Clear and Present Danger

The book begins like modern headlines and top stories in the news: a Coast Guard boat discovers several dead bodies on a drifting boat out at sea ... piecing together the scenes ... the Captain and his crew understand the grisly details which became all too clear. Before the discovery, they announce their intention to board the boat, only to find two Columbians who speak little and look guilty as sin. The Captain and crew have the presence of mind to record on film permanently what the encountered. They nearly gag at what they find. Contrary to usual procedure, they create a "justice at sea" bogus trial based on some ancient mariner's manual. It is just the right scenario to create fear in their prisoners which extracts a confession from them that the Coast Guard believes will stand up in court and get them prosecuted. In Washington, DC clandestine operations are executed for a secret American plan to use the most talented night warriors the US Army has ever produced to fight the drug cartel in Columbia, on their own turf. The select group all have Spanish roots and were salvaged from a life on the streets, where they would surely work against the system, to build a clean life in the Army ... the better alternative. This book shows how power politics, secret hand-shake decisions, and behind the scenes operations occur which could shake up the core values of a country. Clandestine activities work outside the boundaries of national and international law. If they were made public, there would be a huge outcry from USA citizens and of the world judgement. It is at this time that Jack Ryan becomes Acting Director of the CIA. The CIA Director is in the hospital with a terminal illness ... The current president has not a clue of how the drug war is being fought and won. He is only aware of the results: drug cartel airplanes are being shot down and the US is winning. It is an election year, his main concern is gaining a positive standing in the polls and with world opinion. He knows very little of reality ... Meanwhile when the second in command of the drug cartel is discovered to have acted on *highly* classified information, known only to a *select* few, the accusations in Washington, DC fly. An insider investigation begins to discover where the leaks occured ... This book is nonstop action and difficult to put down. Each chapter reveals another complex episode which adds another layer of under-handed deals and shady activity, all of which make this a most satisfying reading experience. Although at times this novel is difficult to follow, the subject matter is contemporary and the unfolding events are highly plausible, making it one unstoppable page turner. The planning and execution of the ninja-styled warrior commandos is superb, the covert operations highly ingenious, the political subterfuge and communications are labyrinthine, shocking in their believability. Expect only the best from Tom Clancy ... you will never be disappointed. Erika Bors

I'm a huge Tom Clancy fan, so I won't mind if you think this review is a little biased. I do want to mention, however, that, having read all of his works of fiction, that Clear and Present Danger is one of my favorites. There's lots of action, intrigue, and plotlines in this one, just like his other fine books, but at 650 pages, he's put it all in a tighter package. (For the unintiated, Clancy books have been known to exceed 1000 pages.)Two of my favorite characters, John Clark and Ding Chavez, get a good amount of airplay (readplay?) here. Other books with the characters, including Without Remorse and Rainbow Six, were lackluster, but they really shine here. One can't help but feel a sense of loyalty between these two after reading their stories here.This was the first Clancy book I re-read...it's really that good!(I could also add at this point how the movie didn't do justice to the book....but you knew that already, didn't you?)

"Clear and Present Danger" explores the ramifications of leaders who use their office as a platform for personal agenda: This is a fictional account of the lives lost as a result, and the moral courage neccessary to counteract cowardice at the highest level of government, which finds its corallary in the countless historical accounts of leaders who's moral failures led to massive destruction.The book also raises some good questions about covert international intervention, and fleshes out the personal character-centered nature of such endeavors. Similar covert action is present in many of Clancy's other novels, but here the crucial nature of motive is most clearly presented.This is a good study in leadership, as well as an excellent patriotic thriller and an entertaining read.

this man is amazing. I have read 5 of his books and this is the best (RAINBOW 6 comes close). I love how he builds up the plot and blows you away with a few hundred pages of pure action. if you can stay with the names (i got Cutter and Ritter mixed up a few times) this is a great book for you.

As Terry Pratchett said, a Tom Clancy novel is an essential piece of equipment for a flight to Australia. Not only are you still reading it when you get there, but you can use it to hit snakes with afterwards.This isn't a negative comment. It's a positive one :)Some people complain about the amount of technical detail in Mr. Clancy's books, but I find it adds realism. You're never worried about not understanding how a peice of equipment works in one of his books!As for this particular one, I've pretty well managed to read the Jack Ryan series backwards, starting at Red October, then Executive Orders and so on back down the line. This book answered so many questions for me it was incredible.The characters are realistic - even though I wasn't entirely sure who the hero was until I realised it was Ryan. And Clark. And Chavez. And occasionally Moira Wolfe, Captain Wegener, Colonel Johns. And various others I can't remember at the moment. The equipment is lovingly detailed, the locations lavishly described, the total effect quite bewitching.However...don't try to compare this book to the film. Not only does Dan Murray (look away if you don't want spoilers), who becomes director of the FBI in the last book of the series, get killed (look back now), but Bob Ritter is the semi bad guy who devolps a conscience in the book, versus the snarling, gloating, ruthless ba...person in the film, and so on down the line.Basically: This book is GOOD! Read it!