Rating: 
Summary: Great points, great read...
Review: I don't understand why people seem to have problems with Clancy bringing back all the characters from past works - I for one seriously dig continuity in a book series - which is what the Ryan books are - a series. As to the negative views on the PRC, c'mon people, have you done any research whatsoever about how terrible conditions really are over there? Obviously not - people need to wake up to the fact that the world is not all a pretty and happy place, and yes, we do still need to worry about national security. It's always refreshing to read a Clancy novel if for no other reason than to hear a logical and intelligent view on the world. I hope he keeps up the good work.
Rating: 
Summary: Heavy Book!
Review: I just finished this epic novel of Tom Clancy's and I thought it was great. My arms got a bit tired holding it but other than that it was an enjoyable read. I liked the character development and enjoyed "seeing" old friends again - Jack Ryan et al. I disagree with most of the reviews here and wanted to get my view on record.
Rating: 
Summary: CHINESE WATER TORTURE
Review: I found this book impossible not to put down.In many of his recent books Clancy has been in serious need of a ruthless editor,but never more than in "The Bear and the Dragon." There was so much fluff and extraneous material that I found it impossible to follow -- or eventually to care about -- the story line.Even worse,readers are continuously subjected to gratuitous doses of Clancy's political views.Do we really care in the context of the story about President Jack Ryan's views on abortion or social security? A good editor could have shortened this tome by several pages without damaging its content one iota.Then,perhaps we could have decided whether there is enough to the real story to make it interesting and entertaining.Unfortunately,we will never know. Instead,we are stuck with a cast of familiar characters who are no longer interesting or even credible and a world that is impossible to care about.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Clancy's best work...
Review: The Bear and The Dragon was high on my Christmas wish list. Had I known that Clancy's ability to write fiction had declined so much, I might not have been so thrilled to receive this gift. In this effort, Clancy has gone overboard in both the amount of technical information included in the plot lines and his racist remarks against Chinese people in general. As one other reader wrote, it is okay to give us a character to hate but not a whole culture. I also found it very annoying that someone who could write so technical a book could not be bothered with making sure that the proofreading had been done correctly. In the copy I own, there are typo's throughout the text and it proves to be a stumbling block to what is already a slow read. I can normally blow through one of Clancy's novels in a couple of days because of the intensity and the on the edge of your seat excitement. This one lacked in both areas and took me an entire week to complete. On a positive note, it is still a Clancy novel and worth reading.
Rating: 
Summary: Over the top or over the hill?
Review: I received this tome for Christmas, and read it over two very rainy days. Clancy hasn't lost his ability to design a compelling plot, however the book leaves much to be desired.Like many authors who write formulaic bestsellers, over time Clancy has gotten caught up in his own grandiosity and therefore won't let the publisher edit his books. This one REALLY needed a strong editor. At 1100 pages, it was too long, with too many subplots, too many long soliloquies of Clancy's John Birchish political philosophy, and too many repetitious banal catch phrases uttered by characters. Clancy has been headed down this road for some time--really since putting Jack Ryan in the White House--and I had vowed to stop buying his egotrips, and getting this one as a gift has only reinforced this stance. This piece is hugely disappointing for one who's read Clancy since The Hunt for Red October. Clancy either needs to get back to his roots, or give it up.
Rating:
Summary: A Dose of Realism.
Review: I found this book to be an immensely enjoyable read. Clancy constructs a very plausible world crisis situation. The China bashing is based upon real world assessments and fact. The book attacks the people who subvert the true will of the masses in that most ancient and honorable land. I am convinced that his sources are career diplomats and agency people who are eager to help Clancy present "what if" scenario's before they become real world occurences. Of particular note is the seduction of Ming. Blunt and honest in its execution, Clancy shows his overridding respect for humanity by giving the protagonist a conscience. The action is riveting and accelerates to a nail biting, gee-whiz conclusion for which Clancy is famous. If you truly follow world politics and history, this book is a must for understanding the dangerous but exciting world of the twenty-first century.
Rating:
Summary: The Bear and the Dragon
Review: I love the Jack Ryan series of books and eagerly awaited every new one. I have always found them to provide an excellent combination of story complexity, military strategy and technology, and interesting characters. This last book provides none of this. It is a single dimensional story with a totally predictable ending. In elevating all his characters to president and associates, Tom Clancy has written a book about politics rather than a military book. And in doing so Tom reveals his right wing attitudes e.g., Tom is very obviously anti-abortion, which is ok to a point but he pushes his views down your throat for pages on end (14 pages devoted to 2 priests berating China's One Child Policy!). And how many times were we reminded that Mao did it with 12 year old girls? Once would have been enough! As for his characters, Jack Ryan doesn't like being president so he winges about it for the first 200 pages, and surrounds himself with "real world" people that have to continually use foul language to make a point. As for the war that was eventually fought, totally predictable use of technology, no real strategy, just reactive tactics to what was happening. Oh, and if the US hadn't happened to get spy reports from a top level Chinese Minister's secretary (who did it for sex), we probobly would have lost the war. Obviously time for Tom and Jack to retire. Long live Jack Ryan, his series is dead.
Rating:
Summary: is clancy a has been?
Review: There is no question Clancy sees himself as a patriotic american. he has proselytised the great american values in all of his works. and I agreed with them in most occassions. I have always thought he makes a legitimate point weather I agreed with him or not. the latter is simply because he uses facts to back up all this points. this book, however, strays from his usual facts based arguments. I find his points on international free trade to be shallow and inaccurate and his knowledge of China next to nothing. I have not finished reading this book and I must say deviations from facts make this a very daunting task. as a result, I must ask, is clancy a has been?
Rating:
Summary: Keep it up Jack Ryan!
Review: Clancy does it again! While certainly not his best work, this one is in-line with not only the technology of the times, but also with the politics of the time. China breaks out as the real villain in this continuing saga of Jack Ryan and one thread of potential history. Like every Clancy novel, this can be read cover to cover at least once, then reread as an abridged version - just picking out the action parts.
Rating:
Summary: Tom: Find a good editor -- SOON!
Review: This is an example of a good first draft. TC needs to find a good editor and streamline the story. B&G is at least 200 pages too long. The dialog is trite and adolescent...not worthy of the adults in the story. If TC wants to advance his political agenda, he should involve himself in politics. But to make his characters his voice is boring after awhile, and ultimately useless, because I skip over those parts. The Jack Ryan of Red October would slap Jack Ryan of B&G for whining so much. It would serve a better purpose to write 200-300 pages of an encyclopedia of characters and events. I didn't have the luxury of re-reading the last five TC books to prepare for B&G, so I missed out on some of the references. At the very least, use a few pages of the current novel to tell us where and how we first met these characters. The last 200 pages -- the battle -- are standard, enjoyable, Clancy. If you can survive the first 800 pages, then you have earned your treat.
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