The Bear and the Dragon (A Jack Ryan Novel)

Book was NOT "Like New". It was missing the dust cover and was water damaged. Book had been at Goodwill for half the price I paid.

Full of what you expect of Clancy. Main plot, subplot after subplot. Very technical book as you would expect. Builds up his characters well. Very way out impossible settings and circumstances. If you have a dense mind, don't read it but if you enjoy good writing and fiction this book is for you.

Mr. Clancy started with Captain Ramius, Jack Ryan, Admiral Greer, and many other "people" that readers of his work have enjoyed since 1984. With "The Bear And The Dragon" Mr. Clancy has not only proven he is the master of this genre, he has again achieved the level of "The Hunt For Red October". Even better, instead of a comparatively quick 387 page read, he has delivered a sweeping 1,028 page saga that includes some of the best writing he has ever done.This book should appeal to many more readers than just those of us who enjoy the "Techno Thriller" genre. This work has enough of the engineering details about the players in the gambit he has created, but they do not overwhelm the story. The technical narrative is more concise, will appeal to more readers, and does not drop to the level of a tedious multiple page description of an atomic weapon exploding, that an earlier novel subjected the reader to. This book is more refined, the elements better allocated, as to make this an extremely engaging read without the story being dominated by any one element.President Jack Ryan has become a player on Clancy's stage that is better developed than any previous appearance he has made. Mr. Clancy clearly decided to take character development up several notches as well as expanding it to a much larger cast. The First Lady, the Ryan children, and the Secret Service Agents are individuals, not just subject matter to be dispatched with an occasional line.President Ryan is a Chief Executive who is as unconventional as the circumstances that brought him to office. We are allowed inside his thought process and are not relegated to observer status. A visit he makes to "Satan's Playground" did not need to be in the story, but like the added depth the participants in the story received, Mr. Clancy adds a variety of asides, be they a visit, a conversation, or an impression visually noted.This book is a great novel. This work does not need to have any adjectives like "Techno" or any other modifiers added to place it in a familiar genre. The book is just one great piece of fiction, and even that word is limiting. I just read the non-fiction work "Godfather of The Kremlin", Mr. Clancy's work of fiction is anything but imagined when he touches on the same topics.President Reagen commented about the work "The Hunt For Red October" as, "a great yarn" if I remember correctly, I wish he could read this work.

As an avid Clancy fan since _The Hunt for Red October_, I was almost hesitant about reading this book because I was afraid my expectations were too high after _Rainbow Six_. Fortunately, my fears were completely unjustified! Clancy just keeps getting better and better. I read all 1000+ pages in one day (and night). The entire book was so incredibly suspenseful that I just couldn't put it down. The technology featured in the story is absolutely fascinating. All of my favorite characters from previous books were included, and the newer characters were very well drawn, especially Lian Ming and Nomuri, the CIA spy who seduces Lian Ming into surrendering the contents of her computer...and other things, of course. The inside look at the functioning of the White House is like the TV show "The West Wing" would be if the President were a conservative independent, which is to say it's very entertaining but without the liberal bent. This is an absolute must-read for Clancy fans and a great first-time choice for those few who still don't see what all the fuss is about.

The long wait for a new book featuring Jack Ryan is over. This book, long and filled with multiple subplots, is classic Tom Clancy. Of course, Clancy's books are not literature at its best, but they are thrilling reads with some food for thought about politics, the military, world relations, and various other topics. If you have read and enjoyed the previous books that feature Jack Ryan, you will be happy with this new installment. Favorite characters from previous books are back. Once again, Clancy's forays into many topics provide great inspiration for thinking about the presidency and politics, especially in an election year (even if you do not always agree with Clancy's personal politics).This is a fun read. While some of Clancy's early books are tighter and better reads, this one will satisfy hungry fans.

I got this book on Monday and finished reading it at 2AM this morning. Once I opened it, I couldn't put it down. For once, Clancy did not spend pages and pages covering technical data until the eyes glazed over. My eyes glazed over, but from fatigue since I couldn't stop reading it. This is a story that once you get into it, you won't want to stop until it is over. I do not know it the hardware described in it is either available or in development, but if it is available, war just won't pay in the future for anyone.