Rating: 
Summary: Demolishes stereotypes
Review: I suppose that professional military people will read "Battle Ready" avidly, following, as it does, the very interesting career of Tony Zinni, who retired as a four star Marine Corps general. But it serves a non-military audience admirably, as well.When I go to a Hollywood movie with a military character in it, I am pretty resigned to the fact that that character will be cartoon-like: some Hollywood writer's cliche of what a military man is like. I grew up in a military family, so I know better; but many people don't. And of all the services, I think the Marine Corps is the most vulnerable to such stereotypes. You can't read this book and retain such a stereotype in your mind. Tony Zinni is brilliant, subtle and nuanced. His subtlety and brilliance come across in many ways, including his perspective on various well-known leaders he encountered in his forty-year career in the Corps and his peace-making special missions at the direction of the State Department after he retired from the Corps. For example, even though I very much enjoyed the book "Black Hawk Down" and recommend it, this book gives you a different perspective. Tony Zinni was the chief of staff of the Joint Task Force in Somalia before the catastrophe occurred that is described in "Black Hawk Down". Formerly, I had read with grim satisfaction about the violent death of Mohammed Aideed, who is widely blamed for the American and Somali deaths in that episode. Zinni has a differenty analysis. He did not admire Aideed in the same way, for example, that he admired General Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan, but he considered Aideed manageable, and, in fact, he believed that Aideed was the only Somali leader with the ability to bring order to the chaos that was and is Somalia. After Zinni left, the U.N. authorities and the U.S. military leadership that succeeded Zinni tried to marginalize Aideed, erroneously, in Zinni's opinion. The events that led to the book "Black Hawk Down" were a miscalculation by all parties. Zinni's perspective on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is equally interesting, though less surprising. The Bush (43) administration sent Zinni to the Middle East as a special envoy to facilitate the peace process. Zinni portrays Ariel Sharon as genuinely in love with his country, down-to-earth and direct. He characterizes Yasser Arafat as charming but an unmitigated impediment to peace, who wants to be remembered as the great leader of the Palestinians who never yielded. Zinni also describes in some detail the sickening role of extremists like Hamas in the impasse. In all, "Battle Ready" is thought-provoking reading and highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Marine General Questions Wisdom of Bush
Review: I voted for Bush. I am no liberal. But when I saw Marine General Tony Zinni, a conservative Republican, interviewed on "The Charlie Rose Show," I was intrigued enough to buy Zinni's book "Battle Ready." General Zinni had a 40-year career in the Marines and at the end was General Schwarzkopf's successor as Commander and Chief of CENTCOM (Central Command), and then Colin Powell's envoy to the Middle East. In his career, Zinni faced and successfully adjusted to the new realities brought about by the collapse of the Soviet Union. After his service in Vietnam, Zinni's career as a soldier and diplomat took him to many of the world's hot spots, from Somalia to Indonesia. He foresaw the threat of terrorism. In attempting to forge a new strategy to fit a chaotic new world, Zinni earned a reputation for candor. This trait was the result of a decision he'd made in Vietnam, after a wounded marine asked him, ''Sir, why are we here?'' Zinni, then a captain, replied with ''the party line,'' though he didn't believe it himself. Realizing his answer had been less than straightforward, he vowed never to give one like it again. ''If I felt something was wrong that put the lives of our troops in needless risk,'' he writes, ''I swore I would speak out.'' Toward the end of ''Battle Ready,'' Zinni declares that in the buildup to the Iraq war and in its conduct he saw, ''at a minimum, true dereliction, negligence and irresponsibility; at worst, lying, incompetence and corruption''. In recent times, he appeared on ''60 Minutes,'' and called for heads to roll at the Pentagon, saying that American policy in Iraq is ''headed over Niagara Falls.'' In this way, Zinni's critique is far more serious than Michael Moore or anything else that the might be written off as left-liberal. It brings into question the very wisdom of the leadership of the Bush Administration.
Rating: 
Summary: What a disappointment!
Review: Like many others, I heard the retired Marine on various television shows, talking about the war in Iraq and his vehement opposition to it and to the policies of the Bush administration. I was very interested in learning more about his feelings and how he came to them so I read this book, waiting for revelation that never came. This is an autobiography of a man who rose through the ranks of the Corps and his personal experiences during that time. There is nothing about the current war or the current administration. I kept reading it, even though, when I was half-way through it, he had only reached 1991 and I was having my doubts that he would ever get to the indictment I was looking for. I was right- he never did. This was a true waste of time for anyone looking for him to back up his assertions.
Rating:
Summary: Best of the series, but check your assumptions
Review: Of the four "Commander's Series" books marketed under the Tom Clancy name, this is the best. It would appear that many people are dissapointed in the book, as it doesn't match up with what they've heard of it, but looking on its own merits, it does stand up. The book does a good job of integrated Zinni's Vietnam experiences with his later command experiences, and with his post-military career, integrating lessons learned into a cohesive whole. Zinni's thoughts and experiences with the Mideast peace processes are especially interesting and relevant. These alone are worth the price of admission. As other reviewers have pointed out, it is somewhat annoying that most everyone he talks about is introduced as "the best", or "the brightest", or "a quick study". But, a careful reading shows up exceptions where the usual hyperbolic praise is omitted, notably for certain very public figures. And this lack of praise is therefore doubly illuminating. Perhaps the most interesting viewpoint expressed in the book is least talked about: The relevancy of the Powell doctrine. Zinni states that the Iraq war: where the US faces a clear enemy in the form of a well-defined nation-state willing to face a frontal, traditional military assault; will be an anomoly in the years to come. Most future conflicts, Zinni asserts, will not be as clear-cut as to come under the Powell doctrine, so we better start planning now how to deal with these. Though Zinni's comments on the second Iraq war are pretty short in the book, he does mention his distrust of Ahmed Chalabi, and his opposition to supporting him and the so-called "Bay of Goats". After the book was published, these concerns were proven out, in spades.
Rating:
Summary: Prostitution, vanity press and false advertising
Review: This book brings to mind the words "prostitution" and "Vanity Press". Tom Clancy clearly prostituted himself by selling his name to a book he apparantly only skimmed and certainly didn't write, and "Vanity Press" because this book could not have been published without Clancy's name. Not only is the book poorly written, but it is little more than the constant drumbeat of Zinni's ego. While I am sure that anyone who earns 4 stars is a fine military officer, I am not interested in reading the litany of their "Glory Days" ramblings. To add insult to injury the book never delivers on the advertised Iraq/Vietnam analysis. The only part worth reading is the brief final chapter "The Calling"--but do it in the bookstore.
Rating:
Summary: A General Speaks Out
Review: This is the latest installment of war thriller fiction author Tom Clancy's entry into the ranks of military biographies with his Commanders series. This is by far the most controversial entry given the subject matter and level of current debate. Anthony Zinni hailed from Philadelphia and chose the Army as his career. Clancy covers his fascinating and highly successful career including his stint in Vietnam as well as various other outposts up until the time of his crowning Army pinnacle, commander of Central Command, the same post occupied by Norman Schwarzkopf and Tommy Franks. Zinni's experiences at Cent Com provide the basis for the hot discussion of the book, not to mention its swift rise to the highest echelons of bestseller charts. The General's prominence along with his message regarding the rush to war in Iraq enabled him to jump start the book's celebrity status with an appearance on Sixty Minutes on CBS. The outspoken Zinni writes that he suspected trouble at the outset where Iraqi policy was concerned. His book comments dovetail with press accounts, which had him warning his government about the dangers involved in a swift approach to combat. He lays the blame on the Defense Department, arguing that America was left unprepared for the task involved and the turbulence that resulted after the first phase of the war ended, at a time when victory was declared. Zinni's outspoken comments are reminiscent of those of two prominent battlefield commanders at the time the Vietnam War was escalating. Generals James Gavin and Matthew Ridgway were heroes of World War Two and the Korean War respectively. They warned about the dangers of a prolonged conflict in Vietnam. They did not believe that conditions were conducive to the kind of decisive victory being foreseen at the Pentagon. Regrettably their warnings were not heeded. Zinni has a better chance of getting through with his message, given the fact that the public response to attendant continuing difficulties has been much quicker than in the case of Vietnam. Also, many prominent figures from the military, the government, and the media have echoed sentiments Zinni expresses in the book. General Zinni is a great patriot who loves his country. His critical warnings are meant to enhance America's best interests. He deserves an attentive audience.
Rating:
Summary: Tough critque from a Marine Corps legend
Review: Tom Clancy lives up to his reputation...he has chalked up another best seller. "Battle Ready," is a stirring narrative of Anthony Zinni's legendary 40-year Marine Corps career. Clancy's eloquent certification of Major General Zinni's military credentials provides a formidable platform for a very tough critque of the intellecutual authors of the United States invasion of Iraq. Moreover, Clancy's well-known hawkish convictions adds volume to Zinni's powerful charge that the Bush administration failed the American people. The former United States Central Command Commander in Chief points many fingers...and backs it up with solid facts. Zinni is a classic gentleman and officer and like many other Marines I know from Philadelphia...he tells it like it is. To this end, Zinni has articulated the most powerful charges I have ever seen a retired Marine Corps officer use against an administration at war. Highly recommended. Bert Ruiz
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