The Academy

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

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"!

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.

Ed Ruggero's books have all been good; this one is his best. Major Tom Gates, a hard-charging combat veteran--but not a West Point grad--starts his duties as D company tactical officer, a cross between company father and drill sergeant, with an embarrassing incident likely to end his Army career. Meanwhile, a publicity-seeking senator bears down on West Point with a corps of ambitious aides to "protect the taxpayers' money." When Tom's clever, attractive wife starts plotting to save her husband from disgrace by manipulating the politicians, disaster piles on disaster. Ruggero has written movingly about combat on the battlefield. This time, the combat takes place in offices, parking lots, libraries and old chapels, but the casualties are horrendous just the same. The author, an ex-officer himself, knows the Army through and through, and he has learned to write characters who are only too human. He makes seriously flawed people, who do stupid and harmful things, sympathetic. Wayne Holder, the cadet captain who has been able to slide through the Academy just as he used to surf the California waves, thinks he is God's gift to women. Kathleen Gates nearly destroys him, only to teach him more than he ever knew about himself. Gorgeous Captain Jackie Timmer loses her head over a louse and Kathleen is there to make things even worse. These and the rest of Ruggero's characters, from the most pathetic to the really despicable, are truly alive. It is astonishing to find that he even succeeds in making Kathleen Gates, whose schemes lead to horror, someone with whom a reader can sympathize. The plots--the author's as well as Kathleen's--are ingenious. Ruggero has learned to build tension with the best of them. The ending is perhaps a little weak, but it will do. Like West Point, this novel is really about Duty, Honor, and Country, not only on the battlefield, but in the office, the parking lot, and the bedroom. It is a triumph for Ruggero. All his old readers will be delighted, and so will a lot of new ones.

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.