: Just a few quick words and then I am outa here: 1) For years Clancy has been eating away at me with his favoritism of Ph.D.'s over Master's over Bachelor's over no degree. Clancy has always ignored the enlisted man, and any use of them is reserved for those who go on to receive a doctorate from M.I.T. Until now that would be my only real gripe. It was a complaint that I was almost always willing to overlook, because as you know, every enlisted man in the military goes on to get a Doctrate and work as a consultant for the DOD, at least I and all of my friends did. 2) I found myself skipping forward to the one of how many plot lines(?) I even wanted to keep reading. 3) We all know you are busy, Tom, but why did you even bother with this one? Ryan would have been much better off stepping down and letting the democratic process run its course---much more believable, too. Especially that part about staying behind for the emolation of Washington D.C. Next time it will probably be aliens or some terrible subterranean monster. But then again, those movies have already been made. 4) I have always known that Clancy books depend somewhat on serendipity and chance, but talk about pulling the Quantum needle out of the Relativity haystack, we have a better shot of discovering the secret to cold fusion than all of the elements of this novel have finding each other. Refer to Mark Twain's essay, Fenimore Cooper's Litarary Offenses in regards to the possibility of miracles in fiction. 5) Perhaps Tom's next book can send the boys from Rainbow to find the purpose of writing this book, besides a paycheck.
Rating:
Summary: Not a Very Good Book
Review: I will be brief. Do not make the same mistake that I have made: DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK. One of the most unrealistic books I have ever read. Mr. Clancy seems not to understand the modern battlefield. Let me just ask you a question: Is it possible for the United States and Russia to be involved in a mojor conflict with China, and only lose 800 men? I do not thinks so. To add an injuty to the insult, China invedes Russia in orderder to capture a Gold mine. Now what is this: Fairy Tale? Mr. Clancy seems to have run out of imagination, and includes all of his previous characters:Jack Ryan, the Rainbow Six Team, and etc. Do yourself a favor: do not read a 1000 pages of poorly written, unbeilivble, self centered piece of work. There are better books out there.
Rating:
Summary: Long but worth the read.
Review: Some people who have reviewed this book need to lighten up. I enjoyed it inspite of the swearing and racial slurs. (Believe it or not people do talk like that). The book offers a lot of political and historical facts as allways. The first half of the book does build a little slowly but it gets very interesting in the latter half of the book.
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