The Academy

Rating:
Summary: A must read for anyone interested in a sneak peek of USMA!
Review: As a grad (USMA '94), I can attest to the accuracy of Mr. Ruggero's description of West Point and his anecdotes of life there as a cadet. His characters are so well developed that I could swear Wayne Holder is my husband! (He, too, was a very laid back, reluctant leader who was well known with the women...) I could substitute every character with someone I knew at West Point and in the Army, and that always makes a book more interesting. The plot was a little far-fetched, but Ed even makes that believable. This book brought back many memories and stirred up many emotions. I read it from start to finish over one night - I couldn't put it down until I finished. If you want the nitty gritty on what it is really like being a cadet at West Point (embellished with some out of the ordinary danger and excitement), you should read this book! And, yes, we do chant "blood makes the grass grow"!

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful character study set in a cultural anachronism
Review: Great Book! Ruggero assembles a wonderful group of characters and sets them in an insider's view of West Point. His plot is all too believable and a perfect vehicle for highlighting West Point's unique culture as well as some memorable characters. Tom Gates is my favorite. I swear I lived down the street from him at every Army post I've lived. Ruggero's villainess in another. She is a ostensibly ordinary woman who through unlucky circumstances and bad judgment leaves a trail of destruction behind her. She illustrates the point that villains are not evil people, but real people who make bad judgments. If you're interested in the military culture, you can't pass up this book. If you're a student of human nature don't miss it. If you like an entertaining novel with some "laugh out loud" passages read this book.

Rating:
Summary: A terrific service academy novel; better than most.
Review: I love military novels & service academy novels (the latter a rather small genre, to be sure). This is one of the best. Not quite up to James Webb's level, but equal with David Poyer, & far better than Lucian Truscott. The book's strongest point is the characters. They are believable; recognizable as real complex human beings. I particularly liked the fact that the Christian character (while mocked by his classmates) is not mocked by the narrator & his viewpoint is taken seriously. I am eager to read more by Ruggero.

Rating:
Summary: GREAT, BUT ALOT OF DETAIL WHICH SLOWS THE STORY
Review: In THE ACADEMY, Ed Ruggero has created an extremely well-balanced piece which has enough military involvement to satisfy the hardest- chargin' military buff (myself included!) but also a clearly-thought-out contribution from the civilian side of the house. Definitely a novel for those interested in West Point (that's how I chose it), but also for anybody who likes fast-paced webs of characters.

Rating:
Summary: Unnecessary
Review: The Academy is Ed Ruggero's finest novel to date. In this, his first novel without his recurring protagonist Mark Isen, Ruggero does a masterful job of giving the reader a morality play and a mystery wrapped up in a neat package.

Ruggero knows his material. After all, he is a West Point graduate and was an English professor there prior to leaving the Army. His characters are all believable and have qualities that make them stand out as truly memorable. Tom Gates, a non-grad is a "muddy boots" soldier. He is an ROTC graduate, an infantry officer and an airborne ranger. He is the quintessential field soldier. He lacks however, the finesse needed to succeed in the showcase environment that is the United States Military Academy. A dream assignment as a TAC officer, commanding a cadet company will eventually lead him to that place where few of us want to go, a place where we discover our own character. For all of his problems, Tom Gates does not lack character and is a better officer, leader and man than one would think at the beginning of the book.

Cadet Wayne Holder, the cadet company commander of D Company is the young man who attends West Point as a family legacy. Yet, at the beginning of the novel, it is he who takes his responsibilities too cavalierly for his fellow cadets and the commissioned officers who teach them. By book's end, he has grown and matured and has become the person and leader everyone hoped he would be. He comes to embody all that is good and right about West Point and the motto "Duty, Honor, Country" are watchwords that the reader knows he will live by. As he meets the obstacles placed in his path and eventually overcomes them, it becomes apparent to the reader that a hard-fought battle has been won. Wayne Holder, somewhat selfish at the beginning of the story has come to learn the value of doing what is right.

The lessons learned do not end with Wayne Holder. Several officers' careers are ruined by books' end. One of the things that separate officers from enlisted personnel, at least in the eyes and minds of senior officers is that commissioned officers are expected to exercise sound judgement. Although it is all too often not the case in our "new politically correct military," officers are expected to look out for their troops. They are also expected to do what is right for the nation. Too many of them have forgotten that and have begun to "suck up" to various pressure groups. That too, is an underlying theme that runs throughout this outstanding novel.

This novel also serves another purpose, one that is perhaps more important than just that of entertainment. This book is an excellent leadership primer. Although it is set at West Point, I think it should be required reading for every second lieutenant and ensign in all of the services, regardless of the source of their commissions. I hope the English department at West Point treats this book with the respect that it deserves and puts it on its required reading list.

Although I am not a member of "the long gray line," (I went through ARMY ROTC in college), I have served with many Pointers. Some were great officers and some definitely were not. Some cared for their troops and always tried to do the right thing, regardless of the consequences and others thought only of themselves. But I also saw those characteristics in ROTC and OCS officers, too. This story is a value lesson for every one who accepts responsibility for the defense of the nation. This book is one that Bill Clinton should read, if for no other reason than to understand what it is that honorable men have and he lacks-- character and integrity.

A strong character is someting one has or doesn't have. Ed Ruggero has provided the reader with a laundry list of people who face daily challenges. How they deal with those challenges is the basis for the success of this book. Unlike his previous books where Mark Isen is reprised in different situations, The Academy treats us to a story where the training ground is the crucible and the end product is the result of how much moral fiber is contained within the person.

I liked Wayne Holder. Despite his failings, I genuinely liked Major Tom Gates. Like every other reader, I came to admire and respect Cadet Chris Dearborn. He showed that he deserved the respect of his peers and that he is worthy of the "special trust and confidence" that comes with the presidential commission. All of the players in this book are well drawn. The good ones represent the best of what the taxpayers get when they invest in a West Point cadet. The bad ones are what we all hope West Point and the other academies do not produce.

This is as fine a military novel as has come down the pike in a long time. Unlike another reader who wrote that this novel does not compare to the best of James Webb, I say it does. Jim Webb writes about men in conflict who maintain their honor. Ed Ruggero did the same thing with The Academy. I think that Wayne Holder is his best character yet and I would like to see the author follow him into the army as a junior officer. I'd like to see how Lieutenant Holder applies the lessons he learned in "The Academy."

Thank you Mr. Ruggero for this great story. Thank you for helping to share with your readers the true meaning and value of "Duty, Honor, Country."

Rating:
Summary: Unnecessary
Review: Well written, a tribute to the education at the institution that the author who is subtly demeaning that same institution got. But the unnecessary connection to West Point turns me off. The author could have been more imaginative, and fabricated his fiction without sticking his thumb in West Point's eye.