Rating: 
Summary: Don't buy this book
Review: Although I've been a fan of Mr Clancy for years now, I have to say that for the most part this particular book is just terrible. I made it about half way before giving up hope and began skipping over whole sections of dialog just to avoid the pain of slogging through the repetitive and inane character constructions. POTUS and FLOTUS, arrrggghhh... I generally read Clancy's books in the hope of gaining some insight as to the current high level military/industrial/political mindset at work in this country (USA). If the writing in this book reflects any sort of present Washington reality - we are in TROUBLE! The supposed influence and power that he attributes to the religious crazies was especially ridiculous. Mr. Clancy, if you happen to read this, I'd like to humbly offer two suggestions: (1) Get an editor! This book could have easily been cut by 30% and (2) drop the religious rants - they're annoying and absurd. A blind man could see through the rampant hypocrisy that pervades our western religious institutions. To assert even fictionally (as you do) that they might embody and give voice to some sort of primal moral imperative is laughable at best, and insulting at worst. A final thought directed at the non-existent Jack Ryan - if I had to read one more line describing how much you hated being the President, I'd pray that assassination would become the main plank in your party's reelection platform.
Rating:
Summary: Don't Bother
Review: Don't bother reading this book even if you like Clancy novels--which I do. This example of longwinded, repetitive, pandering prose needs to be edited to two-thirds its current size. There isn't a redeeming character in the entire novel which is full of gratuitous profanity.
Rating:
Summary: What drivel. BIG SPOILERS
Review: I think drivel is putting it mildly though. This is one of the worst books i've ever read, especially at 1100 pages. Ever hear of an editor Tom? So the story goes like this: BIG SPOILERS. President Ryan, who we're constantly reminded is a man of the people, decides to implement the Trade Reform Act against China. Excuse me, but isn't this the same law that caused a war with Japan in Debt of Honor? I thought Jack Ryan had a doctorate in History, but apparently he can't even remember what happened 5 years earlier. Well guess what, the law causes another war, only this time with China, who has nuclear weapons. Great job there Jacky boy. But mind you, the war doesn't even start until page 900, and then it's your standard Ra Ra America Rules war, where the pathetic Russians who we're helping don't know a rifle stock from a hole in the ground. I won't go onto the actual ending, but rest assured that you know exactly what's going to happen around page 300, but then you have to wait through 800 more pages of kindergarten politics (i can't count how many times someone said "it's not fair"), racial epithets, pregnant secret service agents who are puking on the job (great protection there Jack), and Vice President Robby Jackson saying "ya dig" in cabinet meetings. what a joke. i actually started just reading the dialogue from the scenes with americans, and yet i still knew exactly what was going to happen, and nothing was confusing (indicating i didn't miss a thing). So Tom, quit feeling like you have to actually USE every piece of research you get, hack it down to about 500 pages, and actually put some suspense in your "suspense thriller". oh yeah, and quit making your main character so flippin stupid. i'm done.
Rating: 
Summary: Slightly better than Executive Orders
Review: ... This book has all the same problems that Executive Orders had, but to a lesser degree. There are not as many irrelevant subplots that have no conclusion. His right wing posturing is toned down. ... This book is still long winded and repititious. It is not a "page turner". I read this book over the course of several months because I didn't find it compelling. But, the "good" thing is that Clancy repeats everything so much, that you can put the book down for months and then pick it up again and be immediately reminded of what happened earlier in the book. He even repeats exact phrases and quotes many, many times. The plot of this book is the same as the last three. International tensions builds, US is caught with its pants down due to the shrinking of the military, war breaks out, but in the end the US kicks ... with its superior technology. Clancy has done this story so many times, that he doesn't even bother to finish the war. He has great details of how the Chinese march in and make great advances on the Russians. Then he has some interesting dog fights. But, in the end, he gives no details on how the Russians fight back and win the war. It is just: the Chinese walk into a trap and the Russians win. Clancy does have his own views about abortion and beats the reader over the head with them. That is the only incidence of his right wing preaching in this book, and I don't have any issues with it. It is not as bad as Executive Orders, where he made anyone with liberal ideas into a slimy, vile character. What is amazing to me is how people will point out all the problems with this book and still give it five stars.
Rating:
Summary: The original gimp has lost steam
Review: Mr Clancy's books have never been short, and the paperback edition I have of this one numbers 1137 pages (and this reader's head spins...). His initial production was at least made palatable by the display of a mass of fascinating technological knowledge of weapons and weapon-systems (and thus was the term "techno-thriller" born...) brought to us ignoramus-es, which even made the use of a forest of never-heard-before acronyms acceptable. In the progress of his production, we have been presented with divagations into politics and finance but, above all, with an increasing verbosity. ... Mr Clancy's production seems to be growing inflated, overfed, plethoric and hypertrophic, just as his physical appearance on the TV interviews he gives. He must have felt himself a decline in his readership's interest, if he resorted to introducing into his writing that old and stale ingredient, the torrid herotic scene....
Rating:
Summary: The Bear and the Dragon Disappoints
Review: I consider myself a huge fan of Tom Clancy. I've read all of his books and have consistently been amazed by the way he interweaves multiple plot lines and his spot on analysis of the way our government works. All of this held true until I recently picked up The Bear and the Dragon, which I had been meaning to read ever since it came out several years ago. The book holds true to Clancy's style. The reader is party to several individual stories leading up to the climax, the most prominent being the story of President Jack Ryan trying to deal with the vagaries of international relations, particularly an aggressive and dangerous China. It was this aspect of the book that disappointed me the most. The military and intelligence communities, which are normally the focal points of Clancy's books, play only supporting roles in The Bear and the Dragon. As Clancy ventures out from his area of expertise -- describing the inner workings of subs and Blackhawk helicopters, he seems to venture beyond reality. Perhaps I'm foolish for ever thinking that a world in which CIA analyst Jack Ryan becomes President hadn't already left reality, but Clancy seems more informed by stereotype and superficial knowledge of diplomacy and international affairs than the rest of his information-filled prose deserves. The problem as I read this book may in fact be me -- Ten years ago I knew little about international relations, now it is the field I work in. Maybe I've outgrown Clancy's genre. That said, it seems like the Ryan franchise has gone a bit too far, taking the exciting edge away. For much of this book, you can clearly see where it is going to end. These complaints noted, I'll still pick up Red Rabbit, Clancy's new book, in the coming months, but I hope that he sticks to what he does best.
Rating: 
Summary: Outstanding book
Review: The Bear and the Dragon is an outstanding book that upholds the high standards of Clancy's Jack Ryan series. As previous reviewers have mentioned, the book does start out a bit mythodically, however if you've read any of Clancy's books before one knows the action is coming eventually and you just enjoy the ride and character development.
I was a bit dissapointed with the ending however, one gets the feeling that at just over 1100 pages Clancy's publisher possibly told him the book needed to end, even authors such as Tom Clancy must have to deal with overbearing publishers sometimes. The ending just seemed a bit too predictable, not in that the Americans and Jack Ryan would win, as he always does pretty much, but how it happend. I predicted the ending a couple pages ahead of time. Perhaps with this one Clancy got a little too Hollywood for his own good, at least subconciously thinking of what would make a good climactic movie ending. IMO Rainbow Six's role should have been increased in this book.
While Clancy is known for his research, especially in details of military hardware, the dialogue in this book from the Russian and Chinese army officers just sometimes doesn't seem like it rings true. Sometimes it seems like an American putting American dialogue and American reactions into people of another culture. In my opinion his previous books had better and in my opinion probably more accurate dialogue for the Russian military officers than this one does. The Chinese dialogue, especially during the battle scenes, gave me the feeling that Clancy really doesn't know how the Chinese soldiers would react or the dialogue they'd use. I think Clancy if he didn't do so should have sat down with an expert on Chinese culture and their military in order to concieve more accurate responses in the dialogue.
However, all in all this is a wonderful book. It's a pity that after his next book we may see the retirement of Jack Ryan. But unlike his first book on Clark without Ryan, I think Clancy's done a wonderful job of introducing his fans to Clark and Rainbow Six, which also is included in this book, and they'll carry on the legacy of wonderful Tom Clancy characters.
Rating: 
Summary: An entertaining read, but not of the best qualty
Review: LIKES
I liked this book for the same reason I like his other books. The suspense, the detail, the espionage (sorry about the spelling), and the technical aspects. I also like Ryan's reluctant hero character. This book has all these things and I found it entertaining. Some people may not like the "good guy versus bad guy" storyline, calling it simplistic. I think that there's room in one's reading for a simply good guy versus bad guy story. Not everything's black and white, but not everything is grey either. Like his other books, I could barely put this book down. I was constantly wondering what would happen next. The characters were o.k., but it was the story that just kept sucking me in. Clancy's books don't portrey the world as it is, but they do a marvelous job at portreying the world as it might be. The personal rapport between President's Putin and Bush, and Russia's oil deposites have helped us move much closer to Russia over the past year. Could Russia and the U.S. become close commercial and military allies? Could China's economy be pushed to the brink by a serious of bad decisions and bad luck? Could China and the U.S. come close to fighting a war or actually fight a war with each other? Clancy gives us a plausable scenario of how these things might come to pass. I liked the fact that Clancy brought to light some of the egregious individual rights abuses perpetrated by the Chinese goverment. I think that his description of the Chinese leaders was probably too simplistic and an exaggerated portrait of their faults, but this book doesn't claim to be an in depth study of Chinese politburo dynamics. The PRC has done a good job of convincing the world that it's just one big happy family. A nation that forces women to have abortions and that outlaws religeon is not a nice nation. I think it's nice that Clancy hasn't forgotten that Russia and the Middle East aren't the only potential hot spots in the world. A lot of reviewers here seem to dislike Clancy's politics. Personally, I like his politics and I think these other reviewers should grow up a little. I've had to read literally dozens of books that were liberal/left-wing. Some were fiction, others were fiction passed off as fact or non-fiction. I think he should have toned down the politics a little, but Clancy's not the first artist to incorporate his political views and biases into his works. DISLIKES I thought America's final battle with the Chinese seemed to be won too easily. One "smart pig" can take out an entire mechanized division? That seemed a little too incredible. A war with China would be messy and costly. He should have portreyed it with a few more American + Russian casualties. I also think that Clancy should put more effort into developing his characters a little more. Jack Ryan, VPOTUS Robbi Jackson, and a number of other minor characters seem to talk, think, and act the same. This is a problems that can be found in most of Clancy's other "Jack Ryan" novels. It would be nice if he made some progress in having more diverse (in thoughts and mannerisms, not in the PC sense) characters. This just shows that Clancy is not Tolstoy or Jane Austin, although IMO he's 100 times more enjoyable to read.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: The book "The Bear and The Dragon" is anthoer fine example of Tom Clancy's skill in this type of books. As with most of his works Mr. Clancy takes some time putting the pieces of the puzzle together, which he does with great skill. Once the puzzle starts to come together it is quite difficult to put the book down. While reading this book I had to keep telling myself it is just a book and not real. The characters seem very real. I am waiting for his newest book " Red Rabbit" with great anticipation.
Rating:
Summary: A little disappointed
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed the story. Clancy again presents an extremely believable and intriguing scenario. As a committed Clancy fan I was a little disappointed with the dramatic change in character of Jack Ryan. I believe that the Author has "tarnished the Star" of the central character. He was changed from the solid Irish Catholic, Police officers son, devoted father/family man and solid citizen to a lay person whose actions, demeanor and vocabulary leaves something to be desired. Not the Jack Ryan of previous books, still a great read
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