Rating: 
Summary: Boring
Review: This book is interesting at points. The chapters regarding General Franks experiences in Viet Nam and his recovery from his wounds are very interesting. However, the book really drags, especially in the middle 250 pages. Unless you are extremely interested in the history of the army's doctrine, I would recommend skipping ahead to the end of the book. (...)
Rating: 
Summary: An intriguing look at military strategy in Desert Storm...
Review: Desert Storm was a superbly planned operation, which applied Clauswitz tactics with American chilvary. The United States learned its lesson from Vietnam and went in with a well planned attack and clear-cut objectives with the goal of liberating Kuwait and neutralizing the Iraqi Republican Guard in southern Iraq. Tom Clancy chronicles the various aspects of the operations, planning and execution of the attack. It does seem to offer a view of Desert Storm in microcosm (e.g. General Frank's theater of operations.) As a sidenote, I still think we can learn a greater lesson from the history of interventionism, and stop picking the lesser of two evils (e.g. Iraq over Iran.) The West essentially supplied Iraq with much of its missile technology and logistics capability in the 1980's only to face it in 1991.
Rating: 
Summary: Into the Storm
Review: General Franks tends to spend too much time trying to vindicate himself from the criticizm he recieved during and following the War. For the most part the book deals with the Gulf War planning and operations conducted by General Franks and doesn't deal with the "Big Picture" of the War. The beginning of the book is basically a biography of General Franks. The work can be slow in some parts.
Rating:
Summary: Understanding Modern Warfare
Review: The book written by Tom Clancy with Fred Franks showed how we did the hail Mary end run led by Franks armored divisions. The story is full of lessons learned explaining what went right and what went wrong, and implies how we need to improve both technology and organization.Of interest was that our commanders lacked proper radio communications and were not in direct contact with each other. Also GPS devices did not automatically transmit locations of troops to commanders displays, our vehicles lacked IFF devices, and that mobile SCUDs were unable to be found or destroyed once fired. Smart weapons did not have a 100% success rate, their IQ was average, although videos made for good press. The fog of war descended on General Franks, and he lacked information necessary to maintain the pace of the attack demanded by General Schwartzkopf. Friction between the two commanders demonstrated the difference between emphasis on keeping up the pace to acheive suprise, and a need to avoid chaos resulting in "friendly fire" accidents. The book does not dwell on the real heros,our logistics people who acheived massive movement of men and material. Description of unit contact makes one realize the success of the Abrams M1A1 tank and the quality of training given the troops. In retrospect, this book enabled me to understand that even with satellite surveillence and the lack of cover and consealment, we could not find key targets, and could not destroy SCUD warheads. The end of the war was directed by political concerns, rather than military objectives (read A SOLDIER's DUTY), and we toatlly misapprehended the power base of Saddam Huesein. This book was informative and should be read with "EVERY MAN A HERO" by Clancy describing the air campaign of Desert Storm. The combination of these two works will better explain what happened, suggest the future direction of technology on the battlefield, and indicate that a lesser degree of success can be expected lacking the advantages of desert terrain, and an unwilling adversary. Jon Yerow Cincinnati
Rating:
Summary: A Superficial Account that Sheds Little Light
Review: This is a fair account of the US VII Corps attack in Desert Storm. The book begins with a lot of garbage recollections about Vietnam and Franks career. The maps throughout are very poor, which is odd in an operational account. Then Clancy et al go through the whole resurrection of the US Army in the '70s and '80s. The description of the Desert Storm battles are interesting but confusing. Several items are apparent: (1) Franks is out to exonerate himself and criticize Schwarzkopf; (2) Franks is a very rigid, doctrinaire commander and (3) Franks is unwilling to offer a professional evaluation of his campaign or it's relationship to the greater whole. Franks does point out severe communication problems, terrain problems and the Iraqi Republican Guards fighting better than most accounts. Yet Franks never explains the crucial (and controversial) issue of why it took his units so long to advance and his references to boundary problems with XVIII Corps sound like weak excuses. This book did raise one question in my mind: why were we so interested in fighting the war so quickly? What difference did it make if we won in 4 days or 8 days? The vital question of who decided to end the war remains open; Franks blames Shwarzkopf's poor battle-tracking at CENTCOM. Only the last 100 pages are worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: Great Inside Look at Command
Review: I found the book to be very insightful and a useful tool to study command and leadership. I favor a more technical approach when describing the campaign, but found some of the references and military acronyms confusing. I love a good map and many are present. The major problem I found was that it needed more editing to remove repetitions and clean up the confusion about military terms that may not have been adequately explained. The book also needed an index and perhaps an appendix of military terms and acronyms. Clancy is an excellent writer and Franks is inspiring, but a bit more editorial revision would have made this a five star effort!
Rating:
Summary: Not just about the military, it is about leadership!
Review: This book is a wonderful book on the what went on in the mind of one of America's great generals in the Gulf War. It is also a great book on how to lead. The principles learned and recorded in this book are applicable in almost all settings - business or military. A great book to read if you lead people, learn from General Fred Franks!
Rating: 
Summary: This Book Will Put You to Sleep
Review: I have read many of Tom Clancy's fictional books and have enjoyed them all. However, this book does not live up to his normal "can't put the book down" level. When he tried to use too much of the personal words of the commanders the book lost its cohesivness and became just plain boring. I will never again assume that the Tom Clancy name implies a good book!
Rating:
Summary: True Insight Into the Gulf War
Review: With Into The Storm, Tom Clancy brings to the public a very necessary study of the unique qualities of Operation Desert Storm. As the First of an intended five books on the subject, Mr. Clancy decides on a successful format to tell the story of a war that surprised soldier and spectator alike. By discussing the military career of General Franks, and having the general contribute to the book, Tom Clancy provides an effective picture of how the events of the Gulf War unfolded. Some may criticize the inclusion of General Franks' military career as filler, but I see it as an insightful and key element if we are to fully understand what really happened. What makes the man does contribute to what made this war. I am a veteran of the Gulf War, and when I heard about this book being written I was truly excited. I saw a very small piece of what happened. I missed television coverage, the parades, and all of the speculation. With this book, I finally saw into the rationale of modern war craft from a commander's perspective. I knew what me and my unit was doing, and why, but not how we fit in to the larger plan. With this book I could see what I was missing at my level of operations. This book may never be required reading at the Army War College, but who knows, it just might. Tom Clancy has succeeded in providing a practical view of command which anyone can understand. given the unique nature of the Gulf War, this series of books promises to help explain why the war happened the way it did.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Listening
Review: I enjoyed reading the book so I was skeptical that the audio would be as good. It was. Simon and Schuster have done a great job abridging the book onto tape. The audio is crisp and clear. Boyd Gaines and Ken Jenkins do a terrific job as the voice characterizations for the book. I felt as if I were listening to General Franks himself. "Into the Storm" is General Franks' personal story of his life from Viet Nam to the victory in the Gulf War. Great listening, well worth the price. 5 hours.
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