Run Before the Wind

Stuart Woods never fails to entertain........it is an easy read, entertaining, enjoyable......... nothing too deep.

I'm sure I'm in the minority of Woods' fans when I say that I like Will Lee as a character over Stone Barrington, the suave socialite who replaced Lee in later novels. Stone is okay in a movie-star kind of way, but Lee is much more intriguing, and RUN BEFORE THE WIND is where the reader sees Lee as a truly complex character.That's largely because of the circumstances which Woods had created for Lee. College kid, screwing up in law school, son of a Georgia political bigtimer with his sights on Jimmy Carter, alright let's just say it. Lee comes from a rich and powerful family.So his decision to shoot off to Europe for a summer to contemplate his college career is the sort of thing a rich kid would do. What happens over there is far from typical.If you like boats, you might get more out of this story than I did, but in no way is that necessary. It adds an exotic nautical aspect to the suspense, though the suspense does fine on it's own.Lee is growing up, and that's a big part of the story. Growing up means a lot of things. Taking responsibility where you once ignored it, seeing tasks to their completion, gaining independence, and, this being a Woods novel, some sex of course.But the casual reader gets what they want. Intrigue, suspicion, and my personal favorite, anticipation. Mark, one of the primary players, is a bit of a mystery until the ultimate end, and I'm still trying to figure out if his resolution was complete. Maybe that's a good thing. For once Woods slightly strays from convention, the ending not as happy as you might hope it to be and leaving you with a few questions. Questions you hope to be answered in a later novel. Not about Mark, but about Will Lee himself.I would recommend this book to anyone interested in Stuart Woods, and Will Lee. Or Willie.

As many other reviewers here correctly point out, this one is not the usual Stuart Woods suspense yarn--it's a coming of age story that is definitely in the Conroy mode. As a Conroy fan, I don't find it so much a letdown as a change of pace that works well. Will Lee (later on in 2001 he's Presidential candidate Will Lee--but that's another story) is a bit of a stick-at-naught kid who according to his father Billy can't even finish model kits. So he decides to do the cliche "year abroad" thing after he gets his bachelors. He thinks of trying the "free man in Paris" number (you know, like that Joni Mitchell song) but he visits his mother's family in Ireland just in time to land in the middle of the 1960s era of the "troubles". One hell of a dilemma for a nice Georgia boy who just wants to find himself. As a real-life member of his generation, I was able to relate to that back then. As another reviewer points out, this is volume 2 of the Lee Family Saga ("Chiefs" before it--"Grass Roots" and "The Run" after), but when you look at all four books, I would have to say this is the opener of a Will Lee Trilogy, with "Chiefs" as a prequel. And it stands as proof that Woods can write about more than suspense. A good thing for a reader like me--Pat Conroy books are few and far between.

To really appreciate Run Before the Wind, you have to read Mr. Woods Memior, Blue Water Green Skipper first. He has taken a great deal of what took place during (and before)the 1976 OSTAR race and turned in into a stunning novel. I found myself unable and unwilling to put it down. I admire Mr. Woods ability to put some of these more difficult events into such a gripping novel and wonder if maybe it had a cathartic effect for him. I had previously been a devoted Stone Barrington fan, but since reading many of his backlist, I am now an enthusiastic Stuart Woods fan!

I've read this one long time ago, and wish someday I could read it again. I couldn't remember it clearly...it's about a boy grew up in England and built a boat and sailed it back to East coast of Ameirca and become a man. Wonderful story, it actually made me wet my eyes. The sequel"GRASS ROOT" I was also rated it a "10". Both books were the gems of the primetime production of this author, after these two, it's a downhill slide, the author has gradually became a mediocre writer with those DIRT, CHOKE, DEAD EYE, IMPERFECT STRANGER Craps! Even wine list and food might become big deals in his horrible lousy new books