Peace may finally be at hand in the Middle East -- as Jack Ryan lays the groundwork for a plan that could end centuries of conflict. But ruthless t...
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reviews
Feb 10, 2012
David
rated it: 
Tom Clancy likes to write big stories with huge events that involve the whole world. His style of writing is totally based from the mind set or view point of a citizen of the United States of America. This is fine in many ways. He weaves a drama with multiple plot-lines and disparate events with numerous characters.
The central character of the story is Jack Ryan, deputy director of the CIA, and USAs answer to James Bond. Ryan in this book is weary, over worked and mired in the political g More...
The central character of the story is Jack Ryan, deputy director of the CIA, and USAs answer to James Bond. Ryan in this book is weary, over worked and mired in the political g More...
Nov 23, 2010
Richard
rated it:
Oh thank God. Thank God it's over. I picked this up en route to Goa a few weeks ago, and I seem to have been reading it forever. As always, Clancy's world is incredibly detailed and credible, in many ways all the more impressive for its sometime parallels to the world we live in today. As ever, the central plot is great. As ever, there's just too bloody much detail for anybody outside of the military to maintain much interest. The characters are for the most part the same seven or eight core
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Apr 14, 2009
Shawn
rated it: 
The Sum of All Fears
Tom Clancy
After the discovery of a damaged Israeli nuclear bomb which had gone missing in 1973, Arabs, who got their hands on this weapon of mass destruction, seek the help of a German scientist who helps them replicate the bomb in order for it to be used against the United States, after a treaty which is meant to settle the war against Israel and Arabians displeases them.
As the engineering process of the weapon is complete, the Arabs, plan to More...
Tom Clancy
After the discovery of a damaged Israeli nuclear bomb which had gone missing in 1973, Arabs, who got their hands on this weapon of mass destruction, seek the help of a German scientist who helps them replicate the bomb in order for it to be used against the United States, after a treaty which is meant to settle the war against Israel and Arabians displeases them.
As the engineering process of the weapon is complete, the Arabs, plan to More...
Jun 01, 2011
Brian
rated it:
Arab terrorists find a nuclear weapon that had been lost by Israel, and use it to attack the United States. Denver is devastated by the nuclear explosion that could have been worse if the terrorist wouldn't have prematurely killed their scientist in an effort to cover their tracks. This nearly triggers a war between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, due to the incompetence of the new President and his mistress with an anti-Ryan agenda who blame the Soviet Union. Ryan intervenes and stops a nucle
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Oct 21, 2007
Khairul H.
rated it:
I liked this book. However, I cringe every time the bad guys talk to each other. It's just not...real. Clancy loves to describe military hardware but when it comes to writing realistic conversation, he fails. Still, not a bad book.
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Jul 25, 2011
Justin
rated it: 
Dear Penthouse Letters:
You'll never believe what happened one day when I was sitting in the library, flipping through the latest copy of "Jane's Guide to Military Technology"--let's just say that my passive sonar went active!
Ping-ping-ping went my heart at the thought of sturdily-designed hardware like the Israeli Merkava tank...the shaft of its 120mm MG253 smoothbore gun, capable of firing APDS as well as HEAT rounds looming over me, making me quiver...I could More...
You'll never believe what happened one day when I was sitting in the library, flipping through the latest copy of "Jane's Guide to Military Technology"--let's just say that my passive sonar went active!
Ping-ping-ping went my heart at the thought of sturdily-designed hardware like the Israeli Merkava tank...the shaft of its 120mm MG253 smoothbore gun, capable of firing APDS as well as HEAT rounds looming over me, making me quiver...I could More...
Dec 22, 2008
Ian
rated it:
I'll do the same review for all Clancy's novels because they're all pretty much the same. Very long, very detailed, and after a while, very repetitive. If you stop after just a few of his books you'd probably give them 4 or 5 stars, but beyond that they start to grate. Especially where Jack Ryan is involved. I mean, Clancy spends hundreds of pages getting his details just right, the settings perfect etc., then he has Ryan dodging more bullets than James Bond! I finally threw my hands up and surr
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Feb 01, 2009
Brett
rated it:
You pretty much know what you are getting with this Tom Clancy novel. I had already seen the movie before reading this so I knew that there would be a detonation of a nuclear device on American soil, which did take some suspense out of it, though of course I can't blame Clancy for my having seen the movie.
As usual Clancy seems to have an iron grasp on the technical know-how of weaponry and tactics; that's what makes these things tolerable. However, he has a real tin ear when it come More...
As usual Clancy seems to have an iron grasp on the technical know-how of weaponry and tactics; that's what makes these things tolerable. However, he has a real tin ear when it come More...
Dec 11, 2008
John
rated it:
Jack Ryan, plauged by problems both marital and political is immersed once again in an international crisis as a terrorist plants a nuclear bomb in the US and it is blamed on the Soviets.
Tensions are mounting as the National security Advisor, who is part of the plot, tries to undermine Ryan by leaking incrimminating 'evidence' both to the President of the US, and to his wife.
Of course Ryan comes through again with the help of the amazing 'Mr. clark', the dark and shadowy CIA op More...
Tensions are mounting as the National security Advisor, who is part of the plot, tries to undermine Ryan by leaking incrimminating 'evidence' both to the President of the US, and to his wife.
Of course Ryan comes through again with the help of the amazing 'Mr. clark', the dark and shadowy CIA op More...
Sep 07, 2011
Badiss
rated it: 
This book is about a nuclear war going to break out the protagonist of Ryan and his FBI counterpart Dan try to come up with a solution to stop the war from happening. The try to stop the world leaders from joining the war and they try to save the world.
I liked this book overall, it was interesting and had a good story relating to nuclear warfare. This story talked about FBI work force which made it much more interesting. I really did enjoy reading this book.
If i were to rate More...
I liked this book overall, it was interesting and had a good story relating to nuclear warfare. This story talked about FBI work force which made it much more interesting. I really did enjoy reading this book.
If i were to rate More...
Aug 30, 2008
Lance
rated it:
I think I now know how to make a nuclear bomb...
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Mar 22, 2011
Brett
rated it:
This book is full of action, from start to finish. It is also an interesting look at how American politics might work. The big takeaway, I think, is that you don't have to be a powerful nation to build a hydrogen bomb, and it wouldn't be that difficult to get such a bomb across our borders.
Although I don't foresee complete disarmament of the worlds nukes any time soon, the idea that these devices should not exist, even in the hands of world leaders, is compelling. How can even the P More...
Although I don't foresee complete disarmament of the worlds nukes any time soon, the idea that these devices should not exist, even in the hands of world leaders, is compelling. How can even the P More...
Aug 29, 2008
Stephen
rated it:
I first heard of Tom Clancy in 1990, when a coworker told me about this author who'd become the darling of military specialists (sonar guys on submarines, for example) because his books displayed an in-depth understanding of their work.
So I read The Hunt for Red October, which was fairly satisfying, and Red Storm Rising, after which I was pretty much Clancy-ed out for a while.
After all, these are fairly hefty books, and with all those pages I'd prefer to see more characte More...
So I read The Hunt for Red October, which was fairly satisfying, and Red Storm Rising, after which I was pretty much Clancy-ed out for a while.
After all, these are fairly hefty books, and with all those pages I'd prefer to see more characte More...
Apr 25, 2008
Silvana
rated it:
Sorry, Mr.Clancy, you know I love your books, but not this one. Well, at least this book does not deserve a usual 9 or 10 out 10. A 7 would suffice.
The story is actually interesting. A nuke dropped by an Israeli fighter during the Yom Kippur War - it didn't explode obviously - was found by a Syrian farmer in his land almost twenty years later. Terrorists from three corners of the world (Palestine, Baader-Meinhof, Indian-American), all with vengeance in their hearts, united to establi More...
The story is actually interesting. A nuke dropped by an Israeli fighter during the Yom Kippur War - it didn't explode obviously - was found by a Syrian farmer in his land almost twenty years later. Terrorists from three corners of the world (Palestine, Baader-Meinhof, Indian-American), all with vengeance in their hearts, united to establi More...
May 04, 2008
Jhon(Original)
rated it:
This book was very exciting, just like the film, but more. It starts off with a protest gone wrong in Israeli. Palestinians begin to use peaceful protests but a protestor is killed and therefore, U.S. cannot support Israel. But U.S. manages to resolve the situation and create long lasting peace. However,there is a group of Muslim terrorists who are looking at this lasting peace as a failure in their campain for their anger is toward the U.S. They retaliate by detonating a bomb in a stadium locat
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Jul 23, 2011
Matt
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Oct 03, 2011
Terry
rated it:
The last third of the book was vintage Clancy....a compelling, exciting mix of 8 to 10 plot threads all converging into a shared climax. It was on par with Red Storm Rising and The Hunt for Red October in my opinion. However, the character and plot development in the first part of the book was uncharacteristically long and slow in my opinion. It was tough to stay involved at points. So I would not give this book my normally high overall rating for a Clancy novel. But...I still enjoyed the bo
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Mar 29, 2011
Andreas
rated it:
Jack Ryan brokers peace in the middle east and discovers that nuclear weapons in the wrong hands can be dangerous. Solid Clancy, and I especially like how he is not afraid to blow big stuff up just because it happens to sit in the continental United States.
The movie, although quite good, changes the story significantly and does not really reflect the breadth of the novel.
http://www.books.rosboch.net/?p=539
The movie, although quite good, changes the story significantly and does not really reflect the breadth of the novel.
http://www.books.rosboch.net/?p=539
Oct 11, 2011
Scott
rated it:
Growing up during the Cold War and having read all the early Clancy novels on the cusp of the Reagan years the Jack Ryan character seemed to be a plausible character and I enjoyed all the Clancy books up through "Sum of All Fears". I believe I read the next book in the series, however, I think with the coming of the new millennium, Desert Storm, etc I lost interest in Tom Clancy's writing and moved on.
Jul 14, 2009
Kraftlos
rated it:
I thought the movie was rather poorly done. However upon seeing it in its correct context, this book made a lot more sense.
The story revolves around a plot to explode a nuclear device at the Superbowl, and one of the threads follows a group of terrorists in Lebanon as the recover an old Israeli nuke, figure out what it is, gather material, machine new parts, cover up the evidence and prepare to detonate it. I really enjoy the painstaking detail he went into this and the other pol More...
The story revolves around a plot to explode a nuclear device at the Superbowl, and one of the threads follows a group of terrorists in Lebanon as the recover an old Israeli nuke, figure out what it is, gather material, machine new parts, cover up the evidence and prepare to detonate it. I really enjoy the painstaking detail he went into this and the other pol More...
Aug 07, 2010
Joy
rated it:
A nuclear bomb is planted in a sports stadium before a major event. Carries the suspenseful tension that is Clancy's trademark. After 17 years I still remembered some of the villains. If you've only seen the movie, you have no idea.
After my 2010 reread: Life has changed a lot since Clancy's terrorists shipped a hydrogen bomb into the US and then flew right out again. Neither terrorists nor vacationers can fly easily anymore.
After my 2010 reread: Life has changed a lot since Clancy's terrorists shipped a hydrogen bomb into the US and then flew right out again. Neither terrorists nor vacationers can fly easily anymore.
Apr 13, 2010
Troy
rated it: 
This book is simply genius. I listened to this on my iPod for about a month driving to and from work. I've never looked forward to going to work as much as I did when I was listening to this book! Clancy is brilliant and has done his research to the extreme. The story is intense and leaves you wanting more chapter after chapter. Definitely one of my favorite books.
Feb 05, 2012
Nigel
rated it:
of all of the books by tom clancy that i have read not to mention in the jack ryan series this book is by far my favorite. i finished this book and had to read it again before i read the next one. every little detail in this book seems to move everything a little farther in the story drawing on your emotions making you feel what the characters are feeling.
Feb 09, 2011
Michael
rated it:
My first Tom Clancy book and it didn't disappoint. I would have rated it higher but for the lengthy passages involving the building of the atomic bomb and the science behind how it works. While I found that interesting I wish I could have gotten the condensed course.
Overall though, an excellent political/international thriller and well worth the read. I'll have to find some more of his books for entertainment!
Overall though, an excellent political/international thriller and well worth the read. I'll have to find some more of his books for entertainment!
Jan 26, 2009
Travis
rated it:
Good, entertaining Novel. Even back then trying to find a solution for peace in the Middle East was portrayed. I think I read this one while I was a camp leader at a scout camp. Just one of those big, entertaining novels that you can't put down, and when you're done you can't pick up again. This perfectly meets my criteria for 3 stars.
Aug 31, 2009
Curtiss
rated it:
Middle-Eastern terrorists recover an Israeli nuclear device and restore it to functioning condition. Their plan to detonate it at the Super Bowl, and leave the U.S. pointing the finger (and its nuclear arsenal) at the Soviet Union, comes within minutes of achieving its objective. Only Jack Ryan's intervention with the crucial evidence can prevent World War III, ...
***** SPOILER ALERT! ***** SPOILER ALERT! ***** SPOILER ALERT! *****
...after the Chargers (even B More...
***** SPOILER ALERT! ***** SPOILER ALERT! ***** SPOILER ALERT! *****
...after the Chargers (even B More...
Mar 12, 2011
Shaeley
rated it:
A terrorist group builds a nuclear bomb and sets it off at the Super Bowl in Denver, killing nearly all the spectators. The President is in a state of shock fearing that the Russians have tried to kill him. As such, he alerts the military and nearly begins a war with Russia were it not for Ryan & VP Durling.
Jan 26, 2010
Jenifer
rated it:
From an old journal entry of mine; "After reading this book I decided I'd better stick with the classics. This guy's style just bored me to tears. One of the worst books I've ever read. I kept reading, thinking that it just had to get better...I mean, this guy is making a lot of money. It never did for me.
Jul 31, 2010
Jerry
rated it:
Our favorite Clancy story -- and one of our top ten favorite novels of all time. In addition to his normal thrills and chills, and suspenseful terrific plot, the story features far more character work with his leading man and his family than usual, making it his most compelling work in our eyes.
Aug 10, 2011
Scott
rated it:
Clancy's gripping depiction of just how fragile the nature of leadership can be in the midst of crisis is shockingly frightening. When emotions run high and the ever-present voice of reason (who else but Jack Ryan) is ignored, Clancy masterfully paints his most intense piece yet.
