Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful book--what was Hollywood thinking?
Review: This is by far the best Jack Ryan book I have read by Clancy. An intricate, original plot that leaves you wondering if it could actually happen. Clancy's knowledge of intelligence agencies, governments and science never ceases to amaze me. He weaves a perfect amount of information into the plot to make it seem like you're reading a textbook... but this one is exciting and has a killer plot that will make you burn through the pages. What I enjoy most about this Clancy novel was the intricacy of the characters... especially Jack Ryan. As a reader, you really get to know Jack Ryan: his faults, his worries, his qualities. His character is portrayed so well in this book. You share his pain as he goes through despair when his government turns against him and his wife accuses him of adultery. You see him fall into the depression of middle-age and alcoholism. And you see his redemtion through his closest friends and his supporting wife. Not to mention, this book really makes you think. Too bad Hollywood completely disregarded all of these qualities when deciding to make the movie. Whoever wrote the script for the movie decided to make Ryan a young CIA agent who was just entering the agency. This is obviously done in an atempt to target the younger crowd and to "Hollywoodize" the movie. Unfortunately it takes everything away from the character that Clancy created, the relationship with his wife and friends, and from the whole plot, which is so twisted in the movie, you wonder if the screenwriter even read the book. Not to mention that now it doesn't fit in with the other Jack Ryan movies (Jack Ryan was played by Alec Baldwin in one of them and wonderfully portrayed by Harrison Ford in the other two. So where the heck does Ben Affleck fit in there?) It's too bad. The actual plot could have made a wonderful movie, and it made a wonderful book. I recommend this for everyone who is a Clancy fan, anyone who enjoyed the movie, and people who thought the movie was lacking. However, one word of advice... if you enjoy this book, don't see the movie.
Rating:
Summary: The Sum of Clancy's Greast Novel
Review: This is my favorite Clancy Book! Some SPOLIERS in Review It is late 1991 after the Gulf War. The Soviet Union is in its final days and the American victory in the Gulf causes President Fowler to try and push a Iserali Palstienain peace treaty through.
So enter Jack Ryan now acting as the DDI after James Greer death in Clear and Present Danger, Jack comes up with the idea to have Jesurlm split into diffrent sectors, one Mulism one Iserali and then have it guarded by Swiss troops. The US officaly declares it would protect Iseral.
Jack has made enemies though. Elizbeth Elliot becomes the new National Security Advisor and she brngs a hatered of Ryan with her. She is hell bent to destroy him. In elliots quest to destroy Ryan she begins "banging" the President and gets him to dislike Ryan.
All the while a group of Islamic Terrroist, German Red Army Commuinsts and an Indian Convict plan on leading the world to a Nuclear War between the US and the USSR. All this goes to make a great Novel. One can really hate Elliot after reading about her for a while. Jack quickly learns that having enemies isn't great and it screws up the home life. The climax of the Novel is the best. The Russian and American President slowy and somtimes accidently pushing each other towards war. A must read for Clancy fans. READ THIS BOOK!
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Summary: Clancy does it again...
Review: This is the 5th book in the "Ryanverse" and this time an Israeli nuke is missing. A militant Arab terrorist group finds the missing nuke and reworks it into a usable weapon. At the end of Clear and Present Danger, J. Robert Fowler is elected President and he is in the Oval Office at the time of this story. It's clear that he and Ryan aren't too fond of each other and his National Security Advisor, Elizabeth Elliot (who is Fowler's personal Monica Lewinsky) flat out can't stand Jack. Elliot is one of those characters that you would like to choke if you had the ability, but that keeps you into the book. Certainly the nuclear bomb and the intended use of it is the main plot, but Clancy uses the secondary storyline (the President and Elliot trying to force Ryan out) to keep the pages turning. All in all, another classic Clancy. The final stages of the book are absolutely incredible, as has been the case with every Jack Ryan book I have read thus far. I'm sure the trend continues!
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Summary: A very intriguing and suspenseful story
Review: Tom Clancy's The Sum of All Fears is another page turner full of suspense and a very interesting plot. Terrorists undertake to detonate a nuclear bomb within the United States to prevent a peaceful settlement to the conflicts in the Middle East. The title to this novel is very interesting and fitting as characters make decisions that are not rational, but are based on their fears and doubts. Although the story starts off slow, it becomes pretty amazingly suspenseful as the plot progresses, especially near the end. As in other novels, Clancy mixes a shockingly plausible scenario with incredible action. Reading this book, I found very interesting the way in which what started off as the most innocent event quickly escalated into a very tense and frightening situation. The main character, Jack Ryan, must deal with not only tense intelligence problems, but also with problems such as lack of sleep, failing health and marital problems. On top of that, Ryan must overcome a vindictive pesonal attack by National Security Advisor Elizabeth Elliot and the sometimes unfair expectations of President Fowler. Popular Clancy characters such as John Clark and Domingo Chavez also play a role in this story. I think perhaps one of the most interesting aspects to this story is the fact that the frightening plot is not so far fetched. It could very easily become a horrible reality. The way in which Clancy connects events in the story makes one think of how possible this all is and it's hard to imagine a more appropriate title than The Sum of All Fears. Having seen the movie based upon this story I can tell you that significant plot deatails were changed in the movie. Other than the planned nuclear detonation in America and the ensuing panic that takes place, the movie is very different. Perhaps the most noticeable difference is the fact that in the movie Jack Ryan(played by Ben Affleck) is a young man that has just recently joined the CIA. This certainly doesn't follow suit with the presentation of Jack Ryan as a married man in the movies Clear and Present Danger and Patriot Games. Although the screen adaptation is considerably different than the book, the movie is still pretty good and probably worth seeing. If you've seen the movie, whether or not you liked it, I'd still recommend reading the book as the plots are different enough that the book will not appear to be just a literary version of the movie. For this reason, I also recommend seeing the movie even if you've already read the book.The book is perhaps one of the most suspenseful I've read by Clancy and is full action. Clancy's vast military knowledge is certainly present and makes the story seem that much more interesting and plausible. I certainly recommend reading this book, especially if you're a big Clancy/Ryan fan.
Rating:
Summary: the sum of all brilliance
Review: `The sum of all brilliance'is right. One of Clancy's best .
the details are great everything from construction of the nuke to the bureaucracy,the presidents detail.Details are however a touch longwinded make you wish to skim through sometimes.
But it is undoubtably Clancy's best JACK RYAN book.
Jack Ryan now DDCI in the Fowler administration has come up with a plan that would bring peace to the middle east currently ravaged by war . Everyone `s happy with the plan. Everyone but the terrorists that is ,who have invested too much blood in their cause to let the plan succeed. With one desprate card to play . Executed with perfection the terrorist act plunges the world into a near nuclear war which could destroy everything. Terrorists managing to construct a nuke and exploding it at the superbowl .Leaving the Americans to suspect the Russians.
Jack Ryan amidst all the international confusion has his own personal problems in his martial life,also with elements in the government wanting to do away with him. With the president of the United States unable to deal with the situation the DDCI must find a way to avoid nuclear crisis ,when both superpowers collide it's only a matter of time before the world explodes.
A most exhilirating book.The movie hasn't done the book justice
has rather ruined the plot.
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