Rating: 
Summary: Stuck in the middle
Review: Before buying the book I read a number of reviews. Most of which were negative. In the end they made me curious for the book. Most reviewers berate the insults and the sex content and lament the lateness of the action. I was disappointed too. Disappointed because Clancy did not dare to choose. What I was looking forward to read was the struggle of Ryan as President. What I got was Executive Orders but a little differently. I think that Clancy should have tried to venture into a different field and leave the Techno-triller behind him and explore his established caracters in an alien environment. As to the profanity and the sex content. I've read worse. As to the conservative ideas, well I suppose that Clancy can be considered to be conservative (he is an NRA supporter) but it is the caracters that voice opinions, not Clancy. To sum it up: I think that Clancy has missed a chance and produced an average book. And he is barely in need of an editor. So am I but I am not an native speaker. So bear with me.
Rating:
Summary: Not sure what else to say
Review: I am not sure what to say that hasn't been covered by the 500+ other reviews out here, but I'll throw in my two cents.I am a big fan of Clancy's books, by that I mean ones he actually writes not the ones he just puts his name on like Op-Center and Power Plays. However, his last few have followed a certain formula in that if you can somehow trudge through the first half of the book the payoff at the end justifies the effort. The bad thing is that Bear and the Dragon makes those first 500 pages tougher than any of his other books. Perhaps it is because for the past 6 months we have been bombarded with presidential election related messages already, but this book just preaches and preaches on problems related to the Presidency and policy related issues. As many people have stated out here, Clancy just puts Ryan in policy conversations so he can tell us all how Ryan (aka Clancy) would fix them with just some common sense if only the politicians would let him. It is somewhat entertaining the first few times it happens, but by the 30th it is tedious. I'll admit that I found that you could sense a tone change in the book each time Tom was about to go on one of his not so subtle commentaries, and since they had nothing to do with the story I would just skip them. It did make the book go faster. I'll stick with Tom, but he really needs to cut down the length of these books and go back to the 400-500 page turner style from Red October. For some reason he thinks each book must be bigger and grander than the previous. Also, Jack Ryan has to be a more influential character in the government in each book. CIA Analyst, Deputy Director CIA, National Security Advisor, President (appointed VP then assuming Presidnecy), and finally elected President. I guess in the next book he will be some form of Deity.
Rating: 
Summary: enough
Review: jesus i realize clancy is a worker but this is pitiful he acts like americans are perfect and everyone else is incompetent. i wonder how he would write this election for bush . this book reads as if he got carried away with his own cosed mind and realized he had to dedicate a whole 75 pages to a war between superpowers to me this is sad but it must be nice to know you dont have to deal with the little people on the way to the bank i wonder what his ex has to say about this arrogantjerk
Rating:
Summary: Clancy should write comic books
Review: Clancy is now like reading Clive Cussler, although Mr. Cussler doesn't try to pass himself off as writing anything other than adventure fantasy. Clancy has gone downhill since "Hunt for Red October"--a truly wonderful and exciting read. Now, he writes these epic novels comprised of superficial plots, silly dialogue, 2 dimensional characters, a peppering of Clancy's own conservative political views, and way way way too many words. I have one word for Mr. Clancy: EDITOR. I read the first 10 percent of the book. Then I started to read the end of chapters and chapter sections. No one should be surprised that I missed nothing in the plot. Although I may have missed out on a few Tom Clancy political lectures as told by his alter ego President Ryan.
Rating: 
Summary: Far Better Than You Might Expect
Review: Power: It's the ultimate aphrodisiac, Henry Kissinger once quipped. Mao Tse Tung agreed, joking that it explained why Mr. Kissinger was able to attract such nubile women. Some time in the early 21st century, the US faces a crisis and chalenge to its position as leader of the community of nations as the modern Chinese and old Russian communists unite to remake the world order in the image of Marx, Lenin, and other communist leaders. This is far better than recent Tom Clancy material. It is a complex and multithreaded spy novel that's worth of at least 2 (possibly 3) Hollywood feature films. Unlike many spy novels, this one is firmly rooted in modern geo-political realities, and in the contermporary methods of espionage. Perhaps the only character who is 'miscast' in this novel is POTUS Jack Ryan. Clearly he is the opposite of Bill Clinton: a patriot who loves his country, and who sees the Chinese communists as competitors for world leadershipo--not a source of ready cash for re-election; and sees their political & economic system as a threat to American prosperity--not something to be fueled by giving away nuclear secrets. President Jack Ryan is not the mushy liberal of TV's "The West Wing", who loves Washington DC and thinks that more government programs will solve all of the nation's problems. He's a reluctant realist, who understands that the government is as much a problem as a solution to most problems, and that the job of the president is not to be the nation's feel-good guy; it's to uphold the Constitution, protect and defend the borders, and make sure that (as the CEO) his subordinates understand that they must serve the interests of the nation, not themselves. Will George W. Bush rise to meet the challenges that maight be posed during his term in office? Time will tell; one hopes for the best but fears for the worst. The action is well paced, the characters are engaging. The bok is a great read. In between the main plots, Clancy's characters put in observations, comments and asides that enhance, rather than detract, form the novel. Examples: classified CIA documents on Mao's perverse sex life; the petty intrusions of the press on presidential power; the poor quality of Russian pistol silencers [and pistols too for that matter]; lurid details of cutting men's throat with a knife ("they flop around and make noise when you do that"); the sameness of police work in Moscow & New York (contrasted with glaring cultural differnces). I suspect that this is a book conservatives and James Bond fans will love, but which liberals and NRA opponents will hate. Perhaps Mr, Clancy, after releasing several flat novels wherein he attempted to please everyone has decided to go back to the audiences that made him a major selling author: Republicans and other conservatives.
Rating: 
Summary: Not very good
Review: First, if you are an english teacher, DO NOT read this book. I'm afraid that you will mark most of it up with your red pen. While they seem to have run it through the spell checker, the grammar checker failed miserably! There are incorrect words on every other page. Second, I have read ALL of Clancy's books. If you read "Red Storm Rising" you basically read this book. The USS... I mean PLA needs Oil, we team up with the Germa... I mean Russians to fight the Sovie... I mean Chinese and we use our brand new, secret, ultra high tech weapons to overcome incredible odds. So if I had a choice to read this or "Red Storm Rising" again, I would take "Red Storm Rising", it's a better read.
Rating:
Summary: Focus, Tom..... focus
Review: I am a HUGE fan of Tom Clancy. Huge Jack Ryan fan. Loved Rainbow Six, hated that there was no Ryan. That, said, this book was a major disappointment to me. I think that at this point, Clancy has to assume that we know who Jack is. If you don't, tough. I'm tired of having to reread the same 100 pages of explanation of the past in every book. You know what? I'm a fan and read them all. Don't punish me. I did enjoy the battle sequences more in this book than any other. Amazing description and I always love the explanations of technology. The Nomuri storyline completely bored me, though. (Except for the tech bit). The ending felt like it was cobbled together at the last second. It almost had me convinced that there were some pages missing at the end of my copy! Don't think that it wasn't a good read, because it was. I truly ate it up. And I will buy the next one without question. I just wish that Clancy would forget NetForce, and all those other collaborations and concentrate on making the next major novel another masterpiece.
Rating:
Summary: pretty good but...
Review: Overall I thought this was a pretty good book. It's by far Mr Clancy's longest book(over 1,000 pages). If you can get through the first 500 pages, everything starts to come together and make sense. I've read all of Clancy's novels and have enjoyed the Adventures of Jack Ryan....but I think it's time to retire the Jack Ryan character. I think he's taken Ryan about as far as he can and it's time to turn to something else. Clancy makes alot of references to WWII so maybe he should try some WWII or Civil War novels?
Rating:
Summary: Goodbye TC!
Review: This is the worse book by TC I have ever read! He's clearly running out of fresh ideas. It would make a wonderful X'mas present to someone whom you hate!
Rating:
Summary: One from Column A, One From Column B, ....
Review: This book was not written by Tom Clancy, it was compiled by Tom Clancy. All of the passages in this book comes from all of his previous Jack Ryan novels: there's a sub battle (aka Hunt for Red October), there's economic hardship associated with a country to cause a war (aka Red Storm Rising), there's a spy game (aka Cardinal of the Kremlin), there's a fear of nuclear attack (aka Sum of All Fears), and there are plenty of Rainbow references for you John Clark fans. The plot is completely predictable. If you want to skip to the action, begin reading at about page 750. Better yet, forget buying this book, read or re-read Red Storm Rising and subsitute China for the USSR.
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