Arsenal (Carrier, Bk 10)

Rating:
Summary: Very Good, But not Clancy
Review: Book was better than previous books by Douglass that I have read. Being a life member of the United States Naval Institute I have some knowledge of the proposed "Arsenal Ship" that the author used. He also used a plot ploy of "Micro-management" & "target selection" from the White House, which being a ARMY Special Forces Veteran from the Viet Nam War I am very familiar with (Johnson & then Nixon chose individual targets & "managed" the war themselves. All and all, a great entertaining adventure, but different from Clancy, which it is inevitably compared with. Definitly worth the price of "admission"

Rating:
Summary: A good read with reservations
Review: It is a high compliment to Keith Douglass that I went enjoyed Carrier 10 despite a number of what I saw as unrealistic scenarios. For example, with what knowledge I have of the permissible action links for nuclear release, I have a real problem believing a senator and a couple of admirals could manage to launch a nuclear weapon at Cuba (using a remote piloted vehicle, no less) and more importantly that they could believe that they would get away with it.

Douglass is at his best when describing individual flying. He's less so when dealing with strategic issues or land warfare (The ad hoc exfiltration plans of the SEAL team when they knew they'd be burdened with a civilian were downright embarrassing)

Still, he is a yarn teller of the first order. It isn't easy to keep up the suspension of disbelief in the face of even minor errors, but he manages. If he would either broaden his research or narrow his scope, Douglass would be great.

Rating:
Summary: Carrier: Arsenal, is a fast paced novel packed with action!
Review: Keith Douglas does it again! This book has it all. From the exploits of the SEAL team on board the USS Jefferson to Tombstone Magruder's final combat mission.

Rating:
Summary: A good read with reservations
Review: This latest part of the "Carrier" series, is one of Douglass's best to date. The Carrier battle group is literally placed in the same position as our Vietnam era forces, with the enemy (Cuban revolutionaries) on one front,and meddling, micro-managing U.S. politicians on the other. Give Douglass his due...the man knows how the military functions, and how it can respond in times of national emergencies. You feel as if you are on the deck of the Carrier Thomas Jefferson, or in the cockpit of an F-18 Hornet. You won't want to put it down!